Needs of homeless now greater than ever
Posted : Nov 24, 2009 4:23 PM
Updated: Nov 24, 2009 7:46 PM
A drive along Cimmaron and I-25 these days is a sobering one. Rows and rows of homeless are camping out on the water front. It's an unfortunate sign of the economic times. "We began to see it last March." Explains Catholic Charities CEO Jason Christensen, "That was the harbinger of the economy going down. People have really been hurting for about a year and a half."
The Marian House on Bijou used to serve about 400 meals a day. Now that has jumped to around 650. But at the end of the month it's even bigger as evidenced by the number of people camping out in Colorado Springs. "It's not uncommon for us to serve 800 meals towards the end of the month." says Christensen, "Those lines are getting bigger and they're getting longer."
And who is the most in need may surprise you. "Certainly a number of homeless have been rolling through the soup kitchen. But it's also a number of families and working poor. About 65% of our guests at the soup kitchen are working poor." says Christensen. With those families comes another heartbreaking reality. "Unfortunately there's a lot of fresh faces that are walking into the soup kitchen." Christensen says, "Perhaps the most tragic matter is the number of children. In the last year we've seen the number of meals served to children double."
The need doesn't stop in the soup kitchen. The Marian House routinely distributes about 10,000 jars of baby food to single mothers. Right now they have literally 10 jars on the shelf. That's something to remember as you do that last minute thanksgiving shopping.
Bill at Nov 24th 2009 7:25 PM
I was touched by the story on the homeless-especially the baby feed needed. Do you have any information on special needs in the baby food and how do we get it to the right source if we want to contribute.
Thanks.
Kate at Nov 24th 2009 10:05 PM
Thank you for covering the story of homelessness. In the past couple of years, this has become a story that needs to be focused on year-round but it is especially important as the cold winter months bear down. I urge folks who can to donate their time to help stock food pantries and to donate food.