'Tis The Season

Charities in the Warsaw area are reporting requests up and donations down this year as they head into the holidays, their most demanding season.

"This summer the financial and food contributions hit rock bottom," said Marty Courtney, director of Combined Community Services.

Because of recent community efforts to collect canned goods, she said, the CCS pantry is full but financial donations are still down.

One of the hardest hit is The Salvation Army, which is reassessing its collection efforts in an attempt to adjust to changing needs and trends.

Ken Locke, community ministries director for The Salvation Army, said the organization is becoming more creative in accepting donations.

"We're re-evaluating how we do things," he said. "We're more willing to take perishable items now, or to encourage in-kind gifts."

"We also get a lot of requests for medications - a lot of people are not on medical benefits and they have a problem with prescriptions," he said.

Welfare reform is one of the largest influences on the number and types of requests charities receive, Locke said. The Salvation Army's clientele, for example, has changed dramatically.

"The traditional welfare person is working now. The traditional welfare person - I don't know where they are anymore," Locke said. "We're now dealing with the working poor."

Community service organizations try to be available to people who need help on an emergency basis, to step into a void only when there are no other choices for the client.

"Basically, the traditional way of doing social work is not the same," Locke said. "We don't want to be a provider for the person but a step on their way to being self-supporting."

The Salvation Army's two priorities are keeping families together and keeping parents employed.

While the charities are changing their approach, the character of their clients is changing across the board.

"The majority of our people work, the majority of our people are married, the majority of our people have children," Courtney said. "They just make low wages and they can't make ends meet."

Because the people who need help are employed, most agencies see fewer repeat clients and more new faces.

"We have so many new ones," said Sheila Hodges, Wayne Township trustee. Township trustees in Kosciusko County can provide "poor relief" in emergency cases. People who request such help must fill out a nine-page application and be willing to have some of their expenses monitored, she said.

CCS sees about 30 new households each month, Courtney said, with fewer repeat or dependent clients.

The Salvation Army still receives approximately the same number of requests, Locke said, but not much repetition.

"We haven't really shifted, but we're seeing new people," he said. "Most new people come in and don't even know where to look for help, don't know about township trustees."

Single parents, especially mothers, are another concern of the agencies.

"We're constantly hearing about people not paying child support - I see the results of that every day," Locke said.

Hodges agreed. "A lot of mothers are not getting child support. A lot of mothers are left out in the cold."

Local charities will need to work together to address changing needs, Locke said.

"There is a lot of interagency cooperation, but I think we're going to have to do more," he said. "There is no quick fix."