Wayne County hands out $500 gift cards to restaurant, service workers affected by pandemic
Application for Wayne County Cares Program opened Dec. 10
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The county received $183 million toward the beginning of the pandemic for things like contract tracing, testing and small business loans. About $6 million was left over and is now being handed out to those who need it most.
The program, administered by the Wayne County Economic Development Department, received enough applications in less than two weeks to fully exhaust its $6 million budget.
There have been multiple stories like Jese Hinkley’s, where food service workers struggle to make ends meet without assistance.
Warren Evans talks steering Wayne County through COVID-19 s economic fallout
Posted at 6:34 PM, Dec 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-15 19:34:06-05
(WXYZ) â Wayne County Executive Warren Evans is joining us to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting his county in tonight s 7 UpFront segment.
Among the issues he s dealing with are the fast-approaching deadline for the Wayne County Cares program and the economic fallout from the pandemic, including the depletion of the rainy day fund and the impact from the decline of the airline industry.
You can see the full interview in the video player above. I think every city, county, municipality wants some government assistance, Evans says. We think we need it. We know we need it, but it doesn t look like the Congress is going to do anything before the holidays here. We, in Wayne County, have gotten an approved budget for the next year. My biggest fear at this point is the unknown. What is it going to look like in the nex
Deadline is Tuesday for Wayne County residents to apply for one-time $500 grant
Posted at 12:55 PM, Dec 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-16 09:54:19-05
(WXYZ) â Wayne County residents have until Tuesday to apply for a $500 Wayne County Cares grant that helps workers affected by the COVID-19 partial shutdown.
The program helps restaurant, fitness and entertainment venue workers affected by the state s public health orders. Eligible residents will receive a $500 one-time, no-strings bonus on a cash card.
More than 2,400 people applied in the first day.
âIâm not surprised, frankly, by this response because we know people are hurting,â said Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans. âThe public health orders are critical to keep our communities safe during this pandemic, but affected workers shouldnât have to bear this burden alone. We are working hard to use our limited resources to provide the most help to those most in need.â