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Poor Need Help Year-Round

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: December 10, 2008

BRANDON - Provided she gets enough volunteers, Kristin Taylor and others with THORN Ministries are planning an effort similar to their Thanksgiving dinner for the poor on Christmas Day.

"The problem with holidays is there are so many groups out feeding the homeless on those days," Taylor said. "We really need help on our regular Sundays throughout the year. We're seeing more and more people because of the economy. We used to feed 200 people at three locations in Tampa. Now, at the beginning of the month we sometimes feed 400 people."

The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County welcomes help from any volunteer groups. It's predicting a record number of homeless people this year, said spokeswoman Lesa Weikel.

Nearly 23,000 people in Tampa Bay have lost their jobs during the past year because of business closings and layoffs. For residents who were already living from paycheck to paycheck, this year's economic crisis put them on the streets.
Weikel isn't surprised.

To afford a two-bedroom apartment in the Tampa Bay area, a family needs to make $16.35 an hour or $34,000 a year. However, minimum wage is $6.79 an hour. At 40 hours a week, an employee earning minimum wage would make $14,100 a year.

An employee would have to work 96 hours a week, or 21/2 jobs, to afford an apartment. Or someone earning minimum wage working a regular week would have to find an apartment for $352 a month.

During the coalition's last homeless census in January 2007, it counted 9,532 homeless men, women and children in Hillsborough County. The coalition believes that number was skewed because the day of the count was cold and rainy, and many of the homeless had gone into hiding. The estimated number is closer to 11,000.

There are indications that the homeless are gravitating toward the wooded areas in east Hillsborough County.

That's why the homeless coalition and Metropolitan Ministries supported the Greater Brandon Ecumenical Ministries' efforts to open the I Am Hope Cafe soup kitchen at First Baptist Church of Mango on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

I Am Hope Cafe opened in September, and volunteers are feeding about 50 hungry and homeless five days a week.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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