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| November 20, 2008 |
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Weak economy hinders charities, hurts clients
AMY FERRARA SMITH | FC PENSACOLA | Charitable organizations throughout the diocese are feeling the effects of the current economic downturn. As everyone tries to cope with rising prices for fuel and groceries, those on the cusp of financial stability are most at risk. Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida’s Panama City office has seen a decrease in donations and an increase in gas voucher requests. “Donations are down somewhat in addition to funding through a United Way grant that helps support our transitional shelter, Barnabas House,” said Diane Williams, regional director. “We certainly have had more requests for gas vouchers and financial assistance, as well as requests for food and clothing.” Even though, according to Williams, the high gas prices haven’t deterred volunteers from driving to Catholic Charities to help, Williams suspects that it has prevented some clients from driving a long distance in order to seek assistance from the nonprofit organization. Sheila Ryan, the outgoing president of the Tallahassee conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and her counterparts have been questioning a recent decrease in sales. “The sales are down and the traffic (into the store) is down. People are just not coming. It makes me wonder if it is the (high price of) gas,” she said. According to Ryan, St. Vincent de Paul aims to serve a lower social economic group, which, she added, has been the most affected by the recession. And without access to a car in Tallahassee, she continued, the city is difficult to navigate. “(Our store) misses the bus line by about a mile,” she said. The organization recently sold one of its delivery trucks and has put another up for sale. The recession, said Ryan, was certainly a factor in their decision to reduce the size of the fleet. At the Pensacola St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift stores, said Martha Desposito, director of outreach for the society, sales are down at two stores and up at the third. The latter has recently allowed customers to pay with credit cards. St. Vincent de Paul Society also operates the Alfred Washburn Center for the Homeless here. Seven days a week for three hours each day, the center provides meals and care to nearly 120 people, a number that Desposito referred to as “unusually large.” But the society cannot afford to serve that many people every day; they will soon close on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “The price of food has gone up,” she said. “It’s blown our budget.” Clients are also flooding the food pantry at St. Anne Parish in Bellview, which is open two days a week. But, Desposito said that even with the increased prices of food, the pantry remains functional. The parishioners, she said, are helping to support the pantry with financial donations. Manna Food Pantries employees used to make deliveries from Pensacola to their six rural locations once a week. Now they only make the trip once every two or three weeks, taking with them a larger truckload of donations that, they hope, will last until the next travel date. Because of the rise in gas prices and the subsequent increased price of food, Manna and other nonprofit organizations have to re-budget many of their expenses. According to Tim Evans, director of Manna, the organization’s board of directors has begun a “strong initiative to raise funds and to raise reserve funds in the community.” These reserve funds, he continued, are supposed to last for three to six months. The effects of the economic recession on nonprofit organizations have trickled down from the groups’ budgets to the donors’ recent conservative trends. “People are worried about providing food for themselves,” Evans said. “It’s harder to get donations.” And still, the recession’s effects continue to filter down the line to Manna’s clients. “In the last six months since things have gotten bad locally,” said Evans, “I’ve seen an increase in client population.” A single mother recently visited the Family Outreach Center for Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida here, where she told Sandra King, program coordinator of emergency assistance, that if her supervisor lets her off early from work, she does not immediately pick up her two youngest children from day care. She waits until she knows they have been fed. “We’re seeing more people who have traditionally had resources come to our office,” said King. Another female client whom King met maintains two jobs. While she works, her husband stays home with their two young children because they can not afford day care. Even with her incomes, she still needs financial assistance to help pay the power bill. Because of the high gas prices, said King, some of her clients cannot even get to work. If they can’t work, they can’t afford food and basic living expenses. “We’re hearing a different voice now,” she said. CHARITIES IN NEEDCatholic Charities of Northwest Florida Panama City: 850-763-0475 Pensacola: 850-436-6410 Fort Walton Beach: 850-244-2825 Tallahassee: 850-222-2180 Need: Volunteers and financial donations Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida Family Outreach Center: 850-436-6425, www.catholiccharitiesnwfl.org Need: Volunteers St. Vincent de Paul Society: 850-576-6099, www.svdpusa.org Need: Furniture, volunteers and financial donations Manna Food Pantries: 850-432-2053, www.mannafoodpantries.org Need: Breakfast items, particularly powdered milk
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