Wallace & Graham initiates giving program during COVID-19 crisis

When Gov. Roy Cooper first announced North Carolina’s stay-at-home order in late March to limit the spread of coronavirus, homeless residents faced a problem. Where would they stay during the order? How would they get food? With everyone forced to stay off the streets, shelters likely wouldn’t have enough space for everyone.

Starting a community relief effort

To boost community relief efforts at this unprecedented time, The Law Offices of Wallace Graham launched its Wallace Graham Gives program with a $10,000 donation to the Rowan County United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Rowan Helping Ministries will use the donation to serve the situationally homeless by providing

• Food
• Medications
• Housing

Many of those residents who had been living in hotels or boarding houses, living paycheck to paycheck, faced unemployment as part of the stay-at-home order and became homeless as a result.

“Since our inception in 1981, our firm has been committed to supporting the community by working with local clients and through local charitable giving,” Wallace Graham said in a statement about the donation. “COVID-19 is a test of our collective strength. Our firm is eager to do our part in showing the strength of this community.”

Relief efforts so far

As part of its efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, Rowan Helping Ministries has

• Donated more than 50,000 pounds of food
• Served three meals a day to shelter guests and prepared noon to-go lunches
• Served more than 1,100 families through its food pantry
• Repurposed rooms in its facility to house homeless residents who are waiting for COVID-19 test results
• Assisted 11 homeless individuals to move to permanent housing

While the governor has modified the stay-at-home order to open more businesses, it likely will take time for economic conditions to improve. Thus, it’s likely that the Rowan County United Way and Rowan Helping Ministries will be utilizing donations to further help those in need from unexpected unemployment and the recent economic downturn.

Wallace Graham was founded in Rowan County in 1981. It is one of the largest firms in Salisbury, helping clients with personal injury, workers’ compensation and Social Security disability claims; employment law matters; nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits; and class-action lawsuits.