They’re right here in our town. They’re your family, your neighbors and your friends. They used to work at Gottschalks or Pier 1 or maybe a car dealership. Maybe they worked for the school district or the city or the county before layoffs. Perhaps they were real estate agents or loan processors, or maybe they worked in the construction industry. Maybe they worked in any one of the many service industries that depend on customers who can afford to pay for haircuts, manicures, lawn care, dinner out and so on.
What they all have in common is that they are now struggling, right here in Tracy, to pay their rent, buy food and keep the lights on and the water running. Where do they go for help?
Can we at Tracy Interfaith Ministries solve all their problems? No. What we can do, with the support of the community, is provide those in need with groceries, toiletries, diapers (with the help of the Tracy Hospital Foundation), gently used clothing and some assistance with utilities or rent (with the help of GWF Community Foundation and United Way Community Council).
Most important, in these most difficult times, we need the support of those who are more fortunate. Let’s all work together to prevent more homelessness in our town and to keep Tracy the great town that it is. Donations of food, clothing, linens, toys, toiletries and cash are accepted from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays at 311 W. Grant Line Road. Checks may be mailed to Tracy Interfaith Ministries, P.O. Box 404, Tracy 95378. Volunteers are welcome Monday through Saturday. For information: 836-5424.
• Darlene Quinn is the director of Tracy Interfaith Ministries
I recently talked to someone who lives couple hundred miles outside of Washington DC. Told me that things are getting as bad there too. Not a pretty picture. High unemployment short sales everywhere.
I did have to go to Interfaith Ministries to get food a couple of times last year, and once this year.
The last time I went, the woman assigned to help gave me such a hard time that I left in tears. Had there not been someone in my household, I would have walked out without a single can of food.
She must have seen me pull up in my luxury car, because she said they were there to help people who NEEDED help, not those who are just looking for a handout. Even though I provided income verification on the previous visit, this woman saw fit to judge me and deny me.
Maybe in these hard economic times, people need a gentle reminder that even though they might see one thing, what they DON'T see is quite a different story.
So, for the woman who watched me pull in driving my Mercedes, let me tell YOU what you DIDN'T see:
You weren't there to see my career obliterated in the mortgage crash.
You obviously didn't know that my car was paid for in full 5 years ago.
You couldn't see that I lost my retirement, life savings, and was forced into bankruptcy.
You weren't there last summer when things got so bad that I nearly lost my home.
You weren't able to stop by and look in my kitchen cupboards, when I had only a few cans of food.
You weren't able to look past my automobile and see my shabby clothing, or show any concern at all for the other members of my household who desperately needed assistance.
You weren't willing to listen to how my household needed food because one of the renters was picked up on a warrant and jailed, leaving me to care for her daughter (who had no money OR food). This also meant that my meager income was reduced even further, because the mother couldn't pay her rent that month.
Your response: "well, then you don't need food for the mother then!", and you deleted her. Without a thought to anything other than your ridiculous misconceptions.
We genuinely needed food. You practically forced me to BEG for it. Had I had enough food for myself to share with the daughter, I would have left without a morsel on pure principle, and told you (and your judgments) where to go.
That said, I AM grateful for the assistance I did receive from the other wonderful ladies and gentlemen who volunteer there. I may not have much these days, but I DO have my pride and dignity.