Dina Rovelo had no place to live when she arrived on the doorstep of the Miami Rescue Mission about a month ago. Rovelo, a Honduran immigrant, had been living in her husband's auto-body shop for a year, working two jobs with a minimum-wage salary and raising three kids. “I was a team player and agreed with my husband to give up my home to live in his body shop, since we thought we could save the rent money that way,” she said. But the bills were too high and her paychecks weren't enough to pay for much more than food.

Rovelo and her children, to say the least, were living in very uncomfortable conditions, not to mention putting up with the unhealthy stench of auto paint. But unfortunately her sacrifices didn't pay off. Her husband asked her to leave because of her constant complaints. With nowhere else to go and no idea what to do, she found refuge at the mission's community shelter. There she was provided with food, clean clothes and a bed for her and her kids.

With the economy in crisis, community help centers and charity organizations across the country are now calling for help themselves. “We are seeing that because of the foreclosures and so many people losing their jobs, there is more of a need,” said Donna Jean Matthews, public-relations associate at the Miami Rescue Mission. The number of people requesting help there has increased by 25 percent, but donations have gone down by 20 percent.

Nonprofit organizations like the one that helped get Rovelo back on her feet rely heavily on donations to pay for special programs and even to supply the basic essentials, like diapers or money for a bus ride to work, for their participants. “They have provided me with everything I've needed, from school supplies for my kids to a Tylenol when I get a headache,” said Rovelo. But as a result of the recession, donations have fallen, and these centers are feeling the impact.

“We cannot do what we do without the funds,” says Matthews.

Charitable contributions tend to reflect the current status of the economy, and usually increase on average 4.3 percent per year, but in years such as this one, donations decline on average 2.7 percent, according to the GivingUSA Foundation. Organizations will not know exactly how bad this year has been until they tally up their donations in January. But many already are feeling the squeeze and have begun to cut their budgets, affecting programs like rehabilitation for drug users and courses in AIDS prevention.

Typically, community centers depend on the generosity of donors during the Christmas season to make up for the cost of operation throughout the year. But 2009 may be a difficult one, as fewer and fewer people and companies are reaching into their pockets. Ironically, it's happening at a time when help is most needed. In just the month of November, 533,000 jobs were lost, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has predicted that foreclosures this year will reach about 2.25 million.

Since arriving at the Miami Rescue Mission, Rovelo says her life has turned around: “I am taking computer classes and receiving job training; my daughters are also doing very well in school, and they're on the honor roll.” She says she plans to study to become a nurse one day because she is passionate about helping other people. It's a trait she discovered at the mission, and it's the perfect way to repay all of the generosity given to her and her family through charity. “I never imagined I would have needed to live in a shelter, but if it weren't for the center, I probably would be out in the street,” she said. This is the reality of the times: People of all backgrounds are losing everything they've worked for, and yet they are grateful for the little they receive. Even in times of austerity, it would be wise to consider opening up your heart and your wallet to causes that can change people's lives. That is a good investment in humanity.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2008 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate