By Mark Millican
“Oh, why did they close the carpet mills down?
These are tough times in Dalton now.
What will the tufters and the creelers do,
If they can’t find a job in the town?”
— ‘Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go from Here’
Written by Kathy Reed
Bluegrass Bands & Helping Hands CD
By Mark Millican
markmillican@daltoncitizen.com
Cutback hours, layoffs and unemployment checks running out due to the dire economy in the Dalton-Chatsworth area are running head-on into the necessities of food, housing, utilities and medicine.
This is a struggle many workers in area relief agencies say they do not see ending well as North Georgia slides into a predicted colder winter.
“We have a lot of people coming in who are in crisis,” said Pat Thompson of the Salvation Army, “and when people come in in crisis, they are stressed out. And it’s not just about physical needs because they’ve lost their jobs or their (unemployment) checks have run out. We still have over 1,000 children who need toys purchased for them for Christmas through our Angel Tree program.
“We are in desperate need of the community’s assistance.”
In a year’s time the Army jumped from assisting 95 families to 270 families with utility needs as the recession deepens and the local unemployment rate rises. Last year, 2,393 families were given boxes of food compared with 3,285 families this year. Help with rent or mortgage funds tripled from 68 families last year to 194 families this year.
“There were 98 requests for utility assistance we couldn’t serve last year, and 383 requests we couldn’t serve this year,” said Thompson, who explained their fiscal year ends in September.
The ministry does not have an Angel Tree at Walnut Square Mall this year, she said, but those who want to “adopt an angel” and provide a gift may sign up at a local business downtown or call the agency at (706) 278-3966.
“The more of these kids we can get adopted, the less money comes out of our red kettle (bell ringer) campaign,” said Thompson. “That funds our programs for the coming year.”
She said several schools and companies have “stepped up some” with food drives, although financial donations are down.
“We could certainly use more (food drives),” she said. “We have 25 families a day coming in looking for food.”
Laura Cleary with Whitfield County Red Cross concurs the need is great.
“We’re seeing lots of people coming in from being laid off,” she said. “They don’t have anywhere else to go because they’ve gone through all their resources. And our monetary donations are definitely down.”
Normally the office opens to food distributions by appointment on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 to 11 a.m., but Cleary said because schools, companies and other groups have been doing food drives they are going to have two “special days” on Dec. 10 and 18.
“It will be two food pantry assistance days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” she announced. “A current ID is required and people will still need to call and make an appointment at (706) 278-5144.”
Cleary was asked about 2010 and replied, “I see the need continuing to rise — I don’t see the situation getting better any time soon.”
Helen Costner of Murray County Red Cross said along with regular clients who come in for food on a monthly basis, the agency is now seeing more elderly citizens.
“We’ve seen a lot of new people just this month,” she said. “We served over 40 families on Tuesday.”
Costner said the office served 380 families in November, and likely would have topped 400 families if they hadn’t been closed three days for Thanksgiving.
“We do the best we can purchasing food, and can get it for 16 cents a pound at the Atlanta Food Bank,” she said. “Our food distributions run solely on donations.”
Retired educator Joe Davis has been involved with a Christmas-time food drive in the Murray County School System for 26 years and leads a volunteer “pick up” crew of community leaders.
“We collected on Wednesday and Friday from all the public schools,” he said. “I estimate it came out to about 900 bags of groceries with 25 items in each bag. We hope to give two bags to each family that comes through our Community Christmas (toy distribution) program. Some of the schools donate money also, so we’ll probably try to buy some more food. We’ve had a little less (food) contributed this year, but these kids really get behind it every year.”
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Helping Hands CD still available
The Bluegrass Bands and Helping Hands music CD by various artists that was created to help fund the Dalton Organization of Churches United for People (DOC-UP) is still available, said organizer and musician Paul Byrum.
“This is a great stocking stuffer for Christmas, and 100 percent of the sales go to help DOC-UP,” said Byrum, who plays on the track, “Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go from Here” (also known as “The Dalton Song”). “People can come by the office (at 511 Valley Drive), but be sure to call first. Or they can call me and I’ll help get them a copy.”
The nonprofit organization helps families with rent, utility assistance and emergency referrals to food banks. The mix of bluegrass, folk and gospel tunes is available on a CD ($15) or a download card ($10) that can be used with a computer.
A respondent on the www.digstation.com Web site said of the CD, “(It’s the) best bluegrass purchase I have made in years.”
To buy the music and help needy families, call the DOC-UP office at (706) 278-7883 or Byrum at (706) 624-4829.
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How to help those in need
Following is a partial list of area agencies and their needs:
United Way of Northwest Georgia
816 S. Thornton Ave.
Dalton, GA 30720-9300
(706) 278-9230
www.ourunitedway.org
(Funds, volunteers)
Whitfield County Red Cross
517 Benjamin Way
Suite 400
Dalton, GA 30722-0357
(706) 278-5144
www.daltonredcross.com
(Food, funds, volunteers)
Salvation Army
1101 N. Thornton Ave.
Dalton, GA 30720-3608
(706) 226-1433
www.salvationarmy.org
(Food, funds, Christmas toys, volunteers)
Dalton Organization of Churches United for People (DOC-UP)
511 Valley Drive
Dalton, GA 30720-8106
(Funds, volunteers)
Murray County Red Cross
211 W. Fort St.
Chatsworth, GA 30705
(706) 695-7605
www.murrayredcross.com
(Food, funds, volunteers)
Providence Ministries
711 S. Hamilton St.
Dalton, GA 30720-8257
(706) 275-0268
www.providenceministriesinc.com
(Food, funds, Christmas gifts, volunteers, provides hot meals and transitional living)
Harvest Outreach
207 E. Morris St.
Dalton, GA 30720-3304
(706) 226-7995
www.harvestoutreachcenter.com
(Food, funds, Christmas gifts, volunteers, provides hot meals)
Community Christmas (in Murray County)
Directors Anthony and Renee Cain
(706) 280-9255
(Donations for toys and food)
