"Deaths of Despair" the Working Class in America and the Church

After reading the disturbing article in the New York Times titled, "Who Killed the Knapp Family" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn which highlighted the decline in the working class in America due to job loss, failed policies and drug and alcohol addiction, I wondered if the Church/churches in America could do more.
According to a Nobel Prize winning economist and his wife who coined the phrase, "deaths of despair,"  to describe the surge of deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in the working class, they said, "The meaningfulness of the working class life seems to have evaporated," according to Angus Deaton and Anne Case.
Low paying jobs, despair, an apparent lack of constructive social services and feeling left out of prosperity and upward mobility has caused immense problems.
What does the Church have to do with this tragic scenario? I think its an opportunity for the Church to become involved in helping people to find meaning and meaningfulness not only through prayer, Mass and praise and worship but also putting together opportunities along with civic organizations, and government support, to provide job training and learning courses to alleviate despair.
The Church needs to be relevant to people's lives. It needs to look for opportunities to be of service and help those in need. It needs to restore credibility
and one way to do that is do have sensible, realistic programs that provide needed services that can improve people's lives and help the children who are being so damaged by this situation.
If people are in despair and are turning to drugs and alcohol, that is an opportunity to tell people, we can help. We know ways to fill your despair with hope, with courage, with resources that can help.
That's what Jesus would do. He would find ways to heal and give people hope.
NJA