City Employees Reached Out To Thousands Of Struggling Phoenix Business Owners

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

July 1, 2020

When the pandemic hit, a lot of us found ourselves rocked out of our normal routines — working from home, out of work, or figuring out how to do our jobs differently.

By Lauren Gilger for KJZZ "The Show"

That scenario is just where Anita Ponce found herself in mid-March.

She and a team of normally administrative employees at the city of Phoenix found themselves calling all 18,000 business owners operating within the city limits to find out how they could help.

The city is offering resiliency grants to small and microbusinesses in Phoenix, as well as commercial city services bill relief grants.

The city is offering resiliency grants to small and microbusinesses in Phoenix, as well as commercial city services bill relief grants.Ponce and the team have now made more than 15,000 calls, and the stories she’s heard and questions she’s gotten have been memorable.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.