Many seek help in faith, charities in tough times

By Jon Moffett

Some Valley residents turn to religion to cope with economic uncertainty.

YOUNGSTOWN — In these tough times, while people may be losing faith in the economy, faith in religion — and humanity — is being restored.

“Hard times in the world are usually good times in the church,” said Steve Sparling, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church on Front Street. “Tough times makes us grab hold of what is really important in life: faith, family and friends.”

And while people across the country continue to lose jobs and benefits, many are seeking renewal. The Rev. Mr. Spalding said people are turning more toward religion and its meanings to get them through the hard times.

“Since God is God, it doesn’t matter what the economy is,” Mr. Sparling said. “He brings life out of death, which is what the Easter message is all about.”

But church isn’t the only place people are going for help.

Local agencies are aware of the increasing need and are working to fulfill them.

“We’ve seen a huge increase of people coming in, and we’ve seen a major increase in new people,” said Maj. James Foley, area coordinator for the Salvation Army.

“We served 62,000 meals last year,” he said, noting a consistency in the people needing aid.

Foley estimated a 30 percent increase in people coming in for services in the past six months.

“There’s at least a third more if I look at the crowd now,” Foley said.

Bob Hannon, president of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, said the numbers of people coming in aren’t as surprising as the type of people.

“We’ve had people that have given us money before who now need our services, which is unbelievable,” he said.

Both Foley and Hannon agreed that the demographic of people seeking aid has changed over recent months. A surprising number of middle-aged men have stopped in or called requesting help. That has not been the cast in recent years.

Duane Piccirilli, executive director of Help Hotline, acknowledged that trend, saying the center has received an influx of calls from men looking for help.

Cathy Grizinski, Help Hotline associate director, said calls traditionally had been interpersonal in nature: relationships, work, etc.

“But we are starting to see little hints of employment issues cropping up, even ahead of alcohol and drug problems, which is unusual,” she said. “I think as people’s financial pictures begin to dwindle, we’re seeing longer calls, more difficult problems and problems that won’t be resolved in a matter of a few days.”

She added some people are grasping for new ideas and are willing to try resources they had not previously considered, like Help Hotline. During the winter, some people who required assistance also asked how they could help others in need.

Mr. Sparling also has noticed an increase in “those who have never thought they would need to come and get some help.”

“I definitely saw an increase when gas was $4 a gallon, and now there are people who have lost their job and income is really slow,” he said.

Mr. Spalding said the church is in close contact with multiple area agencies like the United Way and Salvation Army. And when the church cannot offer specific assistance, it can provide the number to an agency that can.

As well as offering prayers and blessings, Mr. Sparling said his church does all it can to offer material support to those in need. The church offers as much financial assistance to people as they can and will offer a clinic later this month to people who have little or no health coverage.

Mr. Sparling has considered participation in Angel Food Ministries, a national food program that offers low-cost food relief. He explained it as being able to get about $60 to $75 worth of food for $30 to $35.

The most important thing the church and other agencies can offer is hope, the pastor said.

“Faith changes your focus,” he said. “If someone doesn’t have faith in a time like this, they’re going to be looking at the ground a lot, so they’re going to miss a lot of opportunities. Faith causes us to raise our eyes up.”

jmoffett@vindy.com

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