Being Sara

Apparently today is a blog action day for Poverty.  I’ve seen my fair share of it, so I figured why not devote a blog post to it?  Whether we notice it or not, poverty is all around us.  For those of us lucky enough not to be overly affected by poverty, it is easy to turn a blind eye to those around us who are suffering.

In my past life as a Child Protection Worker, I saw poverty all the time.  I worked out of the Laconia office in NH, and at that time (I left in 2006), a single mother with 2 children in Laconia had to make $14/hour just to pay rent on a 2 bedroom apartment – that would just cover the rent, not utilities, groceries or transportation.  Needless to say, there were far more struggling families than there were resources to go around.

One of the biggest struggles I saw was transportation.  Even in a relatively populated area such as Laconia, families often found it nearly impossible to get to work, school or doctor appointments without their own car.  Cars are such a huge expense, this frequently became an insurmountable struggle.  And, when parents failed to get their children to school or doctor appointments, Child Protection Workers would swoop in – hopefully to assist in providing resources, but depending on the willings of the family to cooperate, it sometimes ended in a less than desirable situation.

Two years ago when I worked for the State, there were programs available to assist families with everything from food and rent to buying a used car.  I’m sure some of those programs have changed or gone away, but the state does keep a list, for NH, the Department of Health and Human services maintains that information.  A call to your local office can help anyone find an appropriate program.

On the flip side, I discovered that although these programs exist, and many families in need are not aware of them, the more fortunate out there who are willing to donate time, money or goods are also not aware of where their help is needed.  I think every community is different, but I’d be willing to be that most of my frequent readers know of a local school.  Not only are public schools often in need (amazing what budget cuts and do to a paper or pencil supply!) but they are often quite aware of the more needy famililes in the community.  I also find that schools are usually aware of many frequently used resources in the area, and depending on the size of the community, they may even know which agencies need what.

The “Season of Giving” is coming up pretty quickly, and in my experience, it’s the easiest time of year to start giving things.  Food drives tend to pop up all over the place around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I used the food drives as an opportunity to clear out my pantry and donate any of that stuff (keep in mind most food bands can’t accept things that have expired dates – including canned good) that I haven’t used in the past year.  Last year I donated a large stack of baby food that Xander would no longer eat – it’s one of those items that I think gets overlooked pretty frequently, but it’s always needed.  I also like to clean out my clothes this time of year.  As adults, we often get lots and lots of clothes for Christmas.  I know my drawers and closets are over-stuff with things – and lots of things I don’t wear.  While I’d love to sell these to a local thrift store and pocket the cash, instead I leave them for the local community closet – they’ll still get sold, but at a cheaper price, and as a non-profit organization, the community closet also donates clothes to families in need.  There are also tons of Salvation Army stores around and other organizations that will take clothing and other items to either sell or donate to families in need.

At Christmas time there are always organizations looking to collect toys for children.  Often by checking your local paper, you can find the organizations in your area, and how to donate to them.  Every year I try to select at least one family to purchase Christmas presents for.  Also keep in mind that sometimes the only gifts a child receives are the ones you provide, so picking up a toy or two as well as a few articles of clothing is usually a good idea.  We can’t afford to go overboard, but we are fortunate enough to be able to provide for our family, and have enough left over to help out another family as well.

As budgets tighten this year, sometimes donating goods or money isn’t an option for families.  Donating your time can be just as valuable.  Interestingly, our local soup kitchen often finds itself with more help than it knows what to do with.  However there are other agencies in the area who are in desperate need of volunteers.  Local domestic violence crisis centers are often looking for volunteers.  Churches frequently know of area agencies in need.  Local literacy programs, hospitals and elderly care centers are all great places to look for volunteer opportunities.  Some places are happy to have volunteers even if it’s just an hour or two a week.  Others are looking for a more long-term commitment, someone who is willing to go through a training program and commit to a certain amount of hours.  I think volunteering is wonderful, but it’s got to be something that you are willing to donate time to, and something that you are excited or passionate about.

I just read a great article on Frugal Zeitgeist yesterday – asking people to list 10 things they feel good about.  The majority of responses related to family, friends, good health and pets.  I have to agree that my family has a lot to feel good about – I could easily list more than 10 things.  I feel like giving back to my community is important, and I like role modeling this behavior for my son (even if he is too young to understand it at the moment, someday he’ll get it)

So here’s a shout out to Blog Action Poverty Day and hopefully anyone who stumbles across this post will maybe feel inspired to do something to help someone less fortunate…

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