By JANET HUGHES Special to The Packet
Elizabeth Ferguson wears Burberry glasses. That’s the first thing I noticed about her. The second was her lovely, sincere smile, along with that dark, fashionably ruffled wavy hair which looked effortless to maintain. Her kind eyes and soft- spoken manner would make any living soul comfortable when dealing with the personal questions and difficult answers while being processed by Elizabeth at The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton. Her office is located at the end of the hallway on the bottom floor at the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, an office where people needing help are greeted warmly and are treated with dignity and respect.
For more than two-and-a-half years, Elizabeth has been the director, and recently became the volunteer coordinator, as well, at the ministry’s Princeton office, squeezing in everything possible within the part-time hours she works each week, counseling and processing clients. People who face eviction or foreclosure are able to get temporary financial assistance if they meet the criteria structured by Crisis Ministry, and hungry folks who can simply provide a Mercer County address and a picture ID are able to open the pantry doors and choose the food they need, using a very just point system. Immigrants can show a picture ID, including their passport and proof of a Mercer County address.
Due to the economic crisis, the Crisis Ministry is $12,000 over their food budget so far this year, and many people one would never expect to see in these halls are appearing more and more frequently.
I heard about the Crisis Ministry through various sources, one of which is my employer, a global corporation headquartered here in Princeton. Church & Dwight matches dollar-for-dollar through its Employee Giving Fund exactly what employees donate to nonprofit organizations close to their hearts. Animal rescue, homelessness, domestic violence and children’s services are but a few of the many kinds of organizations being helped.
Since the fund’s inception in 2005, the total donations have exceeded $1.6 million. In 2005, $284,000 was donated, and thus far in 2008, more than $554,000 has been donated. More than 10,000 individuals have been helped, more than 40,000 meals and more than 7,500 nights of shelter have been provided. Church & Dwight has supported The Crisis Ministry from the beginning — in 2005, $10,000; 2006 — $8,000; 2007 — $10,000, and 2008 — $10,000. Elizabeth sees first hand how lives are changed by the company’s philanthropy.
On one recent afternoon, Elizabeth started to walk from her car into the office when she was stopped in the parking lot by a man exiting his Suburban. His wife and six children, the oldest being 11 years old, sat speechless in the car. He proceeded to tell Elizabeth how desperate his family’s situation had become — he had lost his job, his residence, and his health care benefits, plus they had no food and soon they would be out of gas. They had nowhere to go but to appear on the doorstep of the Crisis Ministry.
Narratives such as this one are nothing new to Elizabeth and the other staff members.
Elizabeth’s world is filled with extreme contrast. She lives on the campus of a prestigious boarding school, where her husband is a teacher-coach and where her two young children play. Also at the school are very privileged ninth through twelfth graders who walk the grounds of this well-known institution. Her work life transports her to another world where the underprivileged and the less fortunate appear in front of her asking for help. Whether it’s medical problems, downsizing, or another issue which has made someone ask for assistance, they end up in Elizabeth’s office.
Many people she sees are faced with very difficult decisions, such as whether to pay the utility bill or buy some food; whether to get their prescription renewed or to buy their child a much-needed winter jacket, or whether to have peanut butter sandwiches for dinner and save the jelly for breakfast.
Elizabeth is deeply appreciative for her family and their comfortable residence, and candidly admits to walking a fine line between being outraged and being thankful. She is outraged that we live in a community in this country where a person has to wait in line at a food pantry, and that when gas prices rise even 10 cents a gallon, a family’s quality of life can change drastically.
The Crisis Ministry not only offers financial assistance to persons facing foreclosure or eviction, and a food pantry for the hungry, but serves as a resource for referrals to other agencies offering help. Persons of any faith, nationality and ethnic origin are treated equally at The Crisis Ministry. Eleven to twelve hundred families per month are helped in their Trenton office; 150 families per month in Princeton, on average. It was quite clear just how quickly one’s life situation can change dramatically, especially during these trying economic times, and many people who have never asked for assistance could unexpectedly need help.
Those facing eviction or foreclosure can receive funds not exceeding $500 once every 12 months or two times within a five- year period. The pantry doors are open from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, at Nassau Presbyterian Church. Two times per month, clients can select the food they want. Assistance with medical prescriptions, utility bills and security deposits is also available as long as the requirements are met.
Many community congregations in the Princeton area are quite creative in their efforts to help those less fortunate. Food drives, personal care drives and even a shopping cart drive (currently in the planning stages) are indeed helpful — but the pantry shelves continually need restocking. One of the ministry’s vans, stacked to the roof with all kinds of food items during a recent food drive, lasted only three days in its Trenton location before restocking was necessary.
There’s a drop-off box for food on the right side of the church as you enter. If you want to volunteer, please call the Crisis Ministry at 609-921-2135. Otherwise, how about looking through your pantry, so they can stock theirs?
On the Web: www.thecrisisministry.org.
Janet Hughes is a published playwright and poet who resides in Princeton. She is employed by Church & Dwight.
