Joyce Anne Davis is not the typical client to come knocking at The Salvation Army’s door.
She has a degree in accounting. She’s 31 years old, and married with two daughters, 12 and 13. And she donates time and money to her church.
But after her family spent a weekend eating cereal and milk, she knew it was time to turn to the charitable branch of the church she’s belonged to since she was a girl.
“When I hit good times again, I’ll give back,” she said.
She illustrates a trend that local relief agencies are seeing as the economy spirals down, and prices for gas, food and utilities spike:
People who don’t usually ask for help are starting to need it.
Joy Henn is a case worker at The Salvation Army in Norfolk, which helps families in need with food, clothing and shelter. She has seen more people during the past few months who have jobs, but still can’t pay the bills. Some have never been inside a Salvation Army office before.
“More than half of the new people I see, the first words out of their mouths are, 'This is the first time I’ve had to ask for help.’ They feel embarrassed, but they have no alternative.”
Other crisis agencies throughout Hampton Roads are seeing the same. Case managers and counselors say those who were barely making ends meet are falling further behind. And some who were doing fine before are finding themselves in financial straits for the first time.
“People we would hear from once or twice a year, we’re hearing from once a month,” said Debbie Mayer, director of clinical services at Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, which helps families in crisis.
She ties some of the increase to the ailing economy. “It’s not like a hurricane where you see the effect right away. It takes time to see it. I think we are starting to see some of it now, and it will increase.”
The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia has fed 47,000 more people this fiscal year over the previous one, and distributed 1.5 million more pounds of food.
A construction worker in his late 40s arrived recently looking for food. He’d been laid off his job, and was surprised when he couldn’t find another one. “He was incredulous that he was in a food line,” said Joanne Batson, CEO for the food bank. “He looked like he was in shock.”
During the first five months of this year, the Salvation Army helped 580 more people than during the same period last year. Of the 5,470 people they helped, 851 were first-timers. Food basket distribution increased by 766.
Davis is usually on the giving side of the Salvation Army – her children played in the charity’s band in Florida – but last week, she drew on the agency’s resources.
Until recently, she worked full time as an accountant in Jacksonville, Fla. Her husband, Michael, was in the Navy Reserve and worked in construction and car repair.
When the economy soured, his work fell off.
Food costs went from $100 a week to $175. The price of gas increased. Their budget got tighter.
So he decided to return to active duty in the Navy, and the couple and their two daughters moved from Jacksonville to Virginia Beach. After paying security deposits, first month’s rent and gas money to get here, they ran dry.
Davis hopes to get a job once her family settles a bit, so a two-income budget can ease things for them.
Many families do not have such opportunities to look forward to. George Harden is vice president of information services at The Planning Council, a Norfolk service organization that connects people in need with resources throughout the community. Harden said the “2-1-1 Virginia” program has seen an increase of about 700 callers during the first six months of this year, compared with last year.
“The thing that is becoming clear is these are people who are employed. Many have tried to get extensions with utilities, but it doesn’t help because their income isn’t growing. They’ve spent their reserve, and they’re moving money from one need to the other.”
Eventually, it all catches up with them.
Norfolk resident Frances Smith is one such person. She drives a small car, a Kia, but when she filled it up last week, the price on the pump read $48.
“I got back in my car, and I started to cry.”
Her 13-year-old son, Jordan, said, 'It’s going to be OK, Mom.’ ”
The 44-year-old mother works full time as an administrative assistant for a recreation service for the military in Norfolk, but lately, the food, gas and housing bills have been more than she can handle.
“It’s depressing,” she said. “I don’t see any relief.”
She’s tried calling agencies, but she makes too much to qualify for many of their programs.
“It’s been bad before, but never this bad.”
Many agencies have limitations either on the amount of money you can make or the number of times you can ask for help in a year.
Betsy Murdock, who directs counseling services at Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, said financial difficulties often lead to emotional and mental ones too. “Financial issues are one of the biggest stressors in a relationship.”
Some people undergoing counseling at that agency are cutting back on sessions because they don’t have gas to get there. Agencies that serve people in need also are feeling the pinch. Donations fall off as companies tighten their belts. Costs of food and gas to transport food and volunteers dip into resources. An increase in requests depletes donated goods and money. “We can’t keep gas cards,” Mayer said. “And the increments we give them in, $25, isn’t getting them very much.”
The ForKids program for homeless families in Hampton Roads has been hit by rising costs to heat and cool its six facilities, which include an emergency shelter and transitional housing. The agency also needs gas for six vans that help residents find jobs, and food to feed 60 to 70 children and their parents every day.
The lull in job growth means people making the transition from emergency shelter care to transitional care are having a hard time finding a job. The agency has extended their deadlines for people to get a job from two weeks to a month.
Shelley Craft, a 34-year-old mother of three, for instance, has been looking for work since she was laid off from a restaurant in April. “There’s nothing out there.”
The emergency shelter is more expensive to staff, so that’s also been an added cost at ForKids. But rather than make cutbacks to services, the agency is trying to find ways to raise more money.
“This is when we are needed the most,” said executive director Thaler McCormick. “It’s not the time to let down our efforts, but to redouble them.”
Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com
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I agree
I agree, and have to admit it was my thought also, I didn't spend as much time doing the research that I should have. Thanks for you input.
Georges let me make it clear
Democrats don't have as much money on a whole than republicans so technically they can't contribute equally! You can't get water from a rock!
I guess you didn't read
I guess you didn't read my previous post about being suprised and disappointed to hear the Republicans donate more than Democrats do. I do hope there is a way to get this turned around, and both parties are making donations, contributions to relief charities.
Georges
My wife and I typically donate about a $1000 a year to charities. Look at it in this context, the RNC raises more money than the DNC so it appears that Republicans have more disposable income than bleeding heart liberals! There is a website where you can look up all the contributions to a political candidate or party and you'll see a lot more republican contributions of $2500 and more!
(D) VS (R)
Generally . . .
Democrats want the government to provide social programs.
Republicans want social programs to be handled by the private sector.
That's just the way it works. Good luck getting republicans and democrats to agree on much. If I say it is raining georges will say no it's not - not here. That's just how things are. (No offense to other posters named georges)
Donations
There is another dimension to donations--communities taking care of their own. Traditionally, that was the churches, synagogues, etc. People who belong to these communities often do turn to them in need and find them to be supportive. People who choose not to attend need to find other communities to be supportive in the same way. My atheist nephew has a "film aficionado" community he spends time with and feels quite confident that they would help each other in a crisis.
We give a sizable proportion of our money to our church and its missions activity. That includes help for any of our members who fall behind through no fault of their own (or even if it is their fault but they are willing to be counseled as to how to avoid that in the future). This way, we know our money is being used wisely, as we vote on projects we fund. We don't tend to give as much to the "anonymous faces" around us as we never know ho
Joanie
Your reference to who donates more is really disturbing, and when I asked the question of who donates, I didn't expect much of a reaction and as you see I didn't get mamy. Everyone kinda shut up on the issue. My family also tries to do it's share, but I'm very disappointed that other Democrats don't. Let's hope that gets turned around, not to who is the winner, but hopefully at least equallly.
That study...
...Joanie...I was going to throw down the BS flag on that one, but I did a little googling and found that Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, published "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism" claiming just that.
Interesting!
Georges
Between my spouse and myself we contribute about $2,000 - $2,500 per year to charity. Some money comes straight from our paychecks to the United Way and other money goes to our church for their community outreach programs.
I recently saw an interesting article in the Washington Post where they did a study and found that even though liberals make more money than conservatives, conservatives gave 30% more to charity than liberals. You guys may have bleeding hearts, but you sure do have tight fists.
How much have you donated
How much have any of you donated to the Salvation Ary, Food Banks and the like to help the relief agencies meed the needs of others? Anyone care to comment??
George...
Can't take a little back at cha? Surely, conservatives on this site are much more toned down than the obvious liberals.
c.b.
You might want to take a look at your own comment before you call Democrats as the ones doing the insulting. Don't you think?
Lower Taxes
If we paid less tax, maybe people with good jobs would have more money to give the chairties. The Salvation Army is much better suited to give a hand up instead of welfare giving a hand out.
Property values jumped 20% a year and property tax kept rising, the cities get used to the new income stream and don't want to tighten the belt like we have to. Have you ever heard of a city worker getting laid off?
Good luck to those who need help, things will get better.
yawn...
Forget Bush and Clinton. We'll have bigger problems if NObama gets elected. If that day come we will truly see a miracle.... The blind leading the blind.
RE: what will happen
"George Bush isn't the President anymore?"
We will continue to blame him for his mistakes the same way Republicans contine to blame Bill Clinton.
The lower class right has been duped again
The answer to your question is no, yellow cake uranium doesn't qualify as a weapon of mass destruction.
It was part of bush's lie. He claimed Saddam was trying to sell it to Niger in exchange for a nuclear weapons program. You must remember that lie. bush outed a CIA agent for exposing it.
Yellow cake uranium is commonly used in a nuclear reactor to produce electricity but Saddam's stash wouldn't even make a decent "dirty bomb."
I know that your puppet master, Rush Limbaugh, recently exhorted you blue collar fools to ask this question - the conservative elite is very clever about mobilizing its lower working class flunkies - but you just got duped again.
Imagine believing that weapons of mass destruction have been In Iraq all along and the bush administration just forgot to mention it. bush is an idiot but not nearly as dumb as anyone who would believe this lie.
To jermainew72054
Well I guess the yellow-caked uranium that was found in Iraq and has been removed doesn't qualify as a "weapon of mass destruction", but with the right know-how, you could build one. The fact that our aircraft was fired on in the "No-Fly" zones was an ACT OF WAR notwithstanding, I guess you also forgot that Iraq had missles they were not supposed to have under the Gulf cease-fire, huh?
Sure, oil is high and everyone is hurting, but those who used their houses as ATM's and now owe more than they're worth is all the President's fault, too, huh?
At least if Obama wins, you'll be just as broke but at least Obama will go after the "rich" and tax them on your behalf, not that you'll benefit at all....
Get a life
Impeach Bush
for incompetence, let's see a senseless occupation of Iraq, that has cost us billions, losing oil production and costing us at the pump, a nonexistent domestic agenda that let bank regulation run wild with the mortgage crises, hurricane Katrina fiasco, a slower economy while he bails out Bear Stearns, Sept.11,2001 and we still don't have the resources for our military to find Bin Laden, but they found Saddam in a cave go figure!
What will happen when...
George Bush isn't the President anymore?
All of you pathalogical Bush-Haters will probably self-destruct for lack of someone to direct your unreasonable, unmittigated hatred towards....
Our Gubment
Is about War,War,War and bailing out big banks like Bear Stearns instead of keeping an eye out on domestic issues like our economy, we are running a deficit, while Iraq has a surplus!
Sad and not surprising
It's becoming a sad reality of life, and many people are faced wih the same dilemma. The price of everything has gone up, and those prices won't come back down. I've said before, today's middle income can easily become tomorrows homeless. We've gone through a history of over spending on over priced homes, vehicles, etc and with the economy as it is, it's not surprising how many will suffer. Reality has a way of catching up with you. Absolutely cut out the "wants", but people buy out of want far over "need". Let's face it, it's become the American way. Look at our govrnment, and our deficit. They are all about spend, spend, spend, with little thought of the consequences.
ashleym90912
Excellent clarification, Ashley! My intent was to define 'needs' from 'wants' and I did not do a very good job.
Good Luck
When we had a medical emergency it put our already tight budget into an emergency situation. We were eating peanut butter sandwhiches and ramen for the better part of three months while struggling to make ends meet. We ended up borrowing about $800 from family members on top of the $900 we had combined from the stimulus checks that finally allowed us to get back on our feet. We still have medical bills looming over us but at least the darkest part of things are past us. We took up a boarder for the summer to bring in a little more cash. We use the internet for our sole entertainment now as we don't go out to eat or to the movies anymore. We're struggling despite me having a good job so I can't imagine the troubles of those in more volatile fields. I would move away from Hampton Roads if I could afford to but unfortunately my house is not worth as much as I owe on it anymore.
Giving up wants...
I agree with giving up wants in order to have needs for your family. My husband and I have already talked about things that will go if things get to that point with us. What will be 1st, 2nd, etc. Now the cell phone thing, some people have to have that. My girlfriend doesn't have a house phone because it is actually cheaper for her to have her cell phone than for her to have a house phone. She has a plan that doesn't cost much and it's plenty of minutes for what she needs. When she looked into getting rid of it for a house phone it was going to cost her more so she didn't do it. Just like my husband, we have looked into making changes on other things and doing so would have cost us more and so you have to be careful becuase what you think might be cheaper, really isn't.
I hope the people in this
I hope the people in this story are able to find a job soon. It is also refreshing to see that the people in this story are going to private organizations rather than the government for help.
ADAPT
Suggestions;
1) Take a bus instead of a car
2) Take the teens out of myspace, take them to apply for a job
3) Cut internet, junk food, cable TV to "basic", no more PPV
One has to adapt to the changing times. Playing the lottery and praying for riches will never cut it.
Not enough meat in this story.....
Yes, times are tough, but I expected a little more 'meat' to this story. What the article doesn't mention in any of these cases are the monthly expenses they can do without until their situations get better (cell phones, cable tv, etc.). As for the waitress who got laid off (in the middle of summer?), sorry, no sympathy here.....there are LOTS of food service jobs available. If you have a job or even two jobs, you have to make due and live within your means.....that means being flexible and giving up your 'wants' so you can have your 'needs'.
Lack of planning
some who were doing fine before are finding themselves in financial straits for the first time.
Those who were just barley getting by have a valid reason. Those who simply refused to make any preparation for hard times even though they had the means should not be able to receive any assistance. Save it for those who didn't have a choice.