A Bridge to Stability

A Bridge to Stability (formerly, Emergency Financial Assistance), provides short-term financial assistance, including referrals to other programs or resources, and short/intermediate case management to achieve Stability. All transactions are confidential.

The average distribution distributed per household is up to $2,500 to support (see examples below):

1. Housing (Rent, Mortgage) with access to the Food Pantry, Job Readiness skills and virtual workshops.

• Referrals to or from other JF&CS services (if appropriate and/or pending eligibility),
• Referrals to public and community resources, and
• Referrals to JF&CS partnerships: Jewish Interest Free Loans Atlanta (JIFLA) and St. Vincent de Paul as appropriate to address additional needs (please note, a referral from JF&CS to any of our partners is not an approval for a loan)

2. Transportation for job or health related purposes

• Examples: MARTA pass, car payment, Uber/Lyft scheduled via JF&CS,car repair, deductible, car insurance

3. Health related assistance:

• Examples: prescription medication, chronic medical condition, emergency dental, hearing aids, glasses, durable medical equipment

4. Legal Assistance

• Examples: eviction prevention, temporary protective orders
• Does not include tickets/fines or child custody matters

5. Temporary Dependent Care Assistance

• Examples: child care, home convalescent care, temporary recovery or recuperative care post-surgery/illness, respite care defined as temporary relief for the primary, family-based caregiver
• Does not include private schools or camps

A Bridge to Stability is grant funded (primarily by the generosity of private foundations and other funding sources). Guidelines for eligibility and fund distribution are established by the individual funding sources. Requests are reviewed and aligned with the appropriate funding source and guidelines apply, respectively. At times, there may not be funds available for distribution. As such, a notice will be posted on the website.

If your request is approved for further assessment, you will receive a phone call for additional information.

If your request is not approved for assessment, you will receive an email notification.

If you are eligible for services, you will be required to:

• Demonstrate your ability to maintain stability, ie., income, etc.
• Provide documentation substantiating your need for assistance, such as an overdue utility bill or cut-off notice, a lease or mortgage statement
• Provide additional documents for identification purposes when requested as part of your assessment, it is not necessary to submit them until then

Funds are distributed directly to the vendor, upon confirmation with the vendor.

In addition to meeting your need, our staff will help you connect to other community programs and/or public resources.