ALEXANDRIA, Va. — These are tough times for many Americans who have never known real poverty. They are also difficult days for the many charitable organizations — including national and local Catholic groups — who are struggling to keep up with rising demand for services even as their resources grow more limited.

A number of factors are contributing to the increase in demand for basic services, including the sluggish economy and the reluctance of many employers to hire. Many charitable organizations, which are being called upon to help people who previously didn't require assistance, have been hurt by a decrease in donations, state and federal budget deficits, and the ongoing uncertainty of world events.

Catholic agencies are doing their best to help as much as they can as well as increase awareness for the need for more volunteers, donations and help from the government. But the task becomes more difficult with the rise in the number of people who are seeking help.

“Even people who are working full time are falling more and more behind [in paying bills] every month,” said Sharon Daly, vice president of social policy at Catholic Charities USA in Alexandria, Va. “Lots of families with both parents working don't have enough money for food [after paying rent or mortgage and other necessary expenses] and they're bringing their children to eat at soup kitchens. There are people who've always been able to their pay bills who now can't.”

Catholic Charities agencies around the country try to help people understand what benefits they are eligible to receive, such as food stamps, welfare, unemployment insurance and Medicaid. The agencies have an elaborate network of emergency food pantries and they help the homeless find shelter.

“One thing we're doing is trying to get state and local governments and Congress to realize this is not the time to cut programs for the poor,” Daly said. “There should be greater investments for things like the development of affordable housing, food for pregnant women [and] funding for day care programs.”

Catholic Charities is also trying to raise money from individuals and organizations, but donations have been down in large part because of the tough economy.

“A lot of people are not donating the food or money we need,” Daly said. “More than half the agencies reported a decrease in donated income in November 2002 compared with the same month the year before,” the most recent figures Daly had available.

‘New Kind of Poor’

Christene Dykes-Sorrells, director of the emergency assistance department at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, said monetary donations are down “because most people are not where they used to be [financially] because the economy is bad.”

The department, which runs seven emergency centers in the Chicago area, fortunately has not seen a decline in food and clothing donations, Dykes-Sorrells said.

On the other hand, “many people who used to be givers are now coming in looking for services,” she said. “We're seeing a new kind of poor — not the people we're accustomed to seeing but people who are used to making a living.”

The seven emergency centers, which provide food, clothing and shelter, had been serving an average 3,500 people a month before July 1, 2002. Between then and late November 2002, the number increased to 5,000 a month, and a spokeswoman for the Chicago Catholic Charities said the situation has not improved and possibly gotten worse.

The organization's other programs, including a supplemental Food and Nutrition program for the elderly and a Mother and Child Food and Nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children under 6 years old, are also seeing greater demand. The Food and Nutrition program is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is administered by Catholic Charities and other agencies.

Dykes-Sorrells said Catholic Charities is trying to work with other charitable organizations to “maximize the resources we have” and meet the needs of those coming in for help.

“One agency can't take care of everything; it takes several of us working together,” she said.

Other Catholic charitable organizations are also trying to keep up with demand for help and draw in additional volunteers.

“The agencies we work with all have waiting lists,” said Sister Rita Joseph Di Napoli, founder and former executive director of the Interfaith Volunteer Caring Community Faith in Action Program, who now works as an adviser to the group. “Making a quick response [to the needy] is not so easy anymore.”

The program, which serves people in Rockland County, N.Y., helps needy people connect with appropriate agencies. If a need can't be met by an agency the organization tries to provide it directly. Sister Rita Joseph said there are fewer volunteers for several reasons, including the fact that many older people who would be giving their time have gone back to work because they need the money.

Interfaith Volunteer Caring Community Faith in Action Program fortunately has a loyal and hardworking core of volunteers, Sister Rita Joseph said.

“We've been very blessed because we have tapped into people who are very giving and community-minded,” she said. The program is making efforts to draw in new volunteers, such as honoring and bringing attention to current volunteers who have made a difference in the community.

“The people who give are astounding people,” she said. “I think if we communicate more about them and show that they are heroes who are saving the lives of other people and should be looked up to, then others won't be so reluctant to get involved. For those who can give there is a tremendous sense of community.”

Individual parish outreach programs are also facing increased demand for their services at a time when funds are harder to come by.

“Normally we just see local people, but now they're coming from all over the place,” said Ann Druckenmiller, executive director of the Gerald Ryan Outreach center at Our Lady of Miraculous Medals Church in Wyandanch, N.Y., which provides food and shelter for the needy. The center feeds about 400 families and 1,000 persons a month on average.

“We depend on outside sources to keep the pantry full to handle these numbers,” Druckenmiller said, but these sources, such as funding from state agencies, have been declining. It's all the more important, she said, that people who are capable of giving reach out to the needy as best they can.

Bob Violino writes from Massapequa Park, New York.