Emergency & Relocation Assistance (Eligibility Guidelines)
The HERO Fund was established to help employees offset expenses in cases of an unexpected and catastrophic life event in which they are facing severe financial hardship where all other sources of funding have been exhausted.
When being considered for HERO Funding, qualifying emergencies do not include circumstances that involve providing assistance to pay for debt consolidation, litigation, poor financial planning, non-essential items (e.g., cable TV, credit card payments, expenses related to vehicles, etc), bail, garnishments, or other expenses deriving from non-emergency situations.
The HERO Fund does not cover requests for medical assistance (except for the purchase or replacement of medically necessary equipment), fuel costs for vehicle or home heating use, or any situation not based on a one-time, non-recurring incident.
Eligibility Requirements
- I am an active employee of either Hamra Management, Wendy’s of Missouri, Wendys of New England, Wendy’s of Chicago, Chicago Bread, Boston Bread, Southern Bread, Hamra Noodles or SJH Inns.
- Relocation Assistance (RAP) and Eviction Prevention events ONLY: I have been an active employee at Hamra for 90 days.
- Eviction Prevention: The employee must be listed on the lease agreement.
- I have exhausted all other appropriate means of assistance.
- The hardship
- Is unexpected and beyond my control
- Is damaging to property or individuals, results in a loss of life, health or property.
- Provide relevant documentation prepared by a third party (see below for required documentation)
These are general eligibility guidelines. For more detailed information about applying for a HERO grant, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document or contact the HERO Fund Admin Team. Guidelines are subject to change without notice.
Events Eligible for Assistance
Total Loss of Home
| Eligible Event: | Employee’s home is destroyed or deemed unlivable by a governmental agency and alternate housing is not available. For instances of natural disaster, see appropriate guidelines. |
| Amount of Grant: | Up to $2,000 for temporary housing and essential items (food, clothing, personal hygiene items, etc.) |
| Required Documentation: | A copy of official report or notification, photographs, insurance claim, receipts for essential items and/or lodging receipts or summary with estimated cost. |
Transitional Housing Assistance
| Eligible Event: | Physical or sexual abuse of employee or employee’s dependent(s) resulting in employee’s need to relocate his/her personal residence to avoid continued abuse. |
| Amount of Grant: | Up to $2,000 for relocation assistance (temporary housing, deposits, etc.). |
| Required Documentation: | A police report or case number, or a statement from attending physician; receipts or confirmations for temporary housing; deposit on new residence or letter from landlord stating deposits required to secure housing. |
Relocation Assistance
Please note: If approved for Relocation Assistance, the employee must be listed on the lease agreement of the housing they are relocating to.
| Eligible Event: | Transitional Housing to Permanent Housing: An employee is currently living in a shelter or in their vehicle; An employee is transitioning from a Sober Living Facility to permanent housing; An employee is transitioning from a work-release facility, county facility or halfway house |
| Amount of Grant: | Grant amounts dependent upon geographical region. See downloadable Eligibility Guidelines for more information. Please note: If approved for a relocation assistance grant, the money will be paid directly to the landlord. |
| Required Documentation: | Final eviction or foreclosure notice and documentation showing amount needed to move into new living situation; any deposit, first month and/or last month’s rent required. |
| Eligible Event: | Displacement due to unforeseen sale or foreclosure of rental property initiated by a third party; Employee is forced to find a new living situation in 90 days or less due to the unforeseen sale or foreclosure of rental property initiated by a third party. |
| Amount of Grant: |
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| Required Documentation: | A letter from landlord, notice of foreclosure, notice of sale, and documentation showing amount needed to move into new living situation – including any deposit, first month and/or last month’s rent required. |
| Eligible Event: | Displacement or impending displacement due to unexpected events; Employee has received a final notice of eviction or foreclosure of home directly caused by an unexpected event or events outside the control of the employee resulting in financial hardship. An “unexpected event” could be, but is not limited to, loss of a household income due to the death, disability, medical reasons, or loss of work of a household financial supporter. |
| Amount of Grant: | Grant amounts dependent upon geographical region. See downloadable Eligibility Guidelines for more information. Please note: If approved for a relocation assistance grant, the money will be paid directly to the landlord. |
| Required Documentation: | Final eviction or foreclosure notice and documentation that supports the unexpected event or events and documentation showing amount needed to move into new living situation; any deposit, first month and/or last month’s rent required. |
Eviction Prevention
Please note: To be eligible for an Eviction Prevention grant, the employee must be listed on the lease agreement.
| Eligible Event: |
Employee is in immediate danger of being evicted and has not previously received an eviction prevention grant. The reason for eviction is due to an unforeseen one-time event out of the employee’s control which causes an unexpected financial hardship. The employee must show they can afford their rent once grant has been provided, as verified by the WorkLife Navigator they are working with (otherwise, it would be considered for a Relocation Assistance Grant). |
| Amount of Grant: |
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| Required Documentation: |
Final late rent notice or eviction notice; Copy of lease agreement; Documentation for unforeseen one-time event causing financial hardship.* *Whether the documented event is considered one-time, unforeseen and uncontrollable is at the discretion of the HERO Steering Committee and/or Board |
Loss or Purchase of Medically Necessary Equipment
| Eligible Event: | Employee or employee’s immediate family member requires specific medical equipment per physician’s orders that is either: (1) not covered under the employee’s medical plan; or (2) exceeds the allowed amount under the plan. |
| Amount of Grant: | Up to $1,000 for purchase or replacement of equipment. |
| Required Documentation: | A statement from the attending physician describing need for the equipment, receipt or estimated cost for replacement or purchase. |
Not Under Guidelines:
*In most instances, grants are permitted only under the circumstances described above. The board reserves the right to review all applications and evaluate them on a case-by-case basis and to approve a grant outside of these guidelines based on severe financial need.
Medical Out of Work (short term & long term)
| Eligible Event: |
(1) Employee or employee’s spouse is deemed unable to work per a physician due to an unexpected illness or medical emergency (2) Employee’s immediate family member requires care by a physician for more than three days due to an unexpected illness or medical emergency. |
| Amount of Grant: | 50% of the employee’s or spouse’s gross weekly pay (based on average weekly pay over last 6 months and after sick and vacation time is used), subject to the following limits:
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| Required Documentation: | A statement from the attending physician verifying inability to work and/or any restrictions to include when the leave began and the estimated duration. Applications benefiting an employee’s spouse also require a letter from the spouse’s employer detailing their rate of pay and confirming that the spouse has taken a leave of absence due to a medical out of work situation. |
Emergency Travel
| Eligible Event: | Need for an employee, employee’s spouse and/or employee’s dependent children to travel: (1) to care for an immediate or extended family member in an emergency medical situation (2) to make final visit to a terminally ill immediate or extended family member or (3) to attend funeral for or to escort a critically ill immediate or extended family member to a remote medical facility or hospice. |
| Amount of Grant: | Up to $2,000 for transportation and lodging expenses. |
| Required Documentation: | A statement from the attending physician or hospice facility regarding terminal status, need for remote facility or need for care including duration; death certificate and/or Obituary for funeral. Estimated distance in miles (if traveling by car) and itinerary of trip; receipt or confirmation including estimated cost (if traveling by airplane, bus, or train), and/or lodging receipts or confirmation including estimated cost. |
Funeral Expense
| Eligible Event: | (1) Employee is directly and primarily financially responsible for paying the funeral expenses of an immediate or extended family member (2) Employee’s family member is directly and primarily financially responsible for paying the funeral expenses for the employee to include: 3) An employee who had 10 or more years of service, who has been out of work for no more than 6 months, and who was not terminated for misconduct. |
| Amount of Grant: | Up to $1,000 for funeral expenses of an immediate family member; up to $2,000 for the funeral expenses of an employee. |
| Required Documentation: | A statement from the funeral home indicating financial responsibility and total cost of funeral expenses. |
*Every application is required to submit documentation that supports their story. The HERO Fund Administrator will work with the applicant to determine proper documentation for the situation.
Natural Disaster Relief
See separate guideline for these special circumstances.
Matching Grant
| Eligible Event: | Employee has a need for assistance that does not meet eligible grant criteria (described in Items 1-7) and coworkers have raised funds to help fulfill the employee’s need. Fundraisers should be approved through the proper channels of each market and are not associated with The HERO Fund in any way. It is preferred that the employee first apply for and be denied a HERO grant. NOTE: An applicant cannot receive a HERO grant and matching funds for the same event. |
| Amount of Grant: | Match of team funds raised, up to $500 per event. Only one grant is permitted per each eligible event, regardless of the number of fundraisers held. |
| Required Documentation: | A complete Matching Grant application signed by the GM and employee certifying the amount raised by coworkers at the place of business along with copy of money order or cashier’s check given to employee in the amount of funds raised. |
Note:
“Immediate family member” is defined as an employee’s parent, sibling, child, including those in a “step” relationship; spouse; or same gender domestic partner.
“Extended family member” is defined as an employee’s grandparent, mother/father in-law, or brother/sister-in-law, including those in a “step” relationship.
“Dependent” follows the definition set forth in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code. Generally, the following may be classified as dependents, subject to additional criteria (please see Section 152 for more information): children (by birth, marriage, or foster care), siblings (blood, adopted, or by marriage), or other relatives materially supported by the employee.