The phones are ringing and emails piling up as people contact charities to help during the holidays. While it’s encouraging to see so many thinking of others — and we are grateful for extra help! — my heart is heavy with the annual reality that poverty continues in January and February and March and….
In our immediate service area of Cobb and Cherokee counties, more than 105,000 live at or below the poverty level. Last year alone, MUST served 31,000 people in need and 18,300 were children. Like all charities, we struggle to figure out ways to engage people all year. We have hungry people to feed, unemployed men and women to assist in their job searches, children who need summer lunches, school clothes to supply, interview clothing to distribute, job training to host, housing to provide and homeless shelter beds to open.
Few people realize how much poverty exists in some of our most affluent counties. The homeless are often invisible, living in the woods or in cars Did you know Cobb County has about 2,000 documented homeless children who are school age? And many more who are younger. A living wage in Cobb is more than $17 an hour, a difficult job level to find.
One of our clients lost his job after teaching for eight years. He and his wife, both with college degrees, were suddenly without his income. They have two young children and were helping care for a relative with cancer. They came to MUST for groceries, Christmas gifts for their children and encouragement. Christmas can be a dark time for some people and MUST is there to help bring help and hope. Fortunately, this family is now back on their feet and moving forward again, but their experience is not unusual. More than half of our homeless shelter clients have some college education. A difficult economy has shifted the population now living in financial insecurity. Suburban poverty is the fastest growing segment of financial instability.
When the Christmas trees come down and the leftovers are gone, those living in poverty are still trying to reach stability. And faithful agencies are still trying to help transform lives. We just need volunteers and donors who want to walk alongside of our clients in need, extending a hand up to their neighbors in need.
As we face the new year, won’t you join me in taking on the crusade to help others…. this month, and every month?
