×

G.A. Family Services Assists During Pandemic

Pictured is Gideon T., who received grocery support, and staff member Billy Torres.

G.A. Family Services accountability and responsibility program is one of the many local community service providers that have had to get creative and come up with some effective problem solving ideas in order to adjust the program and able to meet the needs of the youth and families they serve due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The accountability and responsibility program acts is an after-school leadership program that works with at-risk teens in the community. One way the program supports the youth is by providing them with three meals weekly while they are a part of the program. However, with the global pandemic of COVID-19 going on this did not allow the A&R program to serve the youth as they normally would as face to face contact is not allowed.

This caused the A&R program to have to think outside the box and come up with ways that the organization could still help the youth and community. The program decided that one way they could help the families and still check in with the youth is to do weekly grocery drop offs. This program decision was approved and supported by Chautauqua County as well as the program’s director Ericka Garcia-Allison and program manager Debra Hasson.

With many groceries stores being short on food and limited on supplies the program had to brainstorm on a way to get enough groceries to serve nine families. That is when the collaboration of working with Jamestown’s Save A-Lot had come into play.

Save A-Lot agreed to prepare grocery assortments for each of the nine families. Save a-lot stuck to the program’s budget and was very accommodating and friendly during the entire process. Once the program got to save a lot for pick up all of the items were sorted, boxed, bagged, numbered and ready to go to the youth and families.

The program is beyond grateful that even during this hard time the local Save-A-Lot is happy and quick to help.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today