Florida Catholic | One Woman, two Kids, No Job, No House

One woman, two kids, no job, no house

A caller exemplifies the desperate situation many are facing.

ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FLORIDA CATHOLIC MIAMI BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 07.16.08

MIAMI | The caller sounded desperate, on the verge of tears.

With children wailing in the background, she briefly explained her story: Her husband had given her until the 15th of the month to find somewhere else to live. She had two children – and no work.

Hers was the second such call I had received in the last two months. She asked specifically for me. I don’t know how she got my name. I don’t know why she thought the editor of the Catholic newspaper could help her.

I tried the best I could, giving her the phone numbers of several archdiocesan entities – Catholic Charities, an outreach center sponsored by Corpus Christi Parish in Miami, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

I pray one of them can help her. But frankly, her situation seems overwhelming: young children, no job, and a husband kicking her out of their home.

It’s the kind of situation Victor Martell sees all too often, especially since late last year.

“We are constantly receiving calls from people who have nothing to eat,” said the president of the Miami Archdiocesan Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. “Even I am amazed at the number of people who are coming to us who have no food, no money for rent or are losing their homes.”

Martell said the calls for help have increased an average of 60 percent since last year.

He hosts an hour-long program on Sundays on the archdiocesan radio station, Radio Paz 830 AM, that tries to match callers in need with listeners who can help them.

“Where we used to have one person calling, now we have 10 people calling us for help,” he said. “We have to tell a lot more people that we cannot help them.”

The high price of gas is not making their job easier, Martell said, as it limits the work of volunteers. The hallmark of Vincentians is that they visit the homes of those they help. They also rely entirely on donations: what parishioners put into the “poor boxes” in their churches.

“It’s become endemic,” Martell said of the economic desperation. “If this situation continues, I don’t know where we are going to end up.”

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