Yellowstone County Continuum of Care – $32,000
Yellowstone County
CoC Diversion Fund – In an effort to reduce duplicative process and inefficiency, 25% of the COVID-19 Response Fund will go directly to the Yellowstone County Continuum of Care (CoC) Diversion Fund to meet growing shelter and homelessness needs. The CoC is an experienced and coordinated group of non-profit leaders, representing 20 local organizations, best suited to effectively address emergency housing assistance.

Alternatives, Inc
Besaw Integrity Consulting
Billings Clinic Hospital
Billings Crisis Center
CASA of Yellowstone County
Community Leadership Development Inc.
Downtown Billings Alliance
Housing Authority
HRDC
Mental Health Center
Montana Department of Corrections Probation & Parole Division
Montana Rescue Mission
Rimrock Foundation
Riverstone Health
St Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent Healthcare
Tumbleweed
United Way
Volunteers Of America
YWCA

Angela’s Piazza: Women’s Drop-In Center

• Membership Support
  Yellowstone County

• Angela’s Pizza wishes to help their clients with basic needs. Their program members are all low-wage earners, so finances are always tight. Many have experienced job loss or significantly reduced hours, making their budgets stretch to the point of breaking. Since all clients have histories of domestic violence and addictions, anything to help relieve their stress and anxiety will help, since they cannot come to support groups at this time.

Big Sky Senior Services

• Protections to serve senior citizens in their homes
  Yellowstone County

• Big Sky Senior Services now require staff to wear masks and gloves before serving clients in their homes. Additionally, they are taking the temperatures of each client and asking if they are symptomatic before beginning visits to assist with hygiene, medication set up, grocery shopping and/or light homemaking. This has caused an increase in expenses to purchase the necessary equipment.

Boys & Girls Club of The Northern Cheyenne Nation

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Relief Grant
  Rosebud County

• The Northern Cheyenne reservation is isolated and very rural and many of our community members don’t have the means or the transportation they need to deal with the (COVID-19) coronavirus. The nearest Walmart is 220 miles round trip. Business outlets are limited to one grocery store and one gas station for the entire reservation. Many of their families don’t the means or the resources for cleaning or hygiene products, diapers, formula  including food.

Friendship House of Christian Service

• Easter Food Boxes for Low-Income Families
  Yellowstone County

• Friendship House Preschoolers receive 3 meals weekdays. After-school Youth Enrichment Program and Teen Program students receive dinner daily. The temporary suspension of in-person operations to comply with shelter-in-place directives eliminated this critical food supply. Many South Billings families lack transportation to access public school meal sites or cannot go at scheduled times due to irregular work schedules. Easter food boxes will fill these gaps and augment nutritious food options.

Montana Rescue Mission

• Pandemic Crisis Support for Homeless Women and Families Sheltered
  Yellowstone County

• The Montana Rescue Mission Women’s Shelter remains open 24/7 to provide 3 daily meals, shelter, clothing, counseling to homeless women & families during COVID-19. Restaurant closures, high demand at grocery stores stopped donations of food to prep meals, supplies this shelter counts on. Their funds are stretched thin to buy essential food, supplies at full price. Cash donations are significantly falling as donors experience job loss, portfolios in steep decline further straining our limited resources.

The Salvation Army

• Community Table Feeding Program
  Yellowstone County

• There has been an increase in the meals needed because of the COVID-19 virus.

Tumbleweed

• Tumbleweed Outreach Program
  Yellowstone County

• During the two weeks that Tumbleweed has been closed, their pantry has filled up with donations and purchases several times & been depleted within a day or two. Food scarcity is becoming more & more prevalent with our youth. As they take in & give out food donations, & do street outreach, connecting one on on with youth, we need protective gear to keep our staff safe. The street outreach is utilizing the Tumbleweed van & a rented van so that 4 people can go out at once & retain social distancing.

YWCA Billings

• Providing services During COVID-19 and Beyond Via a HIPAA Compliant Virtual Platform
  Bighorn County; Carbon County; Custer County; Musselshell County; Rosebud County; Stillwater County; Yellowstone County

• A HIPAA compliant virtual meeting platform will allow YWCA’s trauma-informed providers to counsel victims securely and confidentially, without requiring face-to- face meetings. This will increase individual’s safety, and on an ongoing basis increase the capacity of our providers to serve more people. Domestic violence is projected to have a big spike due to the economic and other impacts of the present crisis. People today are very technology oriented – and even more so since COVID-19 erupted.

Alternatives, Inc

• Alternatives Tele-Med Sustainability for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment
  Bighorn County; Carbon County; Musselshell County; Stillwater County; Yellowstone County

• Alternatives houses over 400 offenders living in pre-release, inpatient & sanction program facilities. Also, Alternatives services the larger Yellowstone County & surrounding area for misdemeanor, felony, & diversion treatment programs. To maintain Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health Treatment services, the agency is tasked with purchasing units to provide tele-health services by licensed counselors. Without the equipment, these services would be unavailable for approximately 250 clients.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Yellowstone County

• Keeping Kids Connected During Covid-19 Pandemic
  Yellowstone County

• Big Brother Big Sisters of Yellowstone County bases programs around one-to-one mentoring relationships between a Big and Little.  These closely monitored relationships have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people who are often at risk for a variety of behaviors, including: drug/alcohol use, violence towards others, school drop out and relational issues.

Billings Family YMCA

• Emergency Childcare for Essential Workers and Ongoing Financial Assistance
  Yellowstone County  

• The Billings Family YMCA is requesting funds for their Emergency Childcare program and financial assistance for essential workers in a hardship. By opening their doors and providing full-childcare for grades K-6th, Monday – Friday, parents, who must work, find comfort knowing their child is cared for by trained Y staff in a safe learning environment. With the Summer Food Service Program, nutritional meals are provided ensuring no child goes hungry during this critical time when so many rely on the school food program.

Family Service

• Relief Food Distribution Program
  Yellowstone County

• Family Services requested  funds to purchase shelf-stable food items for their Food Distribution program. The number of families and individuals has increased in need of food due to layoffs and reduced hours.  They currently see 150 cars go through our Drive-thru for food daily.  They will run out of pasta, canned items that will keep a family stable soon, they are also unable to have any food drives as well due to this outbreak.

Gratitude in Action

• Faith House
  Yellowstone County

• Gratitude in Action’s newest Reunification Home called Faith House was scheduled to open April 1st. This home houses 3 Moms and their children and 4 additional Moms who are working toward reunification.  Their Thrift Store which assists in funding these homes was shut down on March 18,2020 out of concern for our staff and clients.  They need help in obtaining some of the remaining items needed for the home as well as the initial purchase of household staples.  1 of their Moms that is moving in is close to her due date so we need to expedite the open to accommodate her and her unborn child.  Another of their Mom’s has completed her requirements to reunify with her small children and will have them back in her care within days of our opening.  They would have had adequate funding available if not impacted by Covid 19.

St. Vincent de Paul

• Homeless Outreach
  Yellowstone County

• St. Vincent de Paul is currently serving 200-300 meals a day to the homeless at a cost of about $2.00 per meal. For the homeless, their options for food have narrowed in recent weeks. They are committed to feeding this population throughout the crisis. They currently serve two hot meals and one bagged meal per day. They are preparing to hand out three bagged meals per day if the situation calls for it. This funding will allow them to respond to sudden changes as they happen so that the homeless will not miss a meal.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County

• Cleaning Products and Sanitation Supplies
  Yellowstone County

• The past few weeks have seen a whirlwind of news & unprecedented events, both in our community & across the country, which has created an unimaginable level of uncertainty for everyone. However, uncertainty that challenges us can be overwhelming to the kids who rely on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County. Their goal is to continue the mission-to serve those who need us most- both during & after the crisis affecting all of us now. On March 23, they re-opened the Bair Family Clubhouse, to provide a full day experience for a number of current members who are homeless or who have parents working in the medical field or as first responders. To mitigate the health risks & keep members & staff as safe as possible, they implemented additional safety & sanitation procedures, one of which is aggressively cleaning each Club space multiple times each day.

CASA of Yellowstone County

• Laptops for Child Advocacy Needs
  Yellowstone County

• CASA of Yellowstone County employs three Program Coordinators who supervise Court Appointed Special Advocates, volunteers appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of children in foster care. The Program Coordinators transmit documents to and from Advocates, and track data on children’s medical and educational needs. In continuing to serve children during the COVID-19 crisis, two additional laptops are needed for Program Coordinators to work remotely from home.

Crow Tribe of Indians

• Crow Domestic Violence Program – Community Support Project
  Bighorn County

• Supplies for Emergency Care Packages which will include household & hygiene items. Many low/no income individuals & families are in need of items to support them through their daily lives. Packages will be distributed to families based on need with focus on the most vulnerable population of 55 years of age and older. The purpose of this project is to provide assistance to those that are overwhelmed by physical, mental, emotional, social and financial challenges due to the crisis.

Montana Rescue Mission

• Men’s Homeless Shelter Pandemic Crisis Support
  Yellowstone County

• The Montana Rescue Mission Men’s Shelter needs to purchase essential food and heath items i.e., milk, meat, vegetables, cough drops, soap, sanitizing agents to continue serving nutritional hot meals, providing immune support and to meet basic healthcare during the pandemic. The Men’s Shelter has remained open to provide 3 daily meals, shelter, and counseling to homeless. To protect guests, staff and our community, they closed our doors to volunteers’ 100+ hours weekly, and are solely supporting guests via extensive overtime. A dramatic drop in donations has led to buying critical supplies at full price, further straining stretched funds. Without an infusion of funds to cover supplies overhead, guest and staff safety will be compromised and risk of contracting COVID-19 intensified. Staff return home, shop within Billings after their shifts and guests are at liberty to leave Shelter – a recipe for disastrous consequences.