Pandemic causes local charities to innovate to serve clients
In the space of about a month, the unemployment rate in metro Dalton (Whitfield and Murray counties) almost quadrupled to 20.5% in April, a record and the highest in the state, from 5.2% in March.
The new coronavirus (COVID-19) and the economic shutdown imposed by the state to help fight the virus left many local residents without jobs and forced local charities to completely rethink the way they help the needy.
Pamela Cudd, executive director of City of Refuge, said that agency had to completely remake its food bank. City of Refuge provides services to low-income…