(WHAS11) Kentucky’s unemployment rate has taken another jump up, to 11.2%. That means one out of every nine people who are looking for a job right now, do not have one.
It’s an alarming statistic, and one that is now affecting local non-profit organizations locally.
As more people continue to lose jobs, more people are starting to rely on non-profit organizations for help. The problem is, they can only help so many people and for some, supplies are now running low.
For Auquihia Love, the past year has been a struggle as a single mother of five, without a full time job. “It’s been very rough. I need a job. I was just praying about a job the other day. I’ve been looking for a while, but I haven’t really come across any of them.”
She’s gone to job fairs and filled out countless applications and still no luck. So she relies on non-profit organizations, like Dare to Care, for help.
According to the USDA, one-in-three single mothers across the country are relying on donated food right now; it’s the highest percentage ever recorded.
It’s a trend Lawrence Wilbon, director of programs for the Presbyterian Community Center, is seeing here in Jefferson County. “In just the last year, this center has seen a 20% jump in the number of people coming here for help. We’ve had an increase of young people attending our Dare to Care Kids Cafe program. Our numbers have increased, as well as we offer a Dare to Care food distribution center and those numbers have increased as well.”
And he says more people are coming there for help, who have never been here before and are coming from further away.
“You definitely see that increase of people who are now having to utilize services that they didn’t have to use before. So as that need increases, our manpower and our services have to be solid for those particular individuals.”
The problem many food banks, like Dare to Care, have is that they have more people coming for help, but fewer people are donating.
If you want to help, call them at 584-0201.
