Page 90 - 42-Winter 2014_Final

Relief amidst Recession

s the subprime mortgage crisis hit and
the housing bubble burst in the mid-
A2000s, nearly two decades of economic
growth came to a sudden halt as the United States
quickly sank into recession in 2008. As a result,
the unemployment rate rapidly doubled, from
roughly seven million individuals in 2008 to more
than fifteen million in 2009. It did not dip back
below ten million until 2014. With so many people
unable to find jobs and the economy struggling
in so many ways, millions of families fell below
the poverty line, making it harder to pay rent,
put food on the table, and access much-needed
services.
In this difficult time, the compassionate
care of Tzu Chi volunteers became ever more
vital to their communities. Whenever disaster
struck, volunteers immediately traveled to the
epicenter to assist the most vulnerable among
those affected. While their care was most evident
in major disasters, volunteers were also very active
after the many local disasters that quickly slipped
out of the news cycle, but caused great pain all
the same.
Throughout this period, volunteers added new
community service programs while broadening
and deepening the scope of their many care
programs already in place. In New Jersey, for
instance, volunteers opened a weekly food pantry
on September 10, 2010, in order to provide fresh
fruits, vegetables, and other vegetarian food to
locals who otherwise could not afford nutritious
food for their families. At the same time, volunteers
across the country continued their regular visits to
senior home residents and homeless people, in
order to deliver hot food and warm care to many
people in need of companionship.

9 0 Tzu Chi uSA WiNTER 2014