As part of its Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up a few of the best local stories of the day.
Charities across the nation are serving record numbers of people this week in advance of he Thanksgiving holiday -- and there just aren't enough turkeys for everybody.
In Darlington, S.C., local businesses prepared 1,000 turkeys to give away on Tuesday, reports Tonya Brown for Carolina Live, but by 11 a.m. twice that many people had showed up and the birds were long gone. The crowd was so overwhelming that local police had to come in for traffic and crowd control.
In Opa-locka, Fla., people started lining up outside city hall six hours before doors opened for turkey handouts, reports Helen Berggren for the Miami Herald. Because of the crowd, city officials -- some of whom donated hundreds of dollars of their own money -- started handing out turkeys two hours ahead of schedule. By noon, all 1,350 birds were gone.
In Lafeyette, Ind., on Monday, hundreds of residents lined up before sunrise in near-freezing temperatures, according to the Journal & Courier's Dorothy Schneider. "I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart," said Elva Casas, who recently lost her job and insurance and worried about feeding her four children. All 1,200 turkeys were given away by noon.
And in Erie, Penn., 1,000 people lined up in front of the city mission, half of whom showed up before the doors opened, reports the Times-News' Erica Erwin. Shortly before 1 p.m. all the turkeys were gone. "I always felt like I didn't need help," said Ed Sedziak, who was laid off a few months ago. "I always felt that there were people out here who were more needy than me; let them get it. This year, the money's tight."
A church in Louisville, Ky., gave away 600 turkeys on Monday, and organizers were concerned that they would not have enough to give away Tuesday, reports the Courier-Journal's Marcus Green. "We're kind of in a dilemma there, but we'll just go until we run out," said the Cavalry Episcopal Church's outreach director, Margaret Dickinson.
In Montana, the Missoula Food Bank served 1,400 families, reports Tristan Scott for the Missoulian, 150 more than last year. Each family received a turkey and a brown bag of side items.
"We have plenty of folks who are trying hard and just don't have enough, even with jobs and an income," Nick Roberts, development director for the Missoula Food Bank, told the paper. "Either their housing expenses or their car payments are too high, or often times it's an unexpected bill, like a medical need or a car problem."
*********
Consumer complaints about debt collectors have risen 25 percent in the last two years in Baltimore, reports Joce Sterman for local ABC 2 News. The majority of the complaints are concerning debt collectors who misrepresent who there are, and how much money they are seeking, as well as making threats of jail time and physical violence. "It is some of the worst bullying tactics I've ever seen," said attorney Jane Santoni, who has handled a number of cases against debt collectors.
Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission are up nationally. Between 2007 and May, 2009, almost 228,000 claims were filed against debt collectors.
*********
Woodrow Reed, a paralyzed man in southern Texas who was given a free home, has expressed his gratitude to his benefactors, and said he felt blessed, reports KRGV's Jordan Williams. Reed was living in a storage shed after his mobile home was foreclosed. He has never met the people who are giving him his new home, but said "God's going to really bless them in some way, shape or form."
Reed has been in the hospital for most of the last two months after his broken leg became infected. He has yet to move in to his new place. His neighbors are planning to fix up the donated house before he gets out of the hospital.
*********
In Sacramento, Calif., employees for the state government have started patronizing local food banks, reports News 10's Suzanne Phan. State workers are facing a salary cut of up to 15 percent, and some have been living beyond their means.
"They had worked through some of their savings funds. That had really caught up with them and they were kind of desperate at the end of the month in order to put food at the end of the table for their families," said Eileen Thomas, of the River City Food Bank.
HuffPost readers: Seen a compelling local story? Have a neighbor going to bizarre lengths to get through the recession? Tell us about it! Email jmhattem@gmail.com.