The plight caused by the economic downturn hits home at the city’s support services as winter approaches, the Ny Post reports. As reflected in Friday’s monthly unemployment report for November, nearly 600,000 people are now not part of the work force and people who want to work rose to a record 6.5 million.
The Rev. Edward Sunderland is on the front line, as he works closely with volunteers at the food pantry at St. Bartholomew’s Church on ritzy Park Avenue. Sunderland said the numbers of destitute and homeless professionals could vastly expand if unemployment is not turned around and those jobs anticipated to be lost on Wall Street do not return. “There could be a meltdown the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Depression,” Sunderland said.
Hunger relief agencies served by City Harvest in New York report a 25 percent average increase in demand for food over 2010. And it’s not all welfare cases showing up at St. Anne’s food pantry and soup kitchen in The Bronx.
“There was a time where we could say that about 90 percent of the people who came here were on welfare. Now, I would say that is minimal,” said the Rev. Martha Overall of St. Ann’s.
Two examples The Post has found of professionals falling through the safety net…..
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/long_swift_slide_NIF4mAQrJWpZplomfY2R6N#ixzz1fbDStiFm
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