By Msgr. Noel C. Burtenshaw

She is a single parent. She lives in Atlanta. She has three children. She gets $262 a month.

When I saw that woman, I asked myself, “How can she live on $262?” It is not only a problem, it is a puzzle.

“Just imagine,” says Betti Knott, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, “just imagine that rent must be paid out of that check. And utilities. Then she can think about food and clothing. The situation is impossible.”

How much rent would she pay? My question draws a smile from the very active Catholic spokesperson for the poor in our area. “Landlords can and do charge what they like,” says Betti Knott. “Even $200 per month would not be extraordinary for a small apartment. Who knows what he would charge? All we know is she and those children have to have shelter.”

Alright, this family has to have shelter, why not get public housing. “That too is a question often asked,” says Mrs. Knott. “What most don’t know is that there are only 32 thousand public housing units in Atlanta and there is presently a waiting list of 13 thousand for vacancies when they happen. When you have small children and a great need , the hope of finding a decent place in a public housing area fades fast.”

Betti Knott is not about to complain about the generosity she experiences from Catholics in North Georgia. In fact, she constantly applauds their goodness. It is just that the generosity is never enough. “We make our budget each year, but the needs keep rolling in our door.”

The economy has definitely turned around and the outspoken Mrs. Knott knows that well. “Sure it has turned around for most of us, but the poor never feel it. That lady with the three children and no husband will never feel it. She is probably in debt; she’ll never get out of debt. She may know when times are really tough, but she’ll never know when good times come along. The poor never feel it.”

Betti and her co-workers have their sights on making the annual St. Vincent de Paul collection a big success this year. “The collection is Sunday, Oct. 2 (next Sunday),” says Betti, “and we want it big because we buy basics with it. We buy food and medicine. We pay for rent and utilities. That’s where the money goes. Last year was great. “We got $60,000, a great collection. We spent $70,000. We had the other ten. It’s great to give because that’s our business. We give what we get in this one annual collection for the poor.”

The St. Vincent de Paul office is over in West End Atlanta. It is a donated space in St. Anthony’s parish complex. There, the small staff of four, Betti, two social workers and a secretary, battle the cycle of poverty that everyone says will always be with us. That does not dishearten Betti Knott. “It doesn’t matter whether we ever beat it or not,” she says with a smile. “It’s what we do with the five to six hundred calls we get every month, that’s the big problem. Get us through the month, that’s all we need.”

Well, she’s wrong. That’s not all they need. The St. Vincent de Paul, a little band of men and women representing the rest of us to the poorest of the poor, need “the more.” They need a mountain of money to continue their battle against the odds. They are, as their nice jingle says, “the action arm of your Catholic neighbor.”

If you miss the basket at church next Sunday (you won’t if you sit down now and write the check) send it to your pastor. He’ll get it to Betti. She will then spread the comfort where very little exists – at any time.

The Fall is here. Do you feel the nip in the air? Feels good, right? Not to the poor. It feels just like winter is coming to them. And it is.