Despite Great Recession of ’09, we have reasons for thanks

One can understand why some in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys may look cynically upon today’s national holiday. After all, some would argue, Thanksgiving Day 2009 caps a year in which reasons to be thankful have eluded many. Mounting job losses, lingering poverty and high crime rates are not the stuff of which holiday blessings are made.

What’s more, some would argue, stagnant or falling personal incomes and an ever-rising cost of living have done little to inspire bountiful giving.

In spite of such troubles, reasons remain for most of us to carry out the two-pronged message of this holiday: expressing thanks and giving of ourselves to help others.

Yes, the region has been battered with the loss of thousands of high-paying auto-industry, health-care and public-sector jobs as the Great Recession of 2009 kicked in to high gear. Yes, scores of local businesses have been shuttered, and still others teeter near collapse. Yes, the city of Youngstown still leads the state with its 14-percent jobless rate, and bankruptcies and foreclosures continue at a brisk clip.

Hope amid the gloom

Nonetheless, amid such distress, slithers of hope emerge. The auto industry — the lifeblood of the Valley’s economy — shows signs of acceleration. Employment is up at the GM Lordstown plant, workers there are upbeat over the promise of their new fuel-efficient Cruze product, additional models are reportedly on the drawing board for the plant and the much downsized Delphi Packard is showing signs of stability.

There is hope, too, in other domains. Optimism runs high over the potential of hundreds of new jobs for a proposed $970 million expansion at V&M Star Steel in Youngstown, development and renewal of downtown Youngstown shows no signs of slowing and a new business incubator, modeled after the highly successful Youngstown Business Incubator, is gaining ground in Warren.

In addition, many of us still maintain reasonably comfortable lifestyles for which we owe deep and abiding thanks. But as we do, record numbers of others struggle for basic necessities. Just ask officials at area social service agencies. In testimony before the U.S. Congress last week, Candy Hill of Catholic Charities USA said its Youngstown office is getting 70 calls per day for help with food and utilities, compared with 100 calls per month for such help in November 2008.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley is responding to record appeals for help from the 60,000 people in Mahoning and Trumbull counties who live in poverty.

At the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, 102,839 meals were served to the hungry, and 23,298 people were provided emergency shelter in fiscal year 2009.

Such numbers expose the human toll the economic meltdown of 2009 has cost the region. Such numbers should also serve as a call to action among those of us with the means to help those who have fallen through all available safety nets.

Heed Obama’s message

As President Barack Obama points out in his Thanksgiving 2009 Proclamation, “As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our Nation throughout the year.”

Heed the president’s call by helping those in need in the greater Youngstown-Warren area. Send in a donation to local charitable agencies, call up to volunteer time or ask how you can help in ways small and large. In so doing, we can carry on the selfless ideals of Thanksgiving long after the fourth Thursday of November each year.