Monday, September 29, 2008
Editorial: Hard times call for big hearts
It's only wise to cut costs in a poor economy. But this is just when the number of people in need grows. Help them if you can.
From the RoundTable blog
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With bad economic news piling on top of bad economic news, the times are uncertain even for those able to pay all their bills. The prudent are trying to save against the possibility of harder times ahead.
But with homeless shelters and food pantries in the Roanoke Valley and beyond reporting unusually high demand even before the winter cold hits, it's apparent that for some, hard times are already here.
Those who are able should give, and generously, to at least one of the area's many well-established nonprofits that shelter the homeless, feed the hungry and help people with emergency aid to get them through a crisis.
The Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank in Salem reports shelves that are "really bare compared to a year ago." That's a sign of widespread want to come because Second Harvest acts as a clearinghouse that distributes food donations to programs in 26 counties across the region. And the Roanoke Rescue Mission, which always has its welcome mat out for homeless individuals and families, already is putting sleeping mats on the floor.
No one is certain just why they and other nonprofits that serve the poor are seeing a surprising increase in demand.
The Roanoke Valley's Continuum of Care group, which does strategic planning to address homelessness in the valley, surveys the homeless population every January to get a sense of the underlying causes and people's needs. The group is considering a more informal survey sooner if the number keeps growing -- a good idea.
But a look at Friday's business page suggests some possibilities. As the crisis on Wall Street dominates the front page, an Associated Press story on a back page charts national trends having an immediate, and likely related, impact on communities:
"Weekly jobless claims surged to the highest level in seven years, durable goods orders took a bigger-than-expected tumble and new home sales plunged to the slowest pace in 17 years, according to government data released Thursday."
When the economy turns sour, among the first victims always are people in low-paying jobs who are able to make it from paycheck to paycheck when all goes as planned, but have nothing left over to put aside. Sometimes their crises are at least partly of their own making. Sometimes not.
An illness or a car breakdown represents not only an unexpected bill. These kinds of setbacks can cause people to lose low-end jobs.
Less censure and more charity are called for in times such as these.
