It is easy to forget how close many people in our community are to financial disaster. For many of us, a medical emergency, a layoff or even a suddenly needed repair could decimate savings and throw lives into chaos.

With millions of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, that fact is a dangerous reality for even those who do their best to put a few dollars away for a “rainy day.”

According to NORC at the University of Chicago, 51 percent of working adults indicated that missing more than one paycheck would mean that they could not cover necessities without accessing additional savings. The survey reported that 67 percent of households earning less than $30,000 annually would be unable to pay for necessities if they missed more than one paycheck.

Fortunately, there is help for those facing hard times here in Troup County. Local churches as well as organizations like LaGrange Personal Aid and Feeding the Valley work hard to gather food donations and distribute those donations to people in our community who need help. 

However, those organizations need help from the community in order to continue their work. Troup County is currently hosting a canned food drive to benefit The Salvation Army of LaGrange. Donations can be dropped off on the first floor of the Government Center at 100 Ridley Avenue in LaGrange. That canned food drive will continue until Oct. 25.

Many churches also take up donations throughout the year for soup kitchens, Meals on Wheels and other outreach efforts, so be sure to ask your pastor how you can help.

Together, we can help those in our community facing hard times.