Local program staff say ARPA funds helped deliver food, PPE and rides to thousands during COVID

Program staff and community organizers described coordinated pandemic relief efforts that used federal and local funding, including ARPA, to deliver culturally appropriate food boxes, personal protective equipment and transportation assistance to residents during COVID-19.

A health department official said the program worked with the contact-tracing unit to identify households in need and "by the end of COVID [we] ended up serving about 5,000 households, about 17,000 people." The official credited timely funding with allowing staff to scale delivery and support services.

Program staff described an intake process that recorded address, household size and primary language, then routed requests to a centralized distribution point. "We used their language the entire time," a program staff member said, describing interpreter callbacks to ensure non-English-speaking families could complete forms and receive doorstep delivery.

Community volunteers also played a role. A community organizer said they started a group called We Can to deliver PPE and masks when hospitals and residents were running short. The organizer said visible, in-person deliveries helped build trust with residents who were initially reluctant to report illness or accept government assistance.

Childcare providers and early-childhood partners coordinated through The Family Conservancy to survey needs for cleaning supplies and PPE. The childcare representative said coordination with groups such as Heart 2 Heart International allowed those provider needs to be fulfilled.

Victim services also used funds to remove transportation barriers. Wendy Medina, program supervisor of victim services at the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, said transportation was often a primary obstacle for victims seeking safety, health or court services and that staff could "book an uber ride for them" when needed. "We can book a ride for you, it's a game changer for them," Medina said.

Program staff emphasized the emotional as well as material impact of the work. One staff member recalled making calls to households where family members had died and providing brief grief support along with supplies. "We would have never been able to help as many families without ARPA funds," the staff member said.

Speakers across the briefing repeatedly thanked funding sources for enabling services the department would not normally provide, and described widespread community appreciation in emails and handwritten notes. The presenters said the combined approach — language access, culturally appropriate food, partner deliveries and targeted transportation support — materially increased access to safety and basic needs during the pandemic.

The briefing closed with staff reiterating that limited regular budgets made outside funding essential to provide expanded pandemic supports; no formal motions or votes were recorded during the session.