LA GRANDE — Old West Federal Credit Union was busy Thursday, Aug. 20, with people lining up to acquire one of the thousands of $500 checks the state government allocated to give to Oregon residents who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 related shutdowns.

State legislators approved the $35 million plan, and checks began to go out on Wednesday. The money was drawn from federal coronavirus relief funds, according to an Oregon Capital Bureau article, and provides the funding to the first 70,000 approved residents.

Bob Kavanaugh, Old West’s business developer and media contact, said there likely were 150-200 people who came through the doors of the La Grande branch Thursday.

“One time I looked out and there were 50 (people outside),” he said.

Individuals in La Grande waited in line for more than an hour Thursday to get inside and apply for the much sought after financial aid.

“It’s going to help with rent. It’s going to help financially. Some of us are in back pay on bills,” said Courtney E. of La Grande. “And food. We’re starving.”

The La Grande woman, who said she’s a single mom with three kids, has had her hours cut in half during the pandemic. She has received help from Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, but still is in a tight place.

“We’re just trying to hang on. Nobody is ahead. We’re behind,” she said. “We’re all struggling.”

Erica G., also of La Grande, also had her hours at work cut in half.

“All of my hours went down,” she said. “You’re down … on everything, trying to survive.”

She pointed to rent and utilities as bills the money would help cover. She added, though, that individuals who still are in a bind financially would greatly benefit from another stimulus check from the federal government.

“They need to get that $1,200 out,” she said. “That would make a huge difference.”

In order to be eligible for the $500, residents have to be 18 or older, provide documents that prove they live in Oregon and attest to financial hardship due to the March “Stay Home, Save Lives” order, earn less than $4,000/month pre-tax before shutdowns, and have missed owed unemployment payments, according to the OCB article.

Kavanaugh said the bank was able to facilitate quick turnarounds for the funds once people were approved.

“Our goal was to facilitate a five-minute interaction. Some went a little bit over,” he said. “For the most part we hit 5-7 minutes per person.”

The applications were filled out in the bank and uploaded to a state website that then processed and approved the claims. Kavanaugh said he wasn’t aware Thursday of any individuals who had their claims denied, and that many were brought to tears by the help they received.

“I saw people and heard their stories. There were people literally in tears thanking us because they could now pay their rent,” he said. “It was incredibly moving. There were many times staff wanted to hug the folks, and with COVID you couldn’t do that.”

An OCB report Friday afternoon said all 70,000 payments had been distributed.