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Portland area assistance programs.

A new organization has been created to provide assistance to families in Oregon and has recently raised more money to provide as aid to families in need. The Community Relief Fund of the United Way Columbia-Willamette, local community action programs, and the Oregon Food Bank in the Portland area, including Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington counties, has raised almost $2 million to provide families with food, rent, and utility bill assistance.

United Way of the Columbia-Willamette committed $1 million to the Community Relief Fund, and these funds will be distributed to partner agencies, such as the Salvation Army and local community action agencies, over the next year.

As an example of what the grants can do, In April there was $400,000 allocated to community action agencies and the programs offered helped more than 18,000 people with bills, rent, and more in the four-county area. The average amount of assistance paid to help with utility bills was $280, while the average amount of rent assistance provided to each household that qualified was $800. In addition, there was a tremendous amount of food assistance as more than 210,000 pounds of food were distributed to local individuals and families. Another distribution of aid was made in early July to agency partners and charities.

The Community Relief Fund has a goal of helping people pay for utility bills, stay in their homes, and access emergency food.