Dramatic increases of numbers needing food assistance – St. Vincent de Paul served about 452 people in 2004-05, Faenza said, compared to 259 people in the 2002-03 year. The number of people in the society also has grown from a handful of volunteers to 14 women who are on call five days a week, Faenza said.
Part of the problem, Faenza said, is that affordable homes are in limited supply. One of the most common complaints from people who come seeking help – many of whom are families with children – is they can’t afford rent.
“Let’s face it – we could stand more low income housing,” Faenza said. “We have some people who are never, ever going to get caught up. It must be terrible to think, ‘I’m never going to get ahead.'”
Pouliot said she has seen a growing number of working families who have lost their jobs and are struggling to keep affording their homes.
“Even though they’re working, or were, we’d still have them coming into the pantry,” Pouliot said. “On paper, it looks like, why are they coming to the pantry? … Once they pay their bills, they have almost nothing left.”
Also troubling is a growing number of seniors coming to the pantry, Pouliot said, many saying they can’t afford their property taxes and increases in medication costs.
“The senior population really concerns me,” Pouliot said. “For crying out loud, they’ve already paid their dues.”
