Direct Emergency Financial Assistance

Providing Financial Assistance for Emergency Relief

In this Industry, getting seriously sick or injured, having a death in the family, or experiencing a housing disaster can mean missing days or weeks of work that many can’t afford to lose. When disaster strikes, the strain of the additional costs and lost workdays combined often pose an unreasonable burden on ensuring basic needs are met. 

Since the beginning of Lifted Spirits, we have worked towards a vision of being able to provide meaningful, comprehensive support to our community in times of disaster. At the moment we are still gathering the resources we need to put our plan for Direct Financial Assistance into action. In the meantime, we are excited to share our vision for this future service and show the work we have done to put ourselves in a ready position. 

Our Vision for Emergency Relief

What it is

To provide effective disaster relief, Lifted Spirits plans to offer Direct Financial Assistance through individual grants to Hospitality Industry professionals experiencing distress due to illness, injury, death in the immediate family, or housing-related disaster (such as storm damage or house fire). 

How it works

Offering meaningful relief to a personal or family crisis, Direct Financial Assistance is designed by covering basic living expenses, most often rent or utilities. Our intention is to ensure that no one in our community has to worry about keeping a roof over their head in a time of crisis. When an applicant is approved to receive financial assistance, the funds are typically distributed directly to the third party who is owed, such as the utility provider or landlord. 

Who it helps

Our Direct Financial Assistance is available for professionals in the Hospitality Industry and work in the Austin Metro area (see Who We Serve above for more information). This relief is intended to assist with recent or current crisis situations, so in order to qualify your emergency must have occurred within the past 6 months. 

What’s on deck

To ensure we will be good to go when the time comes, we have already put together our application materials, defined and refined our application process, and are wrapping up on the final touches (including Spanish language materials).

If you would learn more about the application process and our qualifications, please see our page on Applying for Direct Financial Assistance using the link below!