The COVID-19 emergency has been catastrophic for individuals and families for reasons beyond the disease itself. Economic hardship has been a major stressor that has placed unexpected weight on the collective shoulders of Kenai peninsula residents. While the U.S. federal government has seemingly come to a halt with regards to another round of stimulus aid for individuals and families, businesses throughout the peninsula are seeing some help thanks to Alaska’s CARES program.
Tim Dillon, Executive Director of the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, told KSRM on Tuesday that approvals for CARES aid have been coming in hot and heavy for peninsula businesses: “We’ve got some great numbers coming out of the Alaska CARES! As of the end of last week, 957 businesses here on the Kenai peninsula have been approved for Alaska CARES grant funding for a total of $45,294,854.27. That’s a huge number, especially when you’re talking about a total around the entire state of somewhere between $270 and $290.” He elaborated on the significance of that number: “We’ve got around 6% of the statewide population here on the Kenai peninsula, approximately 6-6.5% – and it looks like we’ll wind up with 18-20% of the money.”
Business owners who are suffering and feeling left-out because they have yet to see an influx of CARES money, Dillon says to fear not: “I’m sure there are some listeners out there saying, ‘What about me? I haven’t heard yet!’ There’s still 45 applications that we’re still working with, with the state, for another $3.5 million. So, we have those that we’re working on and a variety of folks that are appealing things. You can appeal up to three times, so we’ve been trying to give folks a hand with that.”
Dillon also reminded residents of the Kenai that CARES money alone is not the solution to the woes created by COVID, noting that one of the most effective methods of keeping local businesses alive is to simply patronize those local businesses: “Hopefully, everybody can stay safe and remember to shop local. It’s your neighbor that we’re trying to make sure that they’re around next year, so that when you need that extra this-that-or-the-other-thing, you can go to the store down the road instead of having to go online to order something.”
A number of opportunities for CARES grants are still available for residents of the Kenai to utilize, and those benefits are not exclusive to businesses. Assistance programs still exist for individuals, as well. Visit CARES.KPB.us for more information on which programs suit your needs and how to apply.