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Arlington Thrive financial aid requests surge

Arlington Thrive has provided assistance to 1,300 families and individuals since April. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Nonprofit Arlington Thrive, which provides emergency financial assistance to Arlington County, Virginia, residents in need, says it has provided assistance to 1,300 families and individuals since April.

It has provided direct emergency financial support that is seven times greater than it was in Fiscal Year 2019.

It has totaled more than $5 million since April, a dramatic increase from the $805,000 it provided in the same period last year. The average amount of a request has also climbed from $246 last year to $1,029 this year, and the average request for assistances has risen from one to two months, to six to seven months this year.

Arlington Thrive has also benefited from an increase in donations. It says donations on Giving Tuesday alone more than tripled.

Much of that aid requested this year has been for housing costs. It gives families with children the highest priority, and says one-third of the people it serves are children.

Arlington Thrive was founded in 1975. It is the only nonprofit in Arlington County that provides same-day emergency assistance to county residents hit with a sudden financial crisis.

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