When market roof caves in, be grateful you have roof
Most suburbanites, already woozy from dizzying drops in their investment portfolios, got a little sick to their stomachs Friday as the stock market plunged. The roller coaster paused to let investors catch their breath, and then merely slid to a 312-point loss instead of the anticipated panic-induced frenzy that threatened to shut down trading.
Still, golden year nest eggs are cracking, retirements are being put off, jobs are at risk, money is tight and your home isn't worth anything close to what it was four years ago.
A new survey by the American Psychological Association finds that 80 percent of Americans are stressed about their finances. That resulting anxiety is making us lose sleep, suffer headaches and upset stomachs, and become irritable or angry. You feel that tension in your home or see it in your neighbor's.
"It might feel uncomfortable for them, but how do you make them see they still have a roof over their head?" says Beth Nabors, executive director of Journeys from PADS to HOPE, a unique agency in the Northwest suburbs that helps the homeless and those at risk. Her agency sees a population of suburbanites who don't have the luxury of worrying about what is happening to their 401(k) funds in the market, or whether they might be part of the next round of layoffs, or if they'll be able make a profit when they sell their house. The sad fraternity of the homeless is inducting new members every day. Journeys from PADS to HOPE is trying to stem the tide.
"Our largest growing population is our prevention clients, those who are at risk of becoming homeless," Nabors says. "It's this very fragile group of individuals who are one step away from homelessness that has grown by leaps and bounds in this economy."
The HOPE day center offers job counseling and referrals, mental health support, food, clothing and other services.
"Yesterday in our day center we saw 57 people," Nabors says, noting these are people who "were born, raised and educated right here in the Northwest suburbs."
The homeless might not be who you think they are.
"Forty percent of our intakes are all new to our agency. We've never seen these people before, and that's huge," Nabors says.
At times, the visitors surprise even her.
When an old classmate from her days at St. James School in Arlington Heights walked into the office the other day, Nabors hoped to get a donation from him. Instead, he needed help.
A one-time socialite whose mental illness took away her former life is grateful for the PADS shelter in Inverness.
A Palatine mother probably never dreamed she'd show up with her kids at a homeless shelter - until her husband, the breadwinner, killed himself.
"That is also the face of homelessness," Nabors says.
"One case manager is seeing 15 to 20 people a day," Nabors says. "Our numbers are increasing by leaps and bounds, but our funding is not."
Grants from government sources, donations from religious organizations and other charities, and even donations from individuals are down. While the agency used to have enough money on hand to fund several months of operations, it now lives like the population it serves - from month to month.
"I'm very nervous about it," Nabors says, noting that much of what the agency can do will depend on the success of its Fourth Annual Bid for HOPE fundraising auction on Nov. 7 at Stonegate Conference & Banquet Centre, 2401 W. Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates. (For details or to donate, phone (847) 963-9163 or log onto www.padstohope.org.)
As for the homeless and at-risk suburbanites already getting help, there is no joy in seeing friends and neighbors learn firsthand what they have been going through.
"The response to our economy struggling is sympathy, compassion and empathy. It's a different response than people would guess," Nabors says of the homeless. "This is a very humble population. They are very humbled by the generosity. They say, 'It's really sad that there are more people who are having to go through what I've gone through.' There's a lot of compassion here."