Charities see increase in requests through holiday season

With Christmas fast approaching, some Carson City charities are seeing more people come through their doors asking for help.

"Most families who need our help for Christmas have both mom and dad working minimum wage jobs," Salvation Army Capt. Amanda Mitchell said. "In the last week, more of the calls have been, 'I just got laid off,' 'My hours were just cut.'"

Mitchell said last year, the Salvation Army helped fewer than 300 families provide a Christmas to their families. This year, more than 300 families have requested assistance and can still request help until Christmas Eve, she said.

The Salvation Army provides assistance to anyone who applies and qualifies for their help.

"I see low-income families have to get used stuff all year. They shop in the thrift stores," Mitchell said. "Christmas is the one time of year we can offer them something new."

Part of the reason for the extra need this year stems from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Nevada's jobless rate jumped from 4.3 percent in October 2000 to 6.3 percent in October. Numbers were not available for the November unemployment rate, but Karren Rhodes, spokeswoman for the Department of Employment of Employee Rehabilitation, said the rate "didn't jump dramatically."

Welfare numbers are also up statewide, said Tami Dufresne, state welfare coordinator of research and statistics. Requests for temporary assistance to needy families, a state program providing cash grants, jumped from 21,903 recipients in September to 26,378 recipients in November.

Requests for food stamps climbed to 88,294 recipients in October from 80,706 in September. Numbers are expected to increase in November and December.

"We're definitely attributing that growth to the events of Sept. 11 and the overall declining economy," Dufresne said.

Some of the 16,000 Las Vegas residents who lost their jobs in the wake of the economic slump are showing up in Northern Nevada looking for work and for help.

"We're seeing Las Vegas transplants we haven't see in a couple years," said Reed Robbins, FISH human services supervisor. "They're principally jobless, but some are homeless."

Robbins said Friends In Service Helping has seen a roughly 15 percent increase in the foot traffic coming through their doors. FISH provides not only food, shelter and clothing to about 1,500 people a month, but also acts as the portal for the needy to community services in Carson and Lyon, Storey and Douglas counties.

Robbins said while the service is "quite capable," FISH's program to adopt a child for Christmas hasn't garnered the support it did last year. About 125 children still need people willing to help give them a Christmas.

"Last year, we ran out of children," he said. "This year, we ran out of adopters."

Also, FISH is still in need of donated turkeys to finish filling food baskets. While about 450 baskets were given to needy families last year, Robbins expects about 500 baskets will be needed this year.

"We would like to encourage the continued donation of turkeys," Robbins said. "We can always use cash donations."