Neighborhood Aid connects residents of Mt. Lebanon, Dormont with services
A cooperative effort between two municipalities to help answer residents’ questions pertaining to COVID-19 got off to a rousing start early last week.
“I am so proud to report that we’ve already received 50 requests from residents in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon to volunteer to help other residents,” Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Mindy Ranney announced Tuesday, following the previous day’s implementation of Neighborhood Aid.
She spoke about the program during the commission’s April 14 discussion session, which was held remotely and made available by video the following day through MTLTV.
Residents who volunteer, she explained, complement the staff members from the two participating municipalities who are making themselves available to answer telephone calls and provide information from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Volunteers also are available to run errands for residents who cannot or should not leave their homes for necessary supplies.
“We’re not quite sure what kinds of resources our residents need, which is really the point of having a live person answer those calls, because we might just have to get back to that individual with the right answer,” Ranney explained.
Neighborhood Aid is partnering with organizations – she referenced South Hills Interfaith Movement – that have assistance programs in place.
“We’re updating our resources daily,” she said. “The staff members are calling and checking in with what services are available, because that’s changing every day.”
The updates are posted on www.neighborhoodaid.org, and an answering machine fields calls to 412-253-4104 after regular weekday hours.
The district of state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, covers both municipalities, and he said during the discussion session that his office is working to make as many residents aware of Neighborhood Aid as possible.
His office also serves as a primary informational resource.
“We’ve had several hundred calls over the past two weeks, roughly, for unemployment,” he said. “That includes a large amount of Mt. Lebanon residents who are either self-employed or are independent contractors of some sort. Typically, they would not otherwise qualify for the state unemployment system.”
The federal COVID-19 stimulus package includes provisions to extend benefits to such individuals.
“However, it has taken the state some time. We needed to get the guidelines from the federal government about how we are supposed to administer that program,” Miller explained. “A lot of people from Mt. Lebanon, in particular, have been contacting me about when they can apply. They still cannot, but it’s coming. The state is trying to integrate that federal component as we speak.”
His hope is that issues related to unemployment will be more fully resolved within the next few weeks.
“Then your efforts will be a little easier or a little more focused on sort of the necessities-of-life type of questions, rather than paperwork for a variety of state programs,” he said about Neighborhood Aid.
He has shared information about the program with officials from nearby municipalities and said that perhaps the efforts can expand as more resources become available.
Craig Grella, Mt. Lebanon Commission president and member of the Neighborhood Aid organizing committee, complimented municipal staff members – manager Keith McGill, public information officer Laura Lilley, manager of information technology Nick Schalles and commercial districts manager Eric Milliron – for helping to the launch the program, along with Dormont Borough staff and elected officials.