Milford United Way Plan To Expand Roster Of Charitable Organizations

MILFORD, CT – Milford United Way CEO Barry Berman said they are developing a more robust program to tackle the greatest needs in the community: food insecurity, housing and mental health.

“While Milford United Way emergency fund helps people who face evictions, utility shutoffs, blankets, diapers, shelter and other day-to-day needs, the robust programs we are developing will not only provide additional support, but we will tap into Milford’s collective expertise to help people manage their money and ease access to mental healthcare,” Berman said.

To make the goal a possibility, Berman said Milford United Way is expanding its roster of funded charitable organizations that help Milford.

“We are looking to bring in other organizations that serve the community on those three pillars,” Berman said. “We haven’t done that in years, haven’t reached out to other organizations, and so we would do that now.”

“We are just going to get started for this year, and hopefully, this will grow,” he added.

By expanding its roster, Berman said they want to build programs and alliances to alleviate many people's pain and dire circumstances.

“Currently, we have 21 agencies on our roster who we work with, but we fund about at least a dozen organizations, and it changes year to year,” he said. “This does not mean we are sliding the organizations we are working with; we would just like to see what other organizations there are in town, what they are doing, and to see if there’s a way we can help them within our ability to do that.”

Berman said more than a third of Milford struggles with food insecurity or face eviction as rents continue to soar.

“There are several people who sleep in their cars on busses or camps on the side of the road, and many need mental health services and don’t know where to turn,” he stated.

Beginning in 2022, Milford United Way identified and prioritized the greatest needs in the city: food insecurity, housing and mental health.

By expanding the roster of funded charitable organizations, Milford United Way area plans to serve as a coordinating agency to build programs focused on critical food insecurity, housing and mental health issues.

“We are looking to develop a centralized system to help and work with food organizations to get nutritious food from agencies, restaurants, pantries and food stores and deliver them to places and people in Need,” Berman stated. “We will also publicize pick-up locations and schedules so people know where to go and when.”

Berman said one of the unique aspects of the Milford United Way is that they connect with many communities in the city: nonprofit agencies, government leaders, religious leaders and businesses and civic groups.

Berman said that as the Milford United Way expands its programs and roster, they also need resources and contributions, large and small, to help the Milford community cope in these difficult times.

“We need volunteers to help with our programs and events,” he said. “There’s so much. To do. And it has never been truer when it comes to helping those in need: We Are United.”

For more than 60 years, the Milford United Way has played a unique and vital role in the lives of so many Milford families, providing $750,000 for superstorm Sandy relief to supplying about a million diapers to families in need through our United for Diapers program. This is in addition to the millions of dollars Milford United Way has distributed to local organizations.