Catholic Charities sees 'unprecedented' need in suburbs

You can find upbeat economic news: Consumer confidence rose in May for the second month in a row. Corporate profits were up in the first quarter. General Motors and the United Auto Workers reached an agreement that should ease some pressure. The Dow is up. Some economists say the end of the recession is in sight.

But, as is often the case, that good news doesn't always trickle down to the people who need it most. Those on the front lines of our war against poverty and unemployment met privately in Elk Grove Village this week to assess the suburban situation.

"It's hard to grasp the scope of suffering," Rev. Michael M. Boland, administrator, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago told the crowd of business and civic leaders. "Never have we been faced with the challenge of serving so many people, most of whom have never before asked for aid."

Last year, Catholic Charities dished out more than 240,000 meals just in the suburbs of Northwest Cook County, says Boland. The charity, with an annual budget of $180 million, helped more than 1 million needy people in Cook and Lake counties through its 159 programs. Catholic Charities' Northwest Regional Office in Des Plaines serves the communities of Barrington. Dundee, Palatine, Inverness, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Mount Prospect, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Streamwood and Elgin.

An eight-year member of Catholic Charities' Northwest Regional advisory board, Schaumburg CPA Bob Lindeman has found suburban food pantries to be economic indicators.

"In the fall of 2007, I walked by the food pantry in Des Plaines and noticed it was just about empty. They said, 'Bob, we are entering a recession,'" recalls Lindeman, managing director of RSM McGladrey public accounting firm.

"There are pockets of positive things, but the last thing that will pick up is employment," predicts Lindeman, who says he still sees a growing number of families with children turning to Catholic Charities for meals.

"This is just unprecedented," Boland says. "I think people are beginning to realize the depth of the recession and how it's affecting so many people - every stratosphere of the economy, people who have lost white-color jobs and people who have lost entry-level jobs in restaurants."

Expanding the biblical saying about how "you have the poor with you always," this recession has touched those suburbanites who never imagined they would need help.

"It's just a real eye-opening experience for people," says Boland, who has a degree in business administration and managed a McDonald's restaurant before he became a priest 23 years ago. "There's nothing to compare it to."

People unaccustomed to poverty, especially senior citizens, often find it difficult to ask for the help they need, Boland adds.

As that need grows, charities also find it more difficult to deliver all the necessary help.

"Our donations are down, and they are down at every charity I talk to," Boland says. "Volunteers are up. Volunteerism has been tremendous for us. We have 10,000 volunteers and we think, 'How can we get 10,000 more?'"

Those volunteers help the bottom line.

Ninety-two cents of every $1 donation goes directly to services, notes Lindeman.

To donate, volunteer or find out more about the charity and its many programs, visit the Web site www.catholiccharities.net.

Feeding people and helping them find emergency shelter are the most important needs these days. While he notes that people can find good economic news, Boland predicts another two years of very hard times in the suburbs. Maybe more, depending on what Illinois legislators decide to do with the budget.

"If there is going to be a severe cut in social services with the state," Boland says, "that will be devastating."