- I'm the In Your Community reporter for South Side Indy/Johnson County.
There are several ways that you can step in to help a family this holiday season. The Salvation Army tells WRTV it's seeing double the requests in rental and utility assistance requests, and food pantry shelves are also starting to run dry.
WATCH FULL STORY BELOW'I was two months old when I started going to the Salvation Army,' said Salvation Army employee Mary Thomas. The Salvation Army is a place that Mary Thomas said helped her survive throughout her life. Now, she's giving back to others by working there.The organization's food pantries are seeing double the customers, and supplies are running out quickly. 'We want the shelves to be full and give them at least options,' she said. 'It's gone. All my produce is gone out of there. Bread gone. Meat is gone, so tomorrow's pantry is going to be really challenging,' she said. Major Melinda O'Neil said the central Indiana locations are seeing up to a 30% rise in demand.'The prepacked boxes from the food bank, and we get those in, and the very next day they're all gone,' said O'Neil. 'Other things that people are really asking for are diapers, hygiene products.'The Salvation Army says each location is also getting about 100 rent and utility assistance requests per month.'And some people are coming in who have never had to ask for help before, just with costs the way they've been,' said O'Neil. With Christmas around the corner, O'Neil said more people are calling about Angel Tree applications, which help provide Christmas gifts for thousands of local children each year. The 5,000 slots are already full, but there are ways you can receive or provide help.'We get about 50-60% of our angels sponsored by a direct donor, and then, we fill the rest of them with our toy shop, which come from donors, donations,' she said. Money raised at kettlebell locations goes directly back into those communities.'Please consider helping. We want to be able to have something healthy and nutritious for their families so their children don't go to bed hungry at night,' said Thomas. WRTV is partnering up with the Salvation Army for the annual WRTV Toy Drive. If you are looking for more information or want to help, click here.
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