Covid-19 Relief Fund for Seniors in
Charlotte Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg County has designated $1M to assist seniors in Charlotte that have been impacted by COVID-19. Southminster has received $250,000 of this $1M allocation and will collaborate with a minimum of ten community partners to fund solutions that address mental health support to seniors and caregivers, training for professionals to enhance social engagement, and technology support to help seniors gain access to information and services.
About Southminster
Southminster is a non-profit, 501c3 charitable organization that has been serving seniors in Charlotte Mecklenburg for over 30 years. For over three decades, Southminster has provided resident financial support, and expanded its philanthropic mission outside of its walls to help create and support community programs that benefit the greater Charlotte community in the areas of education, creative aging arts, and healthy communities. To learn more about Southminster’s projects please contact Tracy McGinnis, Director of Philanthropy at tmcginnis@southminster.org.
Southminster will work in partnership with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Council on Aging, under the leadership of Mike Taylor, and members from the ad hoc community task force, “Serving Seniors During COVID”, which is comprised of professionals, advocates, and researchers that have been collecting data to assist identifying seniors in greatest need at this time, and spearheaded by Brittany Kearney of PACE of the Southern Piedmont and Susan Harden, Mecklenburg County Commissioner, District 5.
Social Isolation
The specific community need we propose to address with this funding is social isolation among seniors, which has been exacerbated in Charlotte Mecklenburg, and across the nation, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Approximately 110,000 (10%) of Mecklenburg County’s population is over the age of 60. Currently, residents age 60 and older comprise 20% of confirmed COVID-19 cases and 93% of COVID-19 deaths. Seniors have experienced significant impacts to access of services including: transportation, healthy food sources, social programming, and faith based activities. High rates of infection, morbidity, and mortality have required severe, isolating measures to limit spread and reduce impact on this vulnerable population. These measures have left seniors isolated from families, friends, and caregivers, therefore increasing isolation, reducing mobility, and decreasing quality of life.
The CDC reports that social isolation among elders is a serious public health risk, putting seniors at a higher risk for dementia and other serious medical conditions including heart disease and stroke, as well as increasing the likelihood of hospitalizations and ER visits.
Funding Guidance & Requirements:
This funding may only be used to cover costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19, were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of the CARES Act enactment) and were incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020. These funds may not be used to replace revenues lost due to COVID-19 (additional details on the CARES Act can be found on the US Department of Treasury’s website here).
GRANT SUBMISSIONS and a BUDGET must be completed using the Grant Application Form (link below). Only proposals from Mecklenburg County will be considered. Funding will be granted to organizations specifically addressing social isolation among seniors as a result of COVID-19 with a focus on: mental health support to seniors and caregivers, training and education to professionals to improve social engagement with seniors, and technology solutions so that seniors may gain access to public health information and services.
Grant recipients must agree to submit a report detailing how the funds were used and submit this report to Southminster no later than December 30, 2020.