CHARITIES FEEL PINCH OF WAR; DONATIONS DIP.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Some of Southern California's leading charities have become casualties of the sagging economy and the war on terrorism, hobbling their ability to serve needy families.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul reported this week that donations to its Los Angeles area thrift stores have plunged 85 percent since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Salvation Army and a City of Hope thrift store also reported a lag in contributions, as did MEND, a Pacoima-based nonprofit agency that helps the needy.

``It's a tragedy ... it's affecting those that we help,'' said Brian Pickering, spokesman for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Council of Los Angeles, which serves Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara counties and portions of the Inland Empire.

``We can't keep at this pace. We're going to sink.''

While St. Vincent de Paul has struggled to draw donations of clothes, shoes, furniture, appliances, cars and bric-a-brac, other thrift stores report mixed contributions.

Goodwill Industries, Out of the Closet and Catholic Charities in Moorpark say donations of used goods remain strong.

``We're flush with donations to keep our stores stocked,'' said Kim Ferraro of Goodwill Industries of Southern California. ``Our donors are very generous and very consistent in bringing in their products.''

``We're holding our own,'' added Patrick Falk, administrative coordinator of Out of the Closet, whose 17 Los Angeles thrift stores fund services provided by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

But the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Centers, which manages 300 thrift stores in the Western United States, isn't doing as well.

``The Salvation Army did notice a significant drop in donations in the weeks that followed 9-11,'' said Ed Abrams, director of the agency's Donation Call Center, who declined to furnish details.

``Although we've recovered somewhat since then, we are always in need of clothing, usable furniture and appliances, and other household goods. It hasn't been a large, overwhelming impact. We're always hurting, we never have enough. Anytime we're down, it's not a good sign.''

Adele Guzman, who has managed the City of Hope thrift store for 30 years, said an increase in yard sales and a decrease in donations from such stores as Kmart have left their mark.

Other agencies say the war with Iraq and the poor economy have caused residents to hold off on new purchases and the recycling of used stuff.

While the store once raised $56,000 a year for the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, they're now lucky if they get $1,000 a month.

``Things are rough all over,'' she said. ``We've got five thrift stores around here and none of them are doing that good.''

Lupe Acosta, director of used clothing sales at Meet Each Need with Dignity in Pacoima, said that by April she usually has enough clothes on the shelves for summer - but not this year.

``We're getting a little bit better, but after 9-11 we saw a huge drop in donations of clothing, food and money,'' she said. ``The economy is doing bad, so people are not donating.''

After Sept. 11, donations to St. Vincent de Paul dropped 35 percent. Now, donations have fallen an additional 50 percent from this time last year, officials said, leaving bare shelves at the charity's Los Angeles, Port Hueneme and Santa Barbara thrift stores.

Sales of used items at St. Vincent de Paul's fund emergency assistance, homeless shelters and summer camp for at-risk children for more than 200,000 residents a year. The charity, founded in France by members of the Catholic Church, was established in America in 1845.

``Although our donation program has yet to reach the pre-9-11 level, not since the months following the terrorist attacks have we seen the donation program this bad,'' said Jose Rossier, executive director for the society in Los Angeles, in a statement.

``At this rate, we're either going to have to cut back some of our services or eliminate them.''

Though not thrift charities, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles reported a steady increase in cash donations, while the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles reported a 20 percent decrease.

``Some of it is post-9-11 donor fatigue and a slow economy,'' said H.T. Linke, spokesman for the Los Angeles Red Cross office. ``We can't do much about that. And there's a hangover following (negative) stories about charitable organizations, Enron, the Catholic Church.''

HOW TO HELP

Here are phone numbers and Web sites to obtain information about donating cash or goods to local charities:

--Society of St. Vincent de Paul: Call [phone] or visit www.svdpla.org.

--The Salvation Army Southern California: Call [phone] or visit www.salvationarmy-socal.org.

--City of Hope Los Angeles: Call [phone] or visitwww.cityofhope.org/donate.

--Meet Each Deed with Dignity: Call [phone] or visit www.wgn.net/[ordinal indicator, feminine]mend/.

--Goodwill Industries Southern California: Call (888) 4-GOODWILL or visit www.lagoodwill.org.

--Out of the Closet: Call [phone] or visit www.aidshealth.org/outofthecloset.--CatholLine is overdrawn ic Charities Los Angeles: Call [phone] or visit www.catholiccharitiesla.org.

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A worker pushes a cart of donations out onto the floor of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store in downtown Los Angeles. War with Iraq has further slowed donations to charities.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

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HOW TO HELP (see text)