Nonprofit group helps struggling troops pay bills

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Nonprofit group helps struggling troops pay bills
Saturday, August 23, 2008 3:02 AM
By Rick Rouan
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Some military personnel return home to a hero's welcome.

But even heroes can struggle with the same economic problems that everyone confronts.

A Kentucky-based nonprofit organization has spent the past five years helping those troops with financial assistance -- $115,000 in Ohio alone -- and is trying to do even more through its first nationwide fundraiser.

USA Cares Inc. launched its "Share a Minute" campaign July 4 and has raised about $60,000 so far. The campaign aims to raise more than $13 million -- $25 for each of the 525,000 minutes it says the average service member spends in a tour of duty.

The organization prefers to help troops who have returned from overseas or domestic deployment in the past two years, but it will consider applications from all military personnel and veterans. It helps pay utilities, negotiates with mortgage companies and finds help for problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

It provided more than $200 to a Franklin County soldier who couldn't pay the balances on her gas and electric bills, said Jess Bratcher, a spokeswoman for USA Cares.

The organization says it has helped save the home of 10 Ohio military families facing foreclosure; about 220 total Ohio families have received grants.

The Share a Minute campaign is necessary to aid a growing number of troops who need help, Bratcher said.

"The number of cases is rising just a huge amount," she said. "It was just a month ago that we hit our highest of 121 a week and now we're all the way up to 140 a week."

Bratcher said the organization helps about 75 percent of applicants, most of whom have returned from deployment in the past two years.

In most cases, military personnel must file for aid through the organization's Web site, www.usacares.org. The group has specialists who can help people file an application over the phone, she said. The application requires basic biographical and financial information along with a description of the problem and pertinent paperwork, such as a copy of the utility bill that needs to be paid.

People can get help in as quick as 48 hours, Bratcher said, although paying a utility can happen faster than negotiating with a mortgage company.

The organization doesn't help with things such as credit-card payments, cosmetic repairs to cars and homes, and travel expenses, according to its Web site.

Bratcher said the group still tries to find assistance for those it doesn't help directly.

"Sometimes it can be advice, counseling or a contact somewhere else," she said.

rrouan@dispatch.com