HANK DEWALD/HERALD STAFF WRITER

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ROANOKE RAPIDS - Tough times are taking a toll on those who need help the most in the Valley as the Union Mission begins their new scaled-back hours of operation Monday.

Beginning Monday, the Roanoke Rapids facility that provided services to more than 20,000 individuals and families in 2007, will be open only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The cutback in operations was necessary to prevent the Mission from going into debt, said the Rev. Ron Weeks, who oversees the Mission as its executive director.

“We're a little better than $40,000 off budget and we can't continue to go off budget,” Weeks said Monday. “So we need $40,000. Is there a quick fix? No. We need an increase in cash donations, but not a decrease in donated items.”

The Mission's dilemma began earlier this year, just as it has for most other charity organizations throughout the country. Monetary donations are down because the economy is down. Gasoline prices alone have caused people to make deep cuts to their charitable giving.

When the Mission food pantry almost ran out of food recently, the response from the public was almost overwhelming as Valley residents responded with enough food to refill the pantry, but the cash donations did not increase enough to prevent the changes taking effect Monday.

Weeks said the new operating hours are going to have an affect on those in need of help. “Some departments were open five days a week and some six,” Weeks said. “It's going to affect everything we do. The men's program that was available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will now be available only three days a week, everything else will have to be handled over the phone.”

The immediate changes will result in one staff layoff, several people will go from full-time to part-time and some people's salaries will be reduced. “The number of hours we operate will be reduced, which means we won't be as effective as we have been.”

While the Valley area does not have a huge homeless problem like large metropolitan areas, those that need help the most will be the hardest hit by these changes, Weeks said.

“Those that it will affect the most are families who need to be part of our intake program that is like a Christian Social Services. Families who need to use our thrift stores because they don't have the money to shop anywhere else.”

“Our feeding programs will also be affected, which means there won't be morning and evening meals fed on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays and there won't be food boxes available on those days.”

All of these changes are happening as demand for all the Mission's services are up sharply. In July of 2007, the mission gave out 444 food boxes. That number increased to 527 this past July.

There were 659 meals served in July of 2007 versus 1,076 in July of this year. Those seeking shelter for the night went up by more than 100, with 157 seeking shelter in July, 2007, where 274 sought help this July.

Weeks said if monetary donation increased by $40,000, the mission could return to normal operations almost immediately.

The Mission offers a residential and rehabilitation program for men, operates two thrift stores that resell donated clothes and goods, provides meals for the hungry and serves as an area food bank for various churches and organizations.

The Mission is located at 1310 Roanoke Ave., and may be reached by phone at (252) 537-3372, or on the WEB at www.umrr.org.