Jim Broucek isn’t afraid to say it. “We’re in a recession,” he declared as he looked over the number of new cases Carver County’s Social Services department has taken on of late.

As an income support manager for the county, Broucek has noticed an increase in the demand for services like financial assistance, food support and workforce training.

“We have seen an upswing,” he said.

While their department has averaged an annual caseload addition of 150 since 2000, this year through October, they have already racked up 268 new cases, bringing their total caseload for the year up from 2,493 (as of January) to 2,741. 

“That’s an 11 percent increase,” he said. “And if it continues on trend, we’re looking at an annual increase of 12-13 percent.”

In the month of October alone, Broucek said they added 53 new cases.

“I’ve seen higher in my lifetime here,” he noted. “So I’m not overly concerned, but that number does stick out.”

According to Broucek, caseload increase for county social services has primarily come in requests for health care and food support, with food support numbers growing at a rapid clip.

For a family of four to qualify for food support, they cannot exceed an annual income of $27,560. Thirty-eight new families were added to the food support program in October, bringing the total number of families up to 561 so far this year - an increase of 107 from the same time last year.

“That’s a 21 percent increase,” said Broucek. “I’ll be watching that one.”

In their workforce service center, Broucek is also seeing growing numbers. They normally average 74 people a day coming in to check the computers for work, he said. This year, that number had already risen to an average of 84 people each day. But In November, Broucek said they averaged 104 people a day.

“Our training center is packed to the rafters with folks looking for jobs,” he said. “We’re thinking about bringing in a couple more computers because people are waiting in line so long.

“It’s definitely recession-related.”

Non-profits

At the CAP Agency, a non-profit serving Carver, Scott and Dakota counties, the requests for help vastly outnumber their resources.

“The phones just don’t stop ringing,” said Jen Romero, family homeless prevention and assistance program coordinator. “We get way more calls than we can handle.”

In addition to food support, education and child care, the CAP Agency provides some emergency funds for things like damage deposits and rent assistance, but continually sees those funds dry up soon after they are received, Romero said.

And while the calls increase, the funds don’t, forcing them to refer people to the county and to the Salvation Army.

“There’s not a lot of hope coming from this office,” said Mary Sullivan, executive director.

While most non-profits are also feeling the effects of an economic downturn, at least one sees it as an opportunity to shine.

Love INC, a consortium of churches and organizations, wrapped up a coat drive in October that saw more than 900 coats handed out to people in need. “That was more than double what we did last year,” said Executive Director Doug Peterson. “There’s an incredible volume of need.”

Need was also evident on Thanksgiving Day when at least 200 people made their way to St. John’s Lutheran Church in downtown Chaska to take advantage of a free holiday dinner provided by the church and Love INC. In 2007, the group served 125 guests.

Last month, Chaska’s second food shelf opened- the result of a need perceived by Oasis Church leaders. It joined the food shelf already in operation by the CAP Agency.

“Having both is available is great,” said Peterson. “You’re not going to overserve people.

“There’s a real openness in the community to serve and give,” he continued. “A lot of people realize that it could very easily be them.”

Peterson encourages those in need to utilize such services.

“People should not be prideful,” he said. “Don’t hesitate to ask for help. When times are tough, we need each other.”

-Mollee Franicsco, staff writer