Even occasional observers of the Tracy Press have read time and again that McHenry House Family Shelter, Tracy Interfaith Ministries and every other charity group in the area are straining to keep up with growing demands for help. It’s no secret that it’s been a rough year for a lot of people, even though you wouldn’t know it reading a recent federal report.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the federal agency that spends millions of dollars each year to create housing and help the homeless, says the government is doing a bang-up job reducing the nationwide need. The department’s Nov. 7 press release announced a “12 percent decrease in the number of chronically homeless persons living on the nation’s streets” between 2005 and 2006, a drop of about 20,000 people.

That kind of success is reason to celebrate — so pass the Scotch and ice. But, upon sobering up, it’s evident that HUD’s pat-on-the-back report says less than it doesn’t.

While the press release points to a dramatic reduction in chronic homelessness, it doesn’t bother to share the definition of “chronically homeless.” To be chronically homeless, one must be a single individual (no attached family), live in a place unsuitable for human habitation (a car, park bench, etc.) and have been continually homeless for one year or been homeless four times in the past three years.

Given the government’s narrow criteria, the chronically homeless make up only about 10 percent (according to HUD) of the nation’s overall homeless population, which means the touted success is smaller than advertised. It also makes the report entirely irrelevant to Tracy, because around here, it’s families who are truly suffering.

“We have some single people,” said Darlene Quinn, director of Tracy Interfaith Ministries. But, she told me, “Most of what we get (seeking help) is families.”

And the need is growing.

Judith Odegaard, the director of McHenry House, said earlier this week that they’re turning away 40 or 45 families a month because there’s simply no space at the house. That compares to about 35 families a month when I asked earlier this year.

Quinn said she’s seen an increase in demand, too, mostly from families desperately trying to fend off a stint on the street.

And, not that you could forget with all the decorations mobbing local storefronts, it’s the holiday season — crunch time for charities like Brighter Christmas, which again expects a record number of people to sign up for help.

We’ve got a bit of a storm at our doorstep, and the water’s leaking into the house. Traditional high unemployment rates and a depressed economy are combining with the subprime mortgage meltdown to put an extra squeeze on the valley. It’s even pinching those who never thought they’d turn to charity, including the white-picket-fence family with a stable income.

Maybe some community in the U.S. is seeing fewer people in need. Maybe, across the nation, HUD’s report is accurate. But in San Joaquin County, the challenges posed by need and poverty are growing — national trends and statistics be darned.

Luckily, when folks around here know that people are in want, they’re pretty good about addressing it.

“When there’s a need, people are kind and generous and helpful,” Odegaard said.

She speaks from experience. Tracy givers have a better-than-average track record for shelling out the bucks, as proven by the goals set and broken by numerous charity drives in years past. Here’s hoping we manage more of the same, even though this year poses more of a challenge.

Here’s also hoping we don’t come down with a case of donor fatigue, because this challenge will extend far beyond the next month and a half. The housing woes of 2007 and the ripple effect they’ve had on the local economy aren’t going away when we say hello to 2008. Neither are need and homelessness, which are the same whether it’s December or August.

When it comes to helping those less fortunate, as Odegaard told me, “There’s always a need for generous hearts and open wallets.”

That rings truer than any press release.

• E-mail columnist Jon Mendelson at jmendelson@tracypress.com or visit his blog.