ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605200025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
Statistics report good economic times, which means business ought to be down at the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program's clothes bank.
Instead, there's been somewhat of a run on the facility during the past several months.
Needy clients have reduced the supply significantly of clothing or household goods and cleaned out some items altogether.
"It's people that have never been in here before. And that's sad," said Melanie Collins, the clothing bank's manager.
Additionally, the bare-bones clothing bank must move from the small storeroom it occupies on Roanoke Street by the end of the month. The Rev. Harry B. Scott III, president of the Emergency Assistance Program, says he's negotiating for a new site.
People were lined up at the door Friday - as they often are - waiting for the clothes bank to open. "It gets really crowded," said Margie Zelinsky, a volunteer who helps staff the clothing bank.
Inside the cramped, low-ceiling room are racks and brimming cardboard boxes of donated apparel, shoes, kitchenware and other sundries. Customers of all ages, young mothers to elderly women, intently sorted through the wares.
"You can find decent clothes here that don't cost a fortune. That helps," said one customer, who preferred not to give her name. "Your kids can dress as well as the other kids at school."
The clothing bank has been around for more than 20 years, dating to the founding of the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program. Scott estimates it serves hundreds of people annually.
Commonly, the program's clients find themselves in the midst of a crisis. They're homeless or unemployed or can't afford to pay for the basics of survival: food, rent, heating bills.
The Emergency Assistance Program, a nonprofit private organization supported by donations and some governmental funding, provides short-term financial assistance.
"We're trying to be a safety net, a stopgap agency [for those who] have exhausted other resources," Scott said.
Increasingly, however, the program's clothes bank is seeing another kind of client. Working people who lack benefits such as health insurance, elderly people who can't make ends meet with Social Security, single parents - all of whom are steadily losing financial ground.
Originally, the clothes bank was exclusively for indigent Emergency Assistance clients who were given shopping vouchers by the program. A number still obtain free clothing by that means.
Scott said the clothing bank has opened its doors to more customers by selling clothes at $2 per bag to anyone who can afford to pay at least a nominal amount.
These people may not be on welfare but they also can't afford to buy clothes in stores, he said.
Customers say they like the clothing bank's low-key, friendly atmosphere. Scott, a supporter of welfare reform who served on Gov. George Allen's Empowerment Commission, said customers prefer to pay for the items.
Proceeds from the sales go back to the Emergency Assistance Program's budget. The program's funding from federal sources has been dramatically reduced over the past three years, from $42,000 to $21,000 to the current $17,000 allotment.
Ironically, Scott said that funding formula is based on local economic conditions, which are improving - at least statistically.
"There's always a group of people that is going to need assistance," he said.
Now, it's the clothes bank that needs help. Scott is looking for a rent-free downtown Christiansburg location with about 2,000 square feet. Facing an end-of-the-month deadline to relocate, he said, "We're a bit pressed for time."
To resupply the shelves, the clothing bank is asking for public donations of clothes and household items. Especially needed are infant and children's clothing, maternity clothes and apparel for larger women and men.
The clothing bank is at 740 Roanoke St. It's open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays only. Donors can bring items to the bank during business hours or arrange for donations to picked up by calling the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program at 381-1561.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. The Rev. Harry Scott, Montgomeryby CNBCounty Emergency Assistance Program president, at the cramped
quarters of the program's clothing bank on Roanoke Street in
Christiansburg. The bank needs to relocate, preferably to a larger
space, by the end of the month. 2. Volunteer Margie Zelinsky sorts
and hangs donated clothing as soon as limited rack space opens up.
color.