Emergency Assistance:  IOA provides assistance to those who are faced with a utility cutoff or eviction/foreclosure from their homes.  We also provide groceries and other basic necessities for those who lack the ability to buy them.

Emergency Fuel Assistance Program for the Elderly (EFAPE):  IOA provides heating assistance to those 60 years of age or older.  Generally, these people are on a fixed income and have no means to improve their situation. 

Furniture and Furnishings:  Provides good, usable furniture to those who are unable to afford the cost of basic furnishings.  We require a home visit by an IOA representative to assess that the need is genuine before we agree to distribute any furniture.  It is the only free furniture program in the area.  IOA uses volunteers to pick up furniture from donors and deliver it to our warehouse on Jefferson Street.  The clients are responsible for picking it up at the warehouse.

Visually Impaired:  Provides resources for clients to make and sell baskets and provide a social outlet as well.  The group of men and women meet weekly on Thursdays from September through May at Chestnut Hill Baptist Church (across from Chestnut Hill Bakery) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with our program coordinator.  IOA volunteers provide transportation and lunch each week.  IOA provides their supplies. 

Progressive Release:  Provide men and women detained in The Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority the life skills necessary to successfully reenter society with the goal of decreasing the chances of returning to jail.  Part of the program includes having inmates write letters to children incarcerated at the Juvenile Detention Center, telling them why they do not want to go to the adult jail.  The inmates also read books on tape and mail them to their own children.  Younger children hear their parents’ voice as they listen to a good book on tape.  Older children, after listening to their parents’ read the first chapter of the book, are encouraged to finish reading the book on their own.  This fosters the parent/child relationship during the incarceration.

Life Skills for the Street Smart:  We provide life skills classes and outside activities to the youth at the Juvenile Detention Center.  The goal is to improve their chances of being successful in society upon their release and help build their self esteem.  They have planted and grown a vegetable garden at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah , one of our partners, for the past two summers. 

Requirements for Assistance

  To apply for assistance, each applicant must present:

• Photo identification

• Social security card

• The termination or eviction/foreclosure notice (when applicable)

• Proof of household income for the last 30 days

• Receipts for bills that have been paid and/or major purchases made with the income

Client interviews are required at the time application is made.  Work history and spending habits are reviewed, along with other behaviors.  During the application and interview process, we ask pertinent questions to establish spending habits, work histories and circumstances that have put clients in their current situations.  If needed, we also refer our clients to other agencies that can offer help in addition to what IOA offers, striving to guide the applicant towards a path of self sufficiency.