Bridge to Stability

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 Loan Association of Georgia (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: car payment, 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

• Consideration for legal fees done on a case-by-case basis
• Does not include tickets/fines, eviction prevention, 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

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 not approved for assessment, you will receive an email notification.

If your request is approved for further assessment, you will receive a phone call for additional information and specific documents will be requested as part of the assessment at that time.

Examples of additional information may include:

• Demonstrate your ability to maintain stability, ie., income, employment, etc
• Documentation to substantiate your need for assistance, such as an overdue utility bill, a lease or mortgage statement, and government issued photo identification, others aligned with your request for assistance as requested

Eligibility is determined based on the receipt and assessment of all required documentation. Payments are made directly to the vendor on your behalf.

JF&CS Case Managers are available to help you connect to other community programs and/or public resources for additional assistance.

For cases to be assessed as quickly and efficiently as possible, we ask that you complete only ONE online form completely, including valid telephone numbers and email addresses, and list each need associated with your request for assistance, i.e., rent, utilities, transportation, etc. Only one application per individual or household will be processed.

PLEASE NOTE: We are not able to meet all requests for assistance, and we encourage you to seek alternate funding sources to meet your needs, such as United Way of Greater Atlanta.

The following are central questions that will be considered:

• Is the individual willing to move toward stability?
• Does the individual already have a realistic plan?
• Will assistance help move the individual to realize the plan?

In some instances, individuals are better served in ways that do not involve distribution of funds. This may involve a referral to another community organization, such as a program that serves the homeless, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Substance Use Rehabilitation, or Eligibility Assistance to apply for Public Resources.