Center for People in Need pushes through pandemic

Even as things slowly return to normal, the Center is handling much higher numbers of people than before.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Center for People in Need is seeing far more people than usual in need of help during the pandemic.

“One of the most surprising things to us was the number of middle-class families who came to get services for probably the first time in their entire lives”, says Center Director of Fund Development Jo Ann Emerson. “They were terrified.”

Middle-class, low-income, it doesn’t matter. Many people have been upended over the past few years.

“A lot of clients are coming in like they don’t know, for the first time”, says long-time staff member Marjan Moshiri. “They need food, diapers, some clothes. A lot of people, they really appreciate it.”

That just hints at the large numbers the Center has seen lately.

“We had almost 4000 new families sign up for Center benefits”, Emerson says. “That’s on top of the clients we already serve.”

Those families have a few options, whether it’s the Center for People in Need, or others around the area.

“Lincoln is lucky in that we have a lot of nonprofits that are there to help people who are hurting, and people are hurting”, says Emerson.

Lincoln is also lucky to have so many people who care.

Moshiri describes a recent encounter with a mother a week prior: “She has six kids, and she didn’t have anything. I started putting a lot of food in the shopping cart, and she cried, she cried, she cried. So when she left, I cried so much. I said, ‘Oh, God, thank you for this place we can help a lot of people’.”

The new year may not magically fix everything, but as long as there are friendly faces and helping hands, that has to count for something.