Making Ends Meet, Part 5: Aid groups seeing growing demand from first-time visitors

Layoff announcements are usually a shock. When the Salvation Army lays people off just as the demand for services is soaring, the effect of the recession comes sharply into focus.

In the last year, Maj. Ben Stillwell, commander of the Cape Girardeau Salvation Army office, has closed the thrift store in Chaffee, Mo., and cut overall staff from 22 to 15. Meanwhile, the monthly demand for help has increased, as much as 50 percent for family services and, in the case of food pantry orders, as much as doubled. Letting those employees go was hard but necessary to match expenses with restricted budget, Stillwell said. Most were part time, but it still hurt, he said. The move helps keep money available for emergency aid.

"No one, none of us, thought things were going to turn out this way," he said. "It is terrible, but it is the truth. I think there were feelings that things were going to be difficult, but I don't think anyone recognized the scope, breadth or width of the economic crisis in our city, state, country or the world."

A significant number of people seeking help are first-time visitors, Stillwell said. In November, there were 537 new family aid cases opened at the Salvation Army office on Good Hope Street, a 61 percent increase over the year before. "Some of the folks have been donors in the past and they never thought they would be in this position," he said.

Across the spectrum of service agencies, the answers are the same. The demand for crisis help is escalating and the number of first-time requests for assistance surprises agency directors. The demand is fueled by rising unemployment.

From July to December, the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased 80 percent in a 10-county area of Southeast Missouri. Across the 28-county 8th Congressional District, unemployment in December was 8.9 percent, up from 6.3 percent a year ago. In Cape Girardeau, the unemployment rate hit 6.6 percent in December, up from 5.2 percent a year earlier. That is nearly 300 more people without jobs.

As the jobless numbers grow, more people must learn how to find the help that can put a good meal on their table, secure a place to live or keep their power on. And as they contact those agencies, they are also learning how to obtain long-term aid that will sustain them until the economy improves.

To recognize the growing need, the United Way of Southeast Missouri is in the midst of a Basic Needs Fund minicampaign to support urgent services. The campaign, which ends Saturday, has raised almost $12,000, said Nancy Jernigan, director of the United Way.

The Basic Needs Fund was established when it became clear the United Way's regular annual effort would fall short of its $1.275 million goal. The annual campaign ends in March, and the fund is $100,000 short of the goal.

"Everything we do is about strengthening families," Jernigan said. "When you have a big jump in basic needs, that is where you start. You can't think about getting a child through high school or more training unless you are meeting the basic needs of food and shelter."

One agency supported by the United Way is First Call for Help, which also receives support from local governments, the Community Caring Council, Southeast Missouri Hospital and the Missouri Foundation for Health. The agency, which has been in existence 10 years, serves Cape Girardeau County and the four adjacent counties in Missouri.

More seeking rent help

In both 2007 and 2008, First Call for Help received more than 2,000 requests for financial assistance. But the mix changed, with the number of people seeking help paying their rent going up 42 percent while requests for utility aid fell. Director Denise Wimp said the shift could be a result of callers who learned where to find utility aid who now need help to stay in their homes.

Finding money to help someone faced with a choice such as paying their rent or paying for a car repair is a challenge, Wimp said. The best source she has found for rental assistance, Wimp said, is the limited help area churches and ministerial alliances provide.

"One gap is rental assistance. There is very little in the way of rental assistance, and it is probably the hardest thing to find help for," she said.

First Call for Help seeks to provide comprehensive help, Wimp said. "We do what we call case assistance," she said. "In many cases, the person is going to need help walking through the process, so we make calls on their behalf and check out resources ahead of them."

The deteriorating economy means Wimp expects the demands on her agency to increase. "People who have previously been self-sufficient and managed on their own suddenly aren't," she said.

A federal program called Section 8 subsidizes rent, but there are more people on the waiting list than receiving help in the 10 counties served by the East Missouri Action Agency, executive director Bill Bunch said. The waiting list, which has 2,000 names, is closed. The last time new names were accepted was February 2008, Bunch said. The agency does have limited funds for one-month emergency rent or mortgage payments, but the number of people helped is about 50 each year.

The action agency also runs the federally funded energy assistance and energy crisis intervention programs. This winter, the agency had processed 7,543 applications for energy assistance as of Feb. 13, compared to 7,866 through the end of March 2008. Bunch expects up to 9,000 people to apply this year.

An 'unreal' number

The agency has other services and has handled 3,166 requests for help from new clients since Oct. 1, Bunch said. The Park Hills headquarters is next door to the county career center, he noted. "The number of people applying for unemployment is unreal. It is getting kind of scary, and we are seeing a huge increase."

Another collaborative agency that can help in a housing crisis is the Cape Girardeau Community Caring Council. The agency receives an annual grant from the Missouri Housing Development Commission that can assist renters in paying the deposit on a new apartment. The program has income limits and the money available this year is $30,000 less than two years ago, said Roy Jones, housing coordinator for the council.

That means trying to make the dollars stretch just as more people need help, Jones said. "The reality is that a lot of folks are insecure about their future."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

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