 |
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (F.A.Q) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Questions most frequently asked about SARET:
 |
What is SARET? |
SARET is an Illinois grassroots not for profit philanthropic
organization dedicated to assisting DuPage residents facing
economic hardships and emergencies which will lead to homelessness
if not addressed. The assistance provided encompasses: rent and
housing assistance, food, bus or gas vouchers, utilities, car repair, and more.
|
|
|
SARET'S HISTORY: |
SARET was established in the summer of 1985 shortly after the death
of a little Cambodian refugee named SARET who resided in Wheaton.
The economic plight of Saret's family while the child was battling
a deadly disease, became the inspiration to help other families with
assistance at a time of crisis.
|
|
|
SARET's Mission: |
To prevent homelessness and hunger in the western suburbs,
to provide hope when hope seems impossible and to restore dignity to individuals or families
facing a current economic and life crisis.
|
|
|
Why are SARET services necessary? |
SARET is a needs based organization. It understands that,
often times, township, county and governmental level programs make it impossible for many
to qualify for assistance even though applicants suffer extreme economic needs. Many
residents find that they don't fit certain aid criteria and endure temporary hunger and
other serious deprivations as a result. Sadly, many residents seek assistance because
they are facing a crisis that has stopped them from earning the income they need to cover
their rent. SARET is one of a handful agencies today that attempts to meet the immediate
needs of such people and not put them through weeks and months of further waiting.
With new economic realities, many have less and less control
over their economic fate. We see time and time again how loss of employment is followed
by difficulties securing a new job. We see single parents faced with a costly car repair
problem that causes havoc because the rent can't be met in a timely fashion, leading to
eviction, even though the crisis is only temporary. A car must be repaired so a job is not
lost. A major illness in the family, such as a child diagnosed with cancer in a single
parent home can cause economic havoc to that family spiraling them into homelessness.
We have seen so many good and hard working families that
needed a cushion during such difficult times without being made to feel guilty for needing
that help. We have also seen how tiny amounts of aid got a family back on its feet, such
as assuring them gas assistance during a job search, or paying a small fraction of the
rent they could not meet to prevent eviction proceedings.
|
|
|
What geographical areas does SARET cover ? |
SARET serves the whole of DuPage county but will help
residents of Kane or Will county.
|
|
|
Who seeks our services? |
- Individuals suffering from health problems and individuals who experienced a recent and serious injury that hampers their ability to work or find employment.
- People who have been waiting several years for social disability assistance, caught in a complex bureaucratic web.
- Victims of domestic violence who must open a new page without their ex-spouse's financial aid.
- Single parents without child support and low income jobs.
- Refugees who need continued support as they learn the language and acquire job skills.
- Homeless families who need transitional housing assistance to return to normalcy.
Unemployment, underemployment and disability are three major contributors that bring residents to SARET.
|
|
|
Who does SARET not serve ? |
SARET is currently not equipped to work with or support people who
suffer from drug abuse behaviors that affect their ability to maintain a job and housing.
It refers those people to qualified agencies that provide shelter or services to meet the
drug abuse challenges.
|
|
|
How much help does SARET provide to individuals or families ? |
SARET provides grants based on the most urgent needs a family may have while
keeping paramount the goal to prevent homelessness. Grants may vary from $25 for gas or bus cards so
people can get to work, or $100-200 for matching rent assistance with other agencies, to $1000 rent grants,
usually one time. Those who receive transitional housing help enjoy continued assistance over a given period
of time as they recuperate from illness and disability. SARET, however, began requiring those attending
transitional housing programs to jointly set goals and objectives to be put into signed agreements, and
lack of adherence to those agreements will result in removing support from such individuals or families.
|
|
|
Is SARET's assistance only one time? |
No. SARET's mission requires a flexible, creative and multi-dimensional
approach to problem solving. SARET gives one time and ongoing assistance based on each situation.
The goal to prevent homelessness has grown into adding a more structured transitional housing
assistance program in which SARET assists a few families each year with subsidized rent until jobs
have been secured or permanent governmental support is established, such as social security or
subsidized housing is secured. At that point, when the family has secured funding, SARET will
evaluate whether the family has enough to cover housing and basic costs. If not, it may examine
a monthly stipend to meet the unmet economic needs by paying a small grant towards meeting a specific
need. This transitional program, however, is currently limited to people who suffered health
challenges and can't gather the funds needed to get into an apartment and raise both the rent and
security deposit. To finance this program, the organization began in January 2006 an "Adopt A Family"
program in which several sponsors are assigned to support one family.
|
|
|
What is the Barbara K. Brent Disability Fund ? |
In 2006, SARET expanded its assistance program from one
general assistance fund to adding a second fund that focused its aid program on area
residents with serious health challenges due to illness or injury. This fund was established
after realizing that more than half of SARET's assistance was going to help families in that
category. It became necessary to find alternative sources to meet the growing problems faced
by this group of people who are seriously under- funded and left to their own devices with no
cash assistance with which to survive on.
To address this appalling reality, SARET will be spending many efforts to reach out to civic
groups, medical groups and housing related businesses to help build the fund and join the board
that will overlook operations of this fund. The fund is named in memory of an outstanding
advocate for the homeless and disabled, Barbara K. Brent, the first executive director of the
DuPage County PADS program which she navigated for more than ten years. She died in June 2004
of cancer.
|
|
|
How is SARET funded ? |
Initially when SARET was founded in 1985, most of the income was
derived from cultural events and ethnic jewelry sales. This helped build a circle of supporters.
Between 1995 and 2005, SARET was primarily funded by caring individuals who live in the DuPage
and Kane Counties. Some of our members have contributed to the fund for twenty years monthly,
biannually and annually. Through the stories we began sharing via emails about families needing
help, we've enjoyed new supporters who have made it possible for us to increase our help each year.
Our assistance has grown each year by more than 30% from each prior year. For example in 2003, we
distributed $27,000 in aid grants while in 2004 we distributed $36,000 and in 2005 we
provided $48,000 in grants. Those grants were distributed throughout DuPage county.
For example: In the last fiscal year, eastern Dupage residents received $12205, Lisle and
Naperville - $ 3554, Wheaton and Carol Stream received $4907, Glen Ellyn received $15,627,
Other towns received $7235 and Aurora DuPage received $709, assistance to Kane County was $4495.
The higher grants indicate more residents with disabilities. Total grants were $48,644.3. We hope
to see our grants this year double or even triple.
Our average monthly assistance budget is between $3000-5000.
However, around Christmas and New Year, when the weather was very cold, we distributed over $11,000,
much of it in housing, food and transportation assistance. Many homeless people received bus vouchers,
food and gas cards.
In order to better meet the needs we are facing, we began efforts to
expand our funding base. Among the efforts underway, we began to apply for private and foundation
grants. We have also began to expand our relationship with local civic groups that care about the
relief work we address.
We are partnering with Christian, Jewish and Moslem congregations to
help needy residents. We've also partnered several times with some of the local St. Vincent De Paul
groups in resolving economic crisis for residents in their geographic zone.
Clients are referred to us when other agencies lack funds or a client
has met that agency's assistance quota and we refer clients out to agencies if we are out of funds or
when there is a possibility of matching funds for a client. Some of the agencies we network with are:
Naperville Cares, Love Clearing House, Outreach Ministries, Walk In Ministries, Jewish Vocational
Services, Naperville Career Center, People's Resource Center. , to provide more help, when truly
needed, to families in need.
|
|
|
What is SARET's administrative budget? |
SARET's administrative budget has been very low,
however the jewelry program restarted a few years ago required more purchases than we
had initially planned on, so we are cutting down that program to make it more cost effective.
The program, however, did create profits which are then designated to cover the administrative
costs of the organization. That way, private donations are not used for administrative purposes.
Jewelry sale profits have also been transferred to the charitable program for assistance to our
clients. For example, in 2004, about $6300 were transferred from jewelry profits to charitable
needs.
For the first time in its history, SARET will be requesting
assistance with administrative needs to pay for opening up an office and pay for a case
manager and intake office worker. That is in order to meet our goal to assist at least 50
families each year facing disability challenges and needing n economic cushion while income
can be generated by them or by government assistance.
|
|
|
What does SARET expect from clients who receive transitional housing assistance ? |
To qualify for this program, clients with serious health challenges
must sign an individualized agreement plan in which an economic plan is put forth to address goals
a client and his family must meet. For example, if a client is already receiving social security
that is too low to cover all the rent, ( SSI checks are around $600, for example), SARET will
expect that family to meet a percentage of the rent, usually a third to a half. If the family does
not meet its obligation it agreed to meet, it may be subject to removal from the program. The
specialized agreement for each family, examines how other family members may contribute so SARET
does not carry the burden alone. For example, are there teenagers that can work. What will their
financial contribution be towards the family ? what services, college grants, loans can they secure,
so their income can go to meet that family's economic needs. If a client has no income whatsoever
and is awaiting social security determination, SARET may require in its agreement that in return
for 100% rent assistance, that person to give back a percentage of the lump sum they will receive
for that period of time he or she were helped by the charity.
|
|
|
How can you help? |
- Please become involved as a member or a board member.
- Host a SARET social gathering with like-minded friends where we can explain SARET's
grassroots mission to assist neighbors in crisis and share stories of human need. You may also
host a jewelry show during that occasion.
- Join our Adopt a Family Project, that aids with housing subsidies to individuals or families
who are currently too disabled to work and without government aid, or families recuperating from
illness but needing a cushion time until their job covers their basic needs. You will receive monthly
email reports on your family's progress.
- Join us on cultural and entertainment events we may organize from time to time. Our Ethnic Dinner
Dance will be celebrated every two years. We will be planning 3 home based international dinners to
enjoy and educate on different foods and cultures.
- Be on our email list so we can update you regularly on the assistance projects we undertake each month.
- Shop With SARET online at: WWW.SARETCharitableFund.Org, by linking through our web-site to nutritional
and fair trade companies that will share proceeds of your purchases with SARET. Vita Cost, a gigantic
nutritional company, for example, gives you 30-60% discounts while sharing 10% of your purchase with SARET
(they carry some of the finest larger nutritional companies).
|
|
|
How To Access SARET assistance? |
Via referrals from agencies, counselors, concerned DuPage residents and area churches and synagogues.
Applicants fill one form in which they describe their current situation, their most urgent needs for assistance and any other
assistance they have received from other agencies in the past year. Sometimes SARET will be able to respond within a few days,
while there may be times when SARET will put applicants on a waiting list and help them in following months.
|
|
|
|
|
|
