SHERIDAN — Individuals who have always had steady jobs and therefore steady incomes may find themselves in a position they never imagined — seeking assistance to make ends meet and put food on the table.

Local attorney Deb Wendtland said as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reached Sheridan, she received offers of help from clients that resulted in her handing out more than 40 envelopes of cash last weekend to help people get by in the midst of layoffs and furloughs.

“All of a sudden, overnight, there are all these wonderful families who cannot wait two weeks for the stimulus checks,” Wendtland said, referring to direct payments to taxpayers approved in a $2.2 million federal stimulus bill last week. “They may never in their lives have applied for unemployment or food stamps; may not even know how to do it. But they need money now.”

The pandemic has disrupted the lives of nearly every U.S. resident with school closures, shortages of goods and food in stores and a rise in layoffs and furloughs.

Local organizers are now working to establish Sheridan Area Employee Relief Fund to assist those most in need.

Jenny Craft, executive director of the Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation, has been working collectively with local foundations, businesses and individuals to collaborate on raising the initial $150,000 that will flow through the fund managed by the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce.

“This is a time to collaborate and come together in support of families in our community,” Craft said.

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