| United Ministries was formed in January 1987 in Pensacola by several ministers and concerned laypersons who wanted a cooperative effort among churches to help the poor and needy in our area. The idea was to create a central place for assistance to the needy with funds provided by the supporting churches. United Ministries would serve as a “clearing house of compassion,” so that needy people would no longer need to go from church to church, repeating the story of their circumstances in each place, getting assistance in bits and pieces as they could. It would also serve as a central data bank of information about the people receiving assistance and what they had been given, and thus reduce the opportunity for people to abuse available assistance. A non-profit corporation was formed and a Board of Directors, representing many area churches of all denominations, was formed.
We first saw clients in 1987 on a stairwell at the old Rex Cowley Building at First Presbyterian Church downtown. Then, in May of 1991, United Ministries moved into its new building shared, rent-free, with Loaves and Fishes. This was the culmination of several years of planning and prayers. The organization was directed by Norma Crooke in its early years and then Mary Jo Paul became the first paid director in 1996. Harriet Riley has been director since March, 2000.
40 volunteers work in the 24 hours we are open each week. In the year 2005 (fiscal year Oct. 04-Sept. 05), United Ministries helped 2,219 families and spent more than $293,710 for our clients’ needs. We set a new record for the amount of assistance we gave local families in 2005. We spent $138,489 for utilities, $103,746 for rent and $51,473 on travel, medicine, food and other needs (mostly hurricane recovery needs) for our clients. We spent an average of $132 on each family seen.
Since Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis and Katrina, this community has been overwhelmed with an increase in families in financial crisis and at risk of losing their homes. Escambia County recorded the highest poverty rate in Florida in 2003. Nearly one in five county residents – 19 percent – lived below the poverty line. These numbers have increased since the last two devastating hurricane seasons. And reports show that we have the highest number of homeless people in the state of Florida. The people we help are working families struggling to make ends meet. We are trying to help those families who “fall between the cracks” of the existing social service system. Our numbers have doubled in the last two years. |
