Helping hand for the holidays: for some, Christmas isn't all that merry

Nov. 22—Colder temperatures — and higher heating bills — along with living up to holiday expectations is an added stress that makes winter a challenging season for many people.

Some of those facing bleak holidays include a single mother who was able to hold things together — until her car broke down.

"She couldn't get to work, lost her job, then she lost her housing," explained Michelle Mull, a social worker with Haywood County Schools. "It's just a downward cycle because she could fix her car. There are these situational things that happen to have ripple effects."

Patsy Davis, the executive director of Mountain Projects, sees the same thing every day.

"There was this mother and her children sleeping in the lobby of the fast food restaurant where she worked," Davis said. "Haywood Pathways Center was full, be we were able to put her in a motel until we found a rental. None of that would be possible without donations."

Those donations are a crucial part of the local assistance network. Although Mountain Projects is a large agency with a multi-million dollar budget, its funds are earmarked for specific purposes, so they can't be used on tires or motel stays for needy families.

Donations go into a general fund that can be used for tires, such as the grandmother who got custody of her grandchildren and had severely worn car tires or the family who lost their rental when the owner decided to use it for a short-term lease.

Davis spoke of an elderly man who had a chronic illness and needed regular medical care but whose car was scheduled for repossession because they had gotten behind on the payment.

"(His wife) was sleeping in the car to keep it from being repossessed because she had no other way to get her husband to the doctor," Davis said.

Thanks to the special donations fund, Mountain Projects helped the couple catch up on payments.

"We count on public generosity to pay for things like medicine, tires, gas or food, temporary lodging or even appliances, which can't be paid for out of our grant funds," she said, noting that gas cards are particularly useful for those who run start between paycheck. "There are a lot of good organizations that do a lot of good stuff. If people have food, shelter and gas in their car, they are so much more blessed than so many in our community. Give it if you got it.

Davis said donations are like a safety stop to keep people from going down any farther.

"One unexpected event can be all it takes to put people in a financial downturn," she said.

Heavy lifting in schools

Mull is involved in many outreach efforts handled through the school system. Letters are sent home advising parents who may need holiday assistance on the multiple ways to apply and is an integral part of the broad community partnership that pulls together to meet the needs.

In addition to the Angel trees, where shoppers can take a card and purchase Christmas gifts for a child, there's the Sugar Plum program operated through the Haywood County Schools Foundation, where elementary students get toys during a special event before Christmas.

There are several programs where children are outfitted for winter, something said is a top request of parents, Mull said. This includes the long-running Santa Pal program facilitated by Smoky Mountain Local 507, which has funds for yet another year to take children on a Walmart shopping spree, and the Clothes for Kids program, which is a boutique-type setting where parents make appointments to receive gently used or new clothing for their children, Mull said.

The school system provides free breakfasts and lunches for all students, Mull said, and also has programs to send backpacks filled with enough food for the weekend that are sent home with students who might go hungry otherwise, as well as an "Angel" fund that will pay for seconds in the lunch line if a student didn't get filled up on the first run-through.

"We are very grateful for any help and assistance we get," Mull said.

Food assistance is essential

Multiple organizations across the county offer food assistance, including the Haywood County Health and Human Services Department, where applications for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are processed.

DHHS Director Ira Dove said he can generally understand whether food insecurity is rising by looking at the numbers served from year to year.

Looking at statistics from October 2022 to October 2023, the number of applications is up, yet the number of individuals served is down, likely because of post-Covid rule and funding changes.

"Recent data on applications suggests that more people are seeking services, indicating a growing concern about their situations," Dove said.

At the Community Kitchen in Canton, Allison Jennings has seen a growing need in the community, not necessarily due to the mill closure but more because of the rising food prices.

Inflation has taken its toll across the board, including food costs for the organization that serves an evening meal, even on the holidays, and provides a food box distribution three times a month.

Families generally get $200-$300 in groceries, depending on availability. Under a federal program grant, the organization gets about 3,500 pounds of food monthly to distribute, "but keep in mind we used to get 10,000 pounds," Jennings said.

That means The Community Kitchen needs to buy more food when donations are down and food prices are considerably higher. So far, the amount of food hasn't had to be cut back, primarily due to grants or other donations.

"Since COVID, volunteers are way down, and so are donations," she said.

Jennings, too, can judge the food insecurity in the community based on the number of boxes distributed and the number of plates served. The bad news is the numbers are on the rise.

"We've served 1,602 families through October and 8,011 plates," she said.For all of 2022, there were 1,758 food boxes given out and 6,851 meals served.

"You can see how the numbers are rising," Jennings said, attributing the cause to inflation more than anything else.