Executive Director Update

On December 18 and 19, Waypoint distributed holiday gifts to over 1,400 women and children.  Countless other families were served during the holidays by other community organizations.  Who are these people and why do they need help, not just at the holidays, but every day throughout the year?

According to a September 2009 U.S. Census there were 39.8 million people living in poverty in 2008, up from 37.3 million in 2007.  An even more startling fact is that women are 35% more likely to be poor than men.  In 2009 Waypoint served several thousand families who needed shelter; food; assistance with navigating the social services system; advocacy and support as a result domestic violence; and/or subsidized child care.  Whether it’s millions or thousands or one, there are faces behind the numbers.

Take for example a woman named “Jane”.  Until April 2009 Jane was working full time.  Two of her children were in the Waypoint child care program and Jane kept them in the centers as long as she could while she looked for a new job.  Eventually, she had to take them out of the program.  That was the last we heard from Jane…until, with Christmas approaching, Jane reluctantly contacted Waypoint’s Family Resource Specialist, who works in our child care division.  Jane was calling to see if she might be eligible to access our holiday gift program for her kids.  She said that she had not been able to find work, but she has been managing.  Thankfully, her unemployment benefits were extended, but she had realized that her financial resources were already stretched to the limit, and it was becoming readily apparent to her that presents under the tree might not be an option.  Terri, the Family Resource Specialist, encouraged Jane to stop over and sign up for the gift program.  When Terri and Jane visited, Terri connected her with the staff at the Madge Phillips Center Daytime Program where she could obtain food and household supplies and speak with a case manager about other resources in the community.

If you met Jane on the street, could you tell if she was “poor”?  Probably not.  Jane most likely doesn’t think of herself as poor.  But right now, she is.  She is a single mother without a job and at some point, if she doesn’t get a job, what will her options be for herself and her children? As the recession has deepened and more people are out of work, there is more demand for services from food banks, free medical clinics, and human service agencies such as Waypoint while at the same time, state and local budgets are being reduced.

Even in the best economic times, there are children in America who go hungry at night. The issue of poverty is one that as a community and a nation, we must address at the policy level.  But in the meantime, Waypoint staff will continue to assist each woman, family, and child, with your generous support. 

Click here to support Waypoint and the families we serve.

http://partners.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?action_donateReport=1&partner=networkforgood&ein=42-0680307

To learn more about poverty in America click on the following web link:

http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_666.html

Print

Email

SHARE: