INDIANAPOLIS -- It's a sad fact in Indianapolis: In some of the city's hardest hit neighborhoods, residents are facing some of the same conditions as the Great Depression.
For many people, poverty and unemployment have soared high into the double digits.
In six of the city's most challenged neighborhood, homicides have increased 30 percent, and non-fatal shootings have increased 52 percent.
For those who've managed to dodge the gunfire, just trying to eke out a living day to day is a struggle.
"It's either feed the kids or put gas in the car or provide a Christmas or pay the light bill," said Kiana Hutchins, a single mother of five.
Hutchins says she's a month behind on her utility bill and worried about putting food on the table. All across Indianapolis, more people like Hutchins need help with just the basic essentials.
Between October and November, calls to Connect2Help – Central Indiana's resource for people needing connected to services – seeking emergency food help increased by 50 percent. Overall, the number of calls for help with housing, utilities and other bills increased by nearly 2,000.
"Of course, we're now into the holiday seas. And so people who've never needed help before in their lives are looking at how they can give their kids a Christmas," said Lynn Engle, president of Connect2Help.
The Community Alliance of the Far Eastside now works with clients to provide income assistance, health care and employment as a way to move people out of the grip of poverty.
"We're having a conversation about, yes, there is an emergency need right now and we need to help you get through that," said the group's Melissa Drew. "Let's look long term so that we can help you, so that there's not an emergency again."
One-in-four people in Indianapolis live below the poverty level – a number that has slowly but steadily increased in recent years. Reversing the trend will likely take years as well.
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