More help needed this year

Many of those who lined up Thursday morning for a little holiday help had never needed it before.

"I've donated toys in the past. Now I'm the one who needs them," Zulema Mesa said as she filled out paperwork for HELP of Southern Nevada's Christmas adopt-a-family program.

Mesa, laid off four months ago from her job in the mortgage industry, is struggling to provide a merry Christmas for her 5-year-old twin girls and their 13-year-old brother.

"I really, really need help this year," the divorced 39-year-old said. "Where am I going to get toys?"

The details of her story -- a layoff, home foreclosure, desperation -- are familiar to local charities that help the poor. So many people need help this holiday season that agencies have been overwhelmed.

"Oh, my gosh. It's unbelievable the number of people calling and saying they don't know where to go, that this is the first year they've ever had to call for help," said Terrie Stanfill, HELP's executive director.

The agency last year provided toys to 2,700 families. This year, it plans to help 3,200 families. But those slots are quickly filling and the need is even greater, Stanfill said.

"I can only take so many," she said. "We just pray we have enough toys to take care of them all."

HELP will accept applications for their Christmas program until noon on Dec. 15 at their offices at 1640 E. Flamingo Road. Applicants must provide proof of income, birth certificates for each child, Social Security numbers and copies of their rental leases.

Demand also is up for the local Salvation Army's Christmas Angel program, but the struggling agency can't afford to expand it this year, said Maj. William Raihl, the agency's Clark County coordinator.

"It's unfortunate," Raihl said. "With the economy so bad, people need more help, but donations are down."

The Salvation Army plans to provide toys to 2,500 families this holiday, Raihl said. It already has stopped accepting applications for this year.

So has Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, which will provide Christmas toys to an estimated 4,000 families this year.

New jobs were at the top of grown-up Christmas lists at HELP on Thursday.

Mesa said she has been searching for work, and has signed up at four different employment agencies.

Even being bilingual hasn't helped.

"I can't even find temporary work," she said.

Marlo Areikat, a 42-year-old widowed mother of four who was laid off from her job as a dental assistant a few months ago, said she regularly scans the classified ads.

"There used to be three rows of ads for dental assistants," Areikat said. "The other day I saw one ad."

She recently tried to get a job in telemarketing, but the company asked her to pay $460 for training.

Areikat's sister, Tracee Hashimura, sat beside her crying as the two brainstormed gift ideas for Areikat's children to list on HELP's application.

Hashimura has helped her sister's family whenever she can, she said. But she can't afford to support them.

"I'm worried," Hashimura said, wiping her eyes. "I can't believe this is all happening to her."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.