The director of one of Iowa’s largest homeless shelters says the economic downturn is forcing more families to seek help. Anthony Timm is executive director of Central Iowa Shelter and Services in Des Moines. He’s noticed more children with their parents taking advantage of free meals. In May of this year, 842 more free meals were served in Des Moines compared to May of 2008.

"Either mom or dad have lost a job or food stamps don’t go as far as they used to because food costs keep rising…we’ve got families in situations that just don’t have money to make ends meet," Timm said. "So, they’re looking for alternatives to feed their families as well as keep their housing."

A report released Thursday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows the number of homeless individuals in the U.S. remained steady between 2007 and 2008, but the number of families using a homeless shelter grew by 9%. Timm says his shelter only allows adults, but is constantly packed.

"We can house up to 116 a night and some nights our beds are full and we’ve got people that will have to sleep in a chair or seek shelter somewhere else because we can’t accommodate them," Timm said. Earlier this year, the Des Moines City Council approved plans for a new six-million dollar homeless shelter that will hold 210 beds.

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Tough economic times are forcing a Sioux City-based missionary group to push back, but not cancel, plans to build an orphanage in an impoverished African village.

Mary Bechler is executive director of STEMM, or Siouxland Tanzania Educational Medical Ministries, a group that offers spiritual growth, medical care and educational opportunities.

"Raising the capitol funds for the orphanage is more difficult than it was two or three years ago," Bechler says. "We’re looking for donors who can make anywhere from $10,000 to 40-or-$50,000 pledges to get this orphanage built."

Despite the setbacks, a team from STEMM will be leaving for Tanzania later this month to break ground on the orphanage. Bechler says plans for the much-needed facility are being scaled back, for now.

"We were hoping to have that completed by July of this year and it’s just plain not happening and the economy has had something to do with that," she says. "We’ve got about half of the money that we need so we’re starting quite humbly with two houses and as the funds come in, we will construct more houses."

Each house will be home to about ten children and the original orphanage plan called for 18 houses to shelter 180 children. STEMM was founded in 1996 and since then, its members from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota have made dozens of trips to Tanzania. Bechler says it’s incredibly rewarding.

"When you walk on Tanzanian soil, the people are so appreciative," she says. "They can’t believe that people half a world away would care enough to send their child to school or do surgery on their child, or even building this orphanage. STEMM is somewhat of a household word in Tanzania." The next mission team is scheduled to depart on a three-week trip on July 22nd to break ground on the orphanage.