A new kind of need

Listen to the calls coming in to the Trident United Way's hot line these days, and you'll quickly learn that this is a different kind of recession.

Many of the callers are middle-class folks struggling for the first time in their lives. They've lost their jobs, burned through their savings and still can't quite believe what is happening.

They are, in short, the very people who used to keep the United Way -- and many other Lowcountry charities -- in business. And now, with the holiday season upon them, they have turned to the very charities they once were able to support.

"The tenor of the calls has changed," said Barry Waldman, vice president of communications for Trident United Way. "Two years ago, it was all people who were chronically poor and didn't know how to go about getting help. And now we get calls from people who had a job, are desperate to get work again and can't believe they are in this situation."

Waldman said it has become a conundrum for nonprofits across the Lowcountry and the nation: The need for their services is reaching record levels while many of the people who once donated to these charities are unable to do so and now need help themselves.

With the state's unemployment rate over 12 percent, more people are struggling to make the rent, pay their utilities and even buy groceries. The Lowcountry Food Bank, which distributes food to many other charitable organizations, has sent out 40 percent more food than it did last year.

"The same people who have been giving to nonprofits now call because they need our assistance," said Jermaine Husser, the food bank's executive director. "It's getting more and more common as people lose their jobs, deplete their 401(k)s. Some of them say, 'Now that I need your service, I see what you do for the community.' "

The economy is having a trickle-down effect, even on those people who are retired and living on Social Security. Lisa Cottingham, vice president of community development for East Cooper Meals on Wheels, said her organization is taking on at least a couple of new recipients every week. Many of these are folks whose families no longer have the flexibility in their jobs to take off and check in on their relatives as often.

Meals on Wheels is delivering to 250 folks daily. And, like most other charities, some of their clients include former supporters.

"It's just started recently," Cottingham said. "I've gotten two or three calls from former drivers for us in the last few weeks. They say they used to deliver meals for us and now need us to add them to the list."

Most charities have, so far, been able to weather this perfect storm. Meals on Wheels has made a commitment to not put anyone in need of food on a waiting list, and the Lowcountry Food Bank is supplying nonprofits struggling to keep up with the demand.

"It is a little scary to know how much demand is up," Husser said, "but I am optimistic we are coming out of the slump. I don't think it's going to be over next year, but we are seeing more and more corporations starting to give again."

The Trident United Way, which estimates unemployment has cost the agency $1 million in donations, is on pace to exceed its $10 million fundraising goal, meaning the charity will raise more money this year than last.

"Even starting $1 million down, we are going to reach our goal," Waldman said. "That is a testament to the people of the Lowcountry."