Faces behind crisis lines change

A crisis line operator answered the phone; a desperate voice was on the other end. It was the operator's 300th call that day, and the phone just keeps ringing. It's been like this since the economy plummeted in 2007.

The Heart of Florida United Way expanded its 2-1-1 resource line to include crisis and suicide prevention calls, and the number of calls has skyrocketed in the past year.

The No. 1 reason people call is because they have been laid off or their hours have been cut, said Caree Jewel, Heart of Florida United Way 2-1-1 and Elder Helpline director.

In January 2010, the United Way received almost 11,000 calls from Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties — almost three times as many calls as they received in January 2007. Of those calls, 62 percent were from unemployed people.

The expanded services were in response to an alarming number of crisis and suicide-type calls the United Way was receiving. In January, they received more than 1,000 crisis calls alone, and 19 required suicide prevention services.

Jewel said a crisis is a situation in which a person becomes overwhelmed and loses their ability to cope.

This could mean different things for different people. For a single mother, it could be not having enough money to buy food for her children because she was laid off from her job. For a family whose home faces foreclosure it could mean homelessness.

The increase in calls and expanded services has forced United Way to add six full-time senior crisis specialists, which increased their staff to 40 people.

Jewell said the demographic of the caller has changed due to the suffering economy. Nearly half of all calls were from first-time callers in January and many were from families who were considered middle class before crisis struck.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is facing a similar situation with families needing food stamps.

From January 2009 to January 2010, Orange and Osceola Counties had a 56 percent increase in the number of food stamp applications received.

"We've seen a steady increase in the amount of requests for assistance," said Sharron Washington, Florida Department of Children and Families operations manager.

As the unemployment number rises, so does the number of people eligible for food stamps.

In January 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Washington said there are 2.1 million people using food stamps in Florida, more than double the number from a year ago.

The demographic of the food-stamp user has changed as well to include first-time applicants from the middle-class.

"There are so many applying for the first time ever, who never thought they would need these types of programs," said Elizabeth Arenas, DCF Central Region Public Information Officer. "It's humbling but for them it's scary and there's probably a lot of different emotions involved."

From the time an application for food stamps is received, it takes an average of 30 days to process, Washington said. It's not a good idea to wait until the last minute.

There's a more expedited process for some, for example, the homeless, which only takes about seven days.

She said using food stamps has a different stigma then it used to. Instead of using actual food "stamps," they issue something identical to a debit card.

"People shouldn't feel embarrassed," Arenas said. "As you can tell the numbers are clearly stating that there are a lot of people needing help."