Need help? Hot line aid abounds for those in needSFlb

By Jon Moffett

A Cortland family struggles through the holidays.

CORTLAND — All Krista Miller wanted for Christmas was a little peace of mind.

Just a week ago, the 20-year-old Cortland resident, faced with layoffs of her ex-husband and current boyfriend and fearful of empty stockings, authored a letter she sent to media outlets and others expressing an all-too-common plea in recent months:

“With no unemployment coming in and no chance of finding another job, it is getting harder every day to pay even the smallest bill. I just want to know if there is any hope for any of us in these times?”

Both her ex-husband, Josh, and current boyfriend, John Owsley, had been laid off from the KraftMaid Cabinetry plant in Middlefield, leaving Miller, employed at US Bank in Warren, to be the sole income supporting her and her 2-year-old son, Caiden.

Pictures of Caiden adorned the wall behind the love seat of her Cortland apartment last week as she stared blankly at an artificial Christmas tree in her living room and the vacant area beneath it.

“I want my child to be able to have Christmas,” Miller said.

Like other laid-off workers in the Valley and throughout the country in recent weeks, Middlefield plant employees were caught off guard, Miller said.

“There was basically no notice, and we were trying to prepare based on rumors,” Miller said.

Kim Craig, director of communications and marketing with KraftMaid, declined to comment on the layoffs.

“We hope and pray,” Owsley said. “It’s got to get worse before it gets better, right?”

The better comes for Owsley next month. He was called back to KraftMaid on Monday and will return to work Jan. 11.

Though Miller and Owsley plan to get by without much additional assistance, some families aren’t as lucky.

Duane Piccirilli, executive director of Help Hotline, said realizing you need help is the first step toward getting it.

“It’s OK to ask for help,” he said. “We all might be in that situation someday.”

The hot line, (330) 747-2696, is an outlet for people to find help, Piccirilli said. He added that the staff can offer places for people to go to for help or to simply talk with people about their situations and to plot the next steps.

Piccirilli said the hot line receives about 11,000 calls each month and experienced a 7 percent increase this month. He added that the service received more than 100,000 calls in 2007.

He has noticed an increase in calls from men, who he said often let their pride prevent them from calling.

“Our calls from men are about equal to those from women, which we haven’t had in the past,” he said. “We’ve really never seen that before, but it’s almost 50-50 this year.”

The hot line also helps people locate services in their area. By using a person’s ZIP code, the staff is able to connect people with necessities, such as food.

“More and more people are finding themselves in need today,” said Mike Iberis, executive director for the Second Harvest Food Bank in Mahoning County. “And in times of need, it’s important for people to know there are places for them out there to help them with food or acquire things they don’t have.”

The food bank donates food to more than 165 pantries in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Iberis said the food bank has seen an increase in the number of people who utilize the service.

“This year we’ve seen approximately an 18 percent increase in the distribution of food,” he said.

He added that some pantries have seen an increase of 40 percent in the number of people coming in, and that the pantries feed more than 9,100 people each week collectively.

The United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley also utilizes Help Hotline.

Tara Mady, the director of marketing for the United Way branch, said, “We get a lot of calls each day from people.”

Along with referring people to the hot line, the United Way offers help with prescription drugs. The FamilyWize Prescription Drug Discount Card program offers free discount cards for pharmaceutical assistance.

Iberis and Piccirilli agreed that the most important thing people should know is that help is out there, and they should not to be ashamed to call.

“They can call the hot line 24 hours a day,” Piccirilli said. “Or they can dial 211.”

jmoffett@vindy.com