Don't Turn Away, Ohio

More and more families in Ohio and across the country do not have enough food

2010-11-16T15:43:00.002-05:00

A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that more than 17.4 million families in America, or 51 million people, were "food insecure" in 2009. In Ohio, nearly 680,000 families, or 14.8% of all families in the state, were food insecure in 2009, according to the report.

The report also explains that number of people in Ohio and all across the country who do not have enough food to eat has increased significantly in recent years.

Click here to read an article from The Washington Post about the report.

Click here to read an article from The Columbus Dispatch about the report, including detailed information about what the report says about food insecurity in Ohio.

Local minister sees more and more families living in poverty

2010-10-26T14:02:00.001-04:00

As the number of people living in poverty has increased in recent years, local ministers like Phil Foster have seen more and more people turning to churches and food pantries for help.

“It’s tough,” Foster said. Five years ago, the poverty problem was bad in Athens County, but it wasn’t as bad as it is now, he said. Even just five or 10 months ago, the poverty problem wasn’t this dire, he added. Foster is the minister at the New Life Assembly of God church in Athens. In August, his church held a food giveaway day for the community. The church provided free boxes of food, along with free shoes and other items, beginning at 10 a.m. on a Saturday.

“At 8:30, people were lined up,” Foster said. When his church volunteers arrived at 8:30 a.m. and saw the line of people, they got things ready to go and opened up the doors as quickly as possible. The church had food boxes, free shoes and a few other items to give away, and Foster was happy that so many people received assistance.

“We’ll probably do this again,” Foster said. The August giveaway was made possible by an individual living in Texas who saw the Dateline NBC special report on poverty in America this summer. The report focused on Athens County, and this individual was so moved by it that he wanted to do something to help people in Athens County. Foster explained that the individual contacted his church through Facebook, and then made a donation that made the food giveaway possible.

The church has done other food and clothing giveaways in the past, including several times when church members took boxes of food out to local apartment complexes. In past years, it was difficult at times to find people who would accept the food boxes. When the church members took food boxes out to apartment complexes this year, though, they had no problem finding people to take the food. In addition, the church members could have given out many more food boxes if they were available, Foster said.

The church also receives many more calls for assistance now that it received in past years, Foster added. People all across the country are facing economic hardships, but Foster said that the national recession has been especially difficult on the people in Appalachia.

“There are 10 times more challenges here than other places I have been,” Foster said, adding that he has lived and worked around the country. Many people may think that those who are living in poverty should just get a job and make more money, but sometimes that is not possible, he said.

“It’s not always that simple,” Foster said. Athens County and southeast Ohio do not have enough jobs for the people who need them. In addition, many people work in low-paying jobs and are still living in poverty. It is also difficult for many people to move away from southeast Ohio, as their families live here and it can be expensive to move. These family ties are often a critical support system for the poor.

It’s a nearly impossible situation for people to be in, and Foster and his church do what they can to help people in need. He wishes his church could do more, and his church will try to do more to help, Foster said.

Program provides daily meals for hundreds of local children

2010-08-17T16:00:00.002-04:00

Each year, more and more children in Athens County and across Ohio benefit from the free and reduced lunch programs at the public schools. During the summer months, though, many families do not have enough money to pay for all of the meals for their children, so summer feeding programs spring up across the region. One of the largest programs of this kind in Athens County is run by the Nelsonville Community Center.

The center, which is staffed completely by volunteers, is led by Rhonda Bentley. She explained that every Monday through Friday in the summer, community center volunteers served breakfast and lunch to children at the park next to the city pool. Breakfast was served from 9-10 a.m., and it usually drew around 100 children. Lunch was served from 1-2 p.m., and often drew around 300. I n a city of around 5,000 people, it is stunning to have that many children showing up for free lunches every day.

“It’s amazing to me, too,” Rhonda said. Many of the children are at the city pool on the hot summer days, and then they walk to the park for the free lunches. Their families may be able to find the money to get the children in the pool, but without this program many of the children would not have had money for lunch, Rhonda said.

Many of the children also come to the park just for the lunches. Some show up early and wait, and some pick up their lunches and take them home or to wherever they are playing that day. On rainy days when people are not swimming, the Nelsonville Community Center still passes out more than 160 free lunches.

Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action provides the food for the breakfast and lunch programs. The meals are all very basic, with lunches made up of items such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, turkey and cheese sandwiches, apples, raisins, celery and peanut butter. The breakfast meals include items such as cereal, fruit, milk and bagels.

The Nelsonville Community Center also offers after-school programs, clubs for children to join, and other activities. The center is a safe and warm place where children of all ages can gather after school and in the summer.

The center also offers programming for adults, a free community lunch on Fridays, free clothing and other items, and furniture sold for very low prices. The center accepts donated furniture, and then sells the furniture items in order to help pay the utility bills for the building. There are no income limits on purchasing the furniture.

“We’d like everyone to come in. We need to sell as much furniture as possible in order to pay the bills,” Rhonda said.

Federal leaders respond to Dateline NBC report by cutting food assistance benefits to the poor

2010-08-09T13:41:00.006-04:00

President Obama and Congress are slashing food assistance benefits for our poorest citizens.

After Dateline NBC aired a special report on poverty in America recently, many people were waiting to see what the response would be from our country’s leaders.

The national news program showed people standing in lines for food, explained how people at the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center in Lottridge were sending messages on paper plates to The White House asking for help, and told the stories of several families who, just like families all across America, are struggling to meet their basic needs of food and shelter. The response from Congress and The White House was clear and it was shocking, as they chose to cut food benefits for the poor at a time when it is clear that food stamps are not meeting the needs of our country’s families.

“This is shameless,” said Jack Frech, Athens County Job and Family Services director. “This is how our leaders are answering these pleas for help, by taking food away from poor families who already do not have enough food to make it through the month. If the President and Congress feel there is somehow ‘extra’ money in the food stamp program, they need to expand benefits and eligibility rules so that families do not have to depend on food pantries to feed their children.”

The U.S. Senate has already approved a bill to cut food benefits to the poor, and the U.S House of Representatives will soon be voting on this bill as well. Advocates for the poor all across the country are speaking out against this bill, and Athens County Job and Family Services also strongly opposes it. Below are links to additional articles about the proposed legislation.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/08/food_stamps_or_teachers_congre.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/opinion/07sat3.html?ref=todayspaper
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40739.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/05/record-number-americans-receiving-food-stamp-benefits/
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/08/04/food-stamp-cuts-may-aid-medicaid.html?sid=101

Dateline NBC special focuses on poverty in southeastern Ohio

2010-07-26T14:23:00.003-04:00

Dateline NBC’s Sunday, July 25 program provided a look at the many challenges facing people living in poverty today. The program featured several people from Athens County and southeastern Ohio who have a very difficult time just meeting their basic needs of food and shelter. We appreciate that Dateline NBC chose to come to Athens County in order to show people around the country how the poor have been hurt by the country’s economic downturn.

The stories shown on Dateline NBC are heartbreaking, as the people interviewed face numerous obstacles and are in nearly impossible situations.

What is even more heartbreaking, though, is that there are countless other people in Athens County, in southeastern Ohio and all across the country who are facing similar economic hardships and despair. People all across America are living in poverty and facing numerous challenges that make it nearly impossible to improve their financial situations.

We appreciate how people like Lisa Roberts and Rhonda Bentley are doing so much in Athens County to help those who are living in need. At the same time, people should not have to wait in lines for food. Our country’s cash assistance and food assistance programs need to provide adequate assistance so that people are able go to grocery stores and buy their own food for their own homes.

The Dateline NBC program is posted on the Dateline NBC website, which is located at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600. The website also features additional footage that did not make it into the program from people around southeastern Ohio.

If you would like to contact the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center and/or its director, Lisa Roberts, call 877-223-7161 or log onto http://www.friends-n-neighbors.org/.

If you would like to contact Rhonda Bentley and the Nelsonville Community Center, call (740) 753-4100.

If you would like to contact the Second Harvest Foodbank in Logan, call (740) 385-6813 or (800) 385-6813.

Athens Farmers Market leads the way

2010-06-16T10:33:00.000-04:00

The Athens Farmers Market leads all farmers markets in Ohio in the number of customers it serves who are receiving Food Assistance Program benefits. And this summer, the Athens Farmers Market is offering extra incentives to customers who use their Food Assistance benefits to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the market. Click here to read more about how the Athens Farmers Market has made it easy for area residents to use their Food Assistance benefits to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.

Additional comments from the Athens County ABLE program graduation ceremony

2010-06-14T11:24:00.004-04:00

The Athens County Adult Basic Literacy and Education (ABLE) program at The Work Station held its annual GED graduation ceremony on Friday, June 4 at Chauncey Elementary School. Several of the graduates talked after the ceremony about how the program has helped them and about what their plans are now.

Michelle Strong, 19, of Nelsonville, was not able to graduate from her high school because of a problem with her credit hours, so she enrolled in the GED program to finish. She earned her GED in 2009, the same year that she would have graduated from high school, and enjoyed working with the teachers and other students in the GED program.

“I thought it was really awesome,” Strong said. She plans to continue her education in college and may study early childhood education.

David Riddle, 21, of Grove City, was just a few credits short of graduating from high school when he dropped out so that he could work and earn money for his family. He and his wife and son moved to southern Ohio for a time, and Riddle tried to get by without going back to school and getting his degree.

“I just lacked the motivation,” he said. Being a father has made him more responsible, and he knew that he needed to go back to school and earn his GED so that he would be able to get better jobs and be better able to support his family. “I think it will open a lot of doors for me,” he said.

Cristy James, 53, of Nelsonville, decided to earn her GED in order to improve her job prospects. She plans to now continue her education at the Tri-County Career Center. James was originally nervous about going back to school, but she knew it was important that she earn her GED.

“It was hard,” she said about first going back. The staff at The Work Station helped her a great deal, and she enjoyed the GED program. “I liked it. It really helped me,” James said.

Shandi Kincaid, 21, of Bainbridge also decided to earn her GED in order to improve her job opportunities.

“I need a better job and no one will hire me without an education,” Kincaid said. She hopes to eventually work in human resources management, and is thankful for all of the assistance she received from the ABLE program.

“It was a really good program,” Kincaid said. “They really helped me a lot.” After the ceremony, the graduates and their family members and friends were treated to dinner and a performance by the Back Porch Swing Band. Also, local musician Bob Montalto played the piano before and during the graduation ceremony.

Click here for more photos from the ceremony.

GED graduates honored at ceremony

2010-06-09T14:36:00.002-04:00

The Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) GED Graduation Ceremony for Athens County was a relatively small and quiet event, but the June 4 celebration was a monumental occasion that marked a major accomplishment in the lives of the graduates and their families.

Around 70 people earned their GEDs in the Athens County program during the 2009-2010 school year, and 11 of the graduates took part in the commencement ceremony inside the Chauncey Elementary School gymnasium. One of the graduates was Nekisha Singer, who gave one of the two main speeches during the event. Singer, who became emotional several times during her remarks, explained that she dropped out of high school after she became pregnant at the age of 16.

“I knew I had to grow up quickly,” she said. Singer was told several times when she was younger that she had a learning disability, and she explained that school was frustrating for her at times. She decided to go back to school in the last year to earn her GED for her family and for herself.

“To prove to myself that I am no different and that I can do whatever I put my mind to,” Singer said. She thanked ABLE teachers Scott Hatfield and Candy Byron for all of their assistance, and said she hopes they understand how big of an impact they have had on her life. She also thanked her family members and friends for their support.

“Thank you all for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” Singer said. She also told the other graduates that they should be proud of their accomplishments and that they should also share their stories of the GED program with other people in the community.

“Inspire them to go back to school and realize their hopes and dreams,” said Singer. She will now continue her education at Columbus State Community College.

“I know that the sky is the limit for me and for all of my fellow graduates,” Singer said.

Graduate Alicia Hale also gave a few remarks, and explained that she decided to go back to school to earn her GED for one main reason.

“I did it for my three little boys,” Hale said. She thanked her family and friends, as well as the staff at The Work Station for their support, and said that she also plans to now go to college.

Survey on poverty-related issues now posted online

2010-05-28T16:33:00.000-04:00

An Ohio University class surveyed voters across the state earlier this year about their opinions on poverty and found that Ohioans want state leaders do more to help the poor. At the same time, though, Ohio residents differ in their opinions on how best to help the poor, according to the survey results. The survey asked Ohio residents about a wide range of issues related to poverty in Ohio. Click here to read the survey.

Survey examines Ohio residents opinions on poverty-related issues

2010-05-26T16:15:00.000-04:00

An Ohio University class surveyed Ohio voters about their opinions on poverty-related issues recently and found some very interesting results.

Representatives from the class, as well as representatives from Athens County Job and Family Services, will discuss the survey results at a Friday, May 28 press conference held at noon in Ohio University's Lasher Hall. Click here to read more about the survey and the press conference.

Life after prison can be very challenging

2010-05-24T14:53:00.001-04:00

Click here to read about Dale, an Athens County resident adjusting to life after prison. It can be very difficult for ex-offenders to transition back into society, as many owe large sums of money in court costs and fines, many do not have their driver's licenses, many are unable to work in certain fields because of their felony convictions, and many face numerous other problems. Dale is facing several significant obstacles, but he is happy and is doing his best to live a normal life.

College degrees will open new doors for Athens County couple

2010-05-10T09:59:00.000-04:00

Click here to read about Nickie and Jerrod, an Athens County couple with one son. State budget cuts cost Jerrod his job, so now Nickie and Jerrod are both going to college so that they can find secure jobs that they enjoy. They go to school and work, and they also receive some assistance to help them get by. They know that they won't need the help for long, though, and that soon they will be starting new careers.

Transportation is a major barrier for many in southeast Ohio who are looking for work

2010-05-07T09:38:00.002-04:00

Emily Ax works with a jobs program at the Good Works Shelter in Athens, where she helps area residents receive job training and find work. She attended the April 21 Job Fair in Athens and said that it was a good opportunity for area residents to make face-to-face contacts with local employers. She was a little disappointed that a few of the employers who planned to be there could not attend, but overall she was pleased with the event.

In her job at the homeless shelter, she sees several challenges for people trying to find work in southeast Ohio, and she explained that transportation is a major barrier for many people.

“Transportation is always an issue,” she said. Many people have the skills and training needed to work in different jobs, but the jobs in their fields are not available here or they do not have reliable transportation to get to work every day.

“I am grateful that there is a small transit system in Athens,” Ax said, adding that it is a big plus that the bus system travels to The Plains as well. If the public transportation system could ever be expanded in Athens County, it would be very helpful for many people, she said.

People in southeast Ohio will take jobs outside of their main skills or the fields they want to work in, simply because they need the work and the pay, Ax said. If they can find work in their fields, though, it is very uplifting for them.

More comments from area residents at the recent Job Fair in Athens

2010-05-05T08:46:00.002-04:00

Christian Thomas works part-time in Athens County and is looking for full-time work. He has experience in many different fields and hopes that someone will give him a chance to get started on a career.

“To me, a job is different from a career,” Thomas said. A job is something you do for a while to pay the bills, while a career is working for a long time in one field that you enjoy, Thomas said. He talked to representatives from several different companies at the job fair, and is open to working in many different types of jobs. He is a quick learner, and hopes to find steady work and a new career that he enjoys.

“I like helping people,” Thomas said. While it is often a struggle to pay all of his expenses, Thomas said he is not discouraged that that money is tight right now. He expects to have to overcome challenges in life and is hopeful that he will be able to secure a full-time job and a steady income soon.

Justin Shields of Athens earned a degree in information technology in 2009 and has not been able to find work in that field yet. In the meantime, he has been working on his parent’s farm, but he wants to find a job soon working with computers.

“I need to start paying off my student loans,” Shields said. He had not been to a job fair before, and said it was helpful to be able to talk to the representatives from different companies at the Athens event.

He is hoping to find a job where he can use his creativity and computer skills, and said that he knows that he can be an asset to any company that hires him. He would also like to do consulting work for businesses and show them how they can use their computers more efficiently in order to save time and money.

Additional comments from area residents at the April 21 Job Fair held in Athens

2010-05-03T09:25:00.003-04:00

Eric Heck of Athens has worked for several years for a local company, and enjoys the job. His company has been hurt by the country’s economic downturn, though, and has had to reduce its costs in the last few years. Because of the company’s need to cut back, Heck was laid off for a few months beginning in December 2008 and then was laid off again in December 2009.

“It is discouraging,” Heck said. He worked for the U.S. Census Bureau for a few weeks in 2009 and will be working for the U.S. Census Bureau again this summer. After that, he is hoping to get called back to his original job, but he does not know if that will happen or not. He is trying to find steady, full-time work, and turned in a few resumes and applications to companies represented at the Job Fair, but he has not been able to find a permanent, full-time job yet. He is concerned about his job prospects, but is hopeful he will be working full-time again soon.

Meigs County resident Lora Langdon worked in home health care for 10 years, but had to stop working in that field because of an injury. She went back to school and earned a degree to work as a medical office assistant, but has not found job in that field yet.

While she is looking for a full-time job, she is working a service industry job in order to help pay the bills. Langdon needs a full-time position, though, where she can earn more money. If she can’t find work as a medical office assistant, she will consider going back to work in home health care in spite of her injury, simply because she needs the work and there are jobs available in this field. She said she was happy to be able to talk to a few employers at the job fair, and added that she also picked up a few job applications for one of her relatives.

Job Fair brings in more than 500 people looking for work

2010-04-30T11:09:00.004-04:00

More than 500 people attended the Area 14 One Stop Job, Career and Information Fair in Athens on April 21, and several of the job seekers talked about how the country’s economic problems have hurt their job prospects.

Robert Boggs of Athens explained that he currently works in manufacturing, but the work is only part-time and the hours and pay vary greatly. Business has been slow lately for the company he works for, so his hours and pay have been reduced.

“The economy is down,” Boggs said. He would like to work full-time in a factory, but there aren't many of those jobs in the region. He applied for a few jobs with factories at the Job Fair, and said he was pleased with the different employers he was able to visit. Boggs explained that he does not want to work in a service industry job that deals with the public, but he has applied for a few of these jobs recently because he needs the work.

“I’d rather just put my head down and work all day making things,” Boggs said. It has been discouraging to not be able to find a full-time job, and it has been hard on him financially, too.

“It’s pretty rough,” Boggs said. “I’m about ready to move back to the city.” He used to live and work in Chicago, but moved to Athens to help take care of a sick relative. He likes living here, but will have to move soon if he can’t find steady work.

Boggs is just one of many people at the Job Fair who talked about how they lost their jobs because of layoffs, health problems or other reasons, or how they have had trouble finding work after graduating from high school or college. Over the next week, we will post additional comments from several of these people.

Sarah Williams represented one employer at the Job Fair, as she worked in the booth for Bellisio Foods of Jackson. Bellisio Foods is currently hiring for several different positions working in the company’s plant, and Williams said she talked with many different people who were looking for work at the job fair. She was pleased that she was able to talk to so many potential employees, and said the Athens job fair is a very good event.

“It is so organized,” Johnson said.

Laurel Lindamood and Lindsay Mayle represented Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc., of Athens at the Job Fair, and they also said it was a good opportunity to talk to a large number of potential employees. At the 2009 job fair, their company had open positions that they were able to talk to area residents about, but this year they did not have any open positions. Lindamood and Mayle did talk to several people who are interested in working for the company when positions do come open, and they were able to explain more about the work the company does. They also told people to watch their Web site, http://www.dhiusa.com/about_us/careers/ for information on job openings and how to apply.

Earning her GED, planning for college and building a better life for her daughter

2010-04-23T09:12:00.000-04:00

Click here to read about Erica, an Athens County resident who recently earned her GED and is now planning for college and for a career. She is a single mother who has a great attitude and is working hard to build a better life for her daughter.

Census forms to be sent out in March

2010-02-23T15:00:00.001-05:00

All U.S. residents should receive their 2010 U.S. Census forms in March. In Athens County, some residents in the Glouster and Coolville areas will receive their forms in the first week of March, while the rest of the county residents will receive theirs in mid-March. Also in March, the U.S. Census Bureau will be setting up locations in Athens County where people can go to ask questions about the Census and receive additional forms. For more information on these locations, the forms all U.S. residents should receive or the importance of the upcoming U.S. Census count, click here. To log onto the U.S. Census Bureau's Web site for information on the 2010 Census Count, click here.

Columnist looks at how the national recession is affecting the poor

2010-02-10T10:13:00.004-05:00

New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert wrote an outstanding column recently that points out that while politicians and the national media focus on how the national recession is affecting the upper and middle classes, the poorest Americans are the ones who have been hit hardest. Click here to read the column.

Columnist looks at how the poor are viewed in America

2010-02-02T14:03:00.001-05:00

Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., wrote an outstanding column recently discussing issues such as why no one speaks out for the poor and how people living in poverty are often powerless and misunderstood. Click here to read the column on the Miami Herald Web site.

Census Road Tour Stops in Athens County

2010-01-22T15:53:00.005-05:00

The 2010 Census Road Tour stopped in Athens County recently to promote the April 1 U.S. Census Count and to provide information for people who are interested in working for the U.S. Census Bureau. The Road Tour is traveling around the country spreading the message about how important it is to be counted and how filling out your Census form helps your local community.

In Athens County, the Road Tour stopped at Ohio University and Hocking College on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Click here to read an article from The Athens NEWS about the Census Road Tour.

Click here to read the Athens MidDay article and watch one interview about the Census Road Tour. (Click on the link on the right side of the Athens MidDay page, or scroll down to see the article).

Click here to read the news release about the event.

A few more comments from people at the Thanksgiving lunch at the Lottridge Community Center

2009-12-11T13:25:00.006-05:00

Gordon Bolin often attends the Wednesday lunches at the center, as he enjoys the meal and the chance to visit with neighbors.

His wife works and he receives Social Security, and they are able pay their bills each month. Money is tight, though, as their income is not great and they also help to support family members living overseas. Bolin grows food for his family in his garden every year, and he also shares much of his produce with others at the weekly meals in Lottridge.

Linda Congrove and her husband live in Trimble, but drive over to Lottridge each week to volunteer. She helps prepare and serve the free lunch, while he helps out at the food pantry.

“Some of the people here, it might be the only meal they get all week, other than opening a can of beans,” Congrove said. Some people at the meals are just lonely and need someone to talk to, she added. Congrove likes to volunteer at the center because everyone is always friendly, and she knows that a lot of people are facing hard times and need a little help.

Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center, said that the food pantry sees more and more people who need help every week. She also runs food pantries in Torch and Racine, and said those sites are also seeing an increase in numbers.

At Racine, for example, the average number of people served over the last few months has climbed to about 100 families each week. The holidays and the cold weather will cause that number to continue to increase, Roberts said. The week before Thanksgiving, for example, the Racine center served 165 families.

In order to keep up with the increase in demand, the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center is looking for donations to help these families in need. The center is also looking for donations of Christmas presents that will be handed out to low-income families to give to their children this year.

For more information on the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center or to donate gifts to the center, call 740-667-0684.

Holidays can be tough for many families

2009-12-09T16:18:00.007-05:00

The holiday season can be a very hard time for families who are struggling to get by, as Christmas presents and special dinners often result in more bills that they can’t afford to pay.

Local organizations such as the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center in Lottridge are stepping in to help these families, though, and are trying to bring them some holiday cheer.

On Wednesday, Nov. 25, the Lottridge center held a special Thanksgiving free meal along with its food box distribution. More than 150 people enjoyed the Thanksgiving lunch, and more than 50 families were able to pick up food boxes at the pantry that day.

Coolville residents Valerie Magill and Jason Simms were among those at the center for the Thanksgiving meal. Magill also volunteered to work at the food pantry for the day.

“I like helping people,” Magill said. She formerly worked as a nurse, but had to stop working in that field after she sustained a serious back injury.

“I have been off of work for a year,” she said. Her back has gotten better, but her doctor does not want her to go back to the type of work she used to do because it would most likely cause another injury. She also has other health problems relating to her battle with cancer four years ago and other health issues.

Currently, she receives Ohio Works First cash assistance and volunteers at the food pantry for the work hours she has to complete in order to receive the assistance.

Simms, meanwhile, has his own serious health problems stemming from a car accident that he was in when he was 10 years old. He was in a coma for 10 days after the accident, and his brain stem was injured. He has had health problems ever since the accident, and is unable to work.
Magill and Simms have four kids between them, and they survive on the monthly income of $455 she receives in cash assistance and $700 he receives from Social Security.

“We struggle to get by,” Magill said. They pay $510 per month in rent, and have very little money to pay all of their expenses.

“My self-esteem, it’s been down,” Magill added. She would like to work a full-time job again and has been looking for work. Her car needs repaired, though, and the Athens County Job and Family Services Prevention, Retention and Contingency (PRC) program that used to pay for car repairs for people who needed their vehicles for work is no longer operating. That program was eliminated earlier this year due to cuts in state funding.

Magill and Simms are not sure how they will pay for Christmas presents for the children or pay for other holiday and winter expenses. But they are thankful for everything they do have and for the programs such as the one at Lottridge that provide assistance. They are also hopeful that things will improve for them soon.

Why is "Welfare" a dirty word?

2009-12-03T12:11:00.002-05:00

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word “welfare” as a noun as the state of doing well, especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity. “Welfare” is defined as an adjective as: (1) of, relating to, or concerned with welfare and especially with improvement of the welfare of disadvantaged social groups, and (2) receiving public welfare benefits.

Being concerned about improving someone’s welfare, especially a child’s or that of someone who is disabled or elderly would seem to be a good public policy. So why then do our elected officials avoid characterizing any attempt to improve someone’s “good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity” as “welfare”? Why is it that “welfare” is so despised in the context of improving the welfare of disadvantaged social groups?

Is it fear? Fear seems to be behind many attempts to stereotype groups of people. Aren't we stereotyping poor people when we demonize all of them as cheats or undeserving? Do we stereotype poor people so that we can dehumanize and ignore them? Are we afraid of the 6.3 million children living in extreme poverty in the United States?

Is it selfishness? The federal government uses tax dollars to provide a subsidy of $250 billion per year to those employed people still lucky enough to receive employer subsidized health insurance. The federal government also uses an additional $80 billion tax dollars per year to provide subsidies to homeowners who deduct mortgage interest. According to Webster’s, these benefits are “welfare.” These welfare benefits alone, and there are many others, amount to 20 times the welfare subsidy provided to the poorest families among us. Are we afraid that we might have to share?

At some point, it was decided that it was good public policy to provide more than $320 billion per year in welfare benefits to employed people with subsidized health insurance who own homes with mortgages up to $1 million dollars, in order to improve their “good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity.” Wouldn't it also be good public policy to improve the welfare of those less fortunate?

We must acknowledge that “welfare” is not a dirty word, and that it is provided in many forms to many different recipients. We need to refocus our assistance toward the poorest of the poor first.

By Gregg Oakley
Athens County Job and Family Services Deputy Director

Columbus Dispatch series examines how state budget cuts have hurt Ohio families

2009-11-24T15:39:00.003-05:00

The Columbus Dispatch recently published an outstanding series of articles on how state budget cuts have hurt Ohio families living in poverty.

Click here for a link to the page on the Columbus Dispatch Web site for information on the series of articles, as well as links to the articles and a video report on one story. We have also saved each of the articles as PDF files, and you can click on the following links for these articles:

Click here for the short article that introduces the series. It has information on all of the subjects examined in the series.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are affecting the most vulnerable Ohio residents. This article looks in particular at an Athens County family hit hard by the country's economic problems.
Click here for an article on how families in Ohio are digging the graves for their deceased family members and friends in order to save money on funeral expenses. This article also looks in particular at an Athens County family.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are hurting programs that help the homeless.
Click here for an article examining how budget cuts have reduced the number of after-school programs for children, and how this is hurting children in Ohio.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are reducing and in some cases wiping out programs to help and protect the elderly.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are hurting programs designed to help the mentally ill.

Digging their own graves

2009-11-16T10:38:00.002-05:00

“We can’t afford to live, and now we can’t even afford to die.”
That’s what one Athens County resident told me when I asked about funeral expenses for families living in poverty. Believe it or not, some families in Athens County are now digging the graves of their loved ones in order to save money on funeral expenses.

It does not happen every day, and many cemeteries in the county won’t allow just anyone to dig a grave. Also, one local funeral home director told me that some people offer to dig the graves of their deceased family members and friends as a gesture for their families, and see it as part of the grieving process.

To be sure, though, many families in Athens County and around the country are digging the graves simply because they cannot afford the funeral costs and have to find ways to save money.
I talked recently with several people who have been involved in helping families get crews together to dig graves. Sometimes the crews have equipment, other times the family members and friends are digging with shovels. This work would be difficult at any time, but it is made worse by the fact that these individuals are going through the grieving process for their deceased family member or friend at the same time.

Along the same lines, some families cannot afford any type of funeral for a loved one. The state of Ohio used to pay up to $750 for burial costs for an indigent individual, but the funding for that program was wiped out in 2001. Cities and townships have to pay up to $750 out of their own general funds for the burial of an unclaimed body, but there is no set law in the state for burying the body of an individual whose family or friends can’t pay for the funeral.

Many cities or townships will pay up to $750 for indigent funeral costs, and sometimes the local government groups will pay more than $1,000 for the funeral costs. Sometimes the local government will only pay the costs if the body is cremated.
And sadly, sometimes the local governments will not pay anything and do not have any policy in place for burying indigent bodies.

In addition, many funeral homes will not accept payment plans for funeral expenses anymore. Their costs have gone up over the years, and they say that while they do their best to work with low-income families, the payment plans are no longer feasible for them.

All of this leaves families digging graves to save money, holding fundraisers to pay burial expenses, donating bodies to science because they can’t afford a funeral, taking out high-interest loans to pay funeral expenses or just leaving the bodies unclaimed so there will be no funeral and so that the local government will be forced to pay for burial.

Our society has a hard enough time treating people with respect while they are alive, and now we are turning our backs on people living in poverty when they die. The federal, state or local governments need to do something about this problem and help out these families in need. This is a growing problem in Athens County and around the country, and it’s a sad commentary on our society.

We can’t just stand by and do nothing while our neighbors dig their own graves.

State leaders need to support House Bill 308

2009-11-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

House Bill 308 is a responsible way for Ohio leaders to raise the revenue needed to properly fund the programs that are in place to help families in need. Athens County Job and Family Services Director Jack Frech recently wrote an editorial column explaining why House Bill 308 is so important and why it makes sense for Ohio. Click here to read the editorial.

America is failing to help poor children

2009-10-21T09:11:00.002-04:00

At a time when the federal government is giving banks $700 billion in bailout funds, our country has 6.3 million children living in extreme poverty and we are doing little to help them.
The updated report, “TANF: Failing America’s Poorest Children,” details how cash assistance and food programs are underfunded and do not get families up to even half of the federal poverty level. Shockingly, over the last 11 years, only three states have increased their cash assistance funding to keep up with cost of living increases, and 23 states have not increased their cash assistance funding levels at all.
In Ohio, more than 160,000 children currently rely on the Ohio Works First cash assistance program. At the same time, Ohio has nearly 245,000 children who are living in extreme poverty, which means their family income is at or below 50 percent of the federal poverty level.
Welfare reform placed strict requirements on families receiving public assistance. But this newly-released report shows how people on public assistance fall further behind every year while our government actually reduces cash assistance funding in some states and turns its back on poor people all across America. Government leaders often argue that they do not have the money to increase TANF funding or other programs to help poor people. They say they have to make “tough choices,” but the choices almost always leave poor children out in the cold. Meanwhile, the government chooses to spend money in other areas:
· Financial institutions are allowed to hand out billions of dollars of the federal bailout money to pay for bonuses and special compensation for employees.
· The federal government chose to use more than $17 billion to bailout the auto industry. That $17 billion is more than the entire annual federal appropriation for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.
· States such as Ohio have chosen in recent years to roll back income taxes at a time when state budgets are losing money and welfare programs that poor families rely on are being cut.
· The federal government just chose to spend $79 million to see if there is water on the moon, while families all across the country don’t have water in their own homes.
The assistance programs that are supposed to help our neighbors are failing miserably simply because our government won’t adequately fund these programs. Too many families are going hungry. Too many children are living in extreme poverty. We need to greatly increase the funding for programs to help poor people. We need to choose to do the right thing.

Waiting for assistance

2009-09-16T10:38:00.001-04:00

Julie is an Athens County resident who proudly worked for the same company for the last 15 years.

She loved her job and the people she worked with, but recently lost her job because she does not yet have her GED. Julie is working to earn her GED and get back on her feet, but has not been able to receive the help yet that she needs from the safety net programs that are supposed to be in place for Ohio residents.

She has to wait at least two weeks just to talk to someone about the Food Assistance program, and she is also waiting for unemployment assistance and other types of assistance.But while she is forced to wait for help, it's nearly impossible for her to pay her bills and buy groceries for her children. Click here to read more about Julie.

Area residents line up for produce giveaway

2009-09-04T13:57:00.003-04:00

When local volunteers began giving boxes and bags full of produce away at the Athens County Fairgrounds on Thursday, Aug. 27, the line of cars was at least 60 long.
“I couldn’t see where it ended,” said the Rev. Jim Jennings, associate pastor at Central Avenue United Methodist Church in Athens and one of the volunteers who helped during the day. “For the first hour, it was non-stop cars.”
The Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center in Lottridge organized the program after receiving the surplus produce from the United State Department of Agriculture. The organization received 26,620 pounds of produce worth a total value of nearly $44,000.
The volunteers gave food to 412 families at the fairgrounds, and then took the extra food to a food center in Little Hocking where they served an additional 100 families. When the giveaway started in Little Hocking at 5 p.m., 70 families were already waiting in line.
“It’s really nice that they are doing this,” one woman said after having bags and boxes of produce loaded into her car at the Athens County Fairgrounds. All families who met certain income guidelines were eligible to receive the produce, no matter when they had last had visited a food pantry.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, corn, green peppers, green beans, pears and potatoes were all included in the giveaway, and each person received a generous quantity of the items. The bags of corn that were handed out, for example, each had 12 ears in them.
“I don’t get to buy all of this at the store,” one woman explained as she drove through the line with another family also in the car. Produce items can be very expensive, so while she would like to buy them for her daughter, she usually cannot.
“I like that I’m able to get this for my daughter, it helps her grow,” she said.
“It helps a million,” added another woman in her car.
Chrissy, who lives near Shade, was in another two-family car, and was also very thankful for the food items.
“This will last us a month or two,” she said. She was planning to freeze and refrigerate some of the produce items while also making meals ahead of time and then freezing those meals, too.
She is unable to work because of a disability, so her income is limited and things are very tough for her family of four. She has also been informed that even though prices are going up, she won’t receive any increase in her disability pay for at least another two years.
“We’re making it by the skin of our teeth,” Chrissy said. She visits the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center twice a month for food and supplies, and finds ways to get food, clothing and other items at low prices in the community. For school supplies for her children, for example, she traveled to Gallipolis where she could receive the items she needed for not much money.
Last month, though, she was only able to go to the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center once because she could not afford the gas to drive out a second time.

Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center, said that her facility is seeing more and more people needing help.
“It is scary we see so many new people. It has just grown and grown,” Roberts said. The number of senior citizens who need food and other items has increased especially rapidly, she added.
“So many senior citizens cannot afford to buy food because they have to buy their medicine instead,” Roberts said. “They’re going hungry because they can’t afford their medicine.”
Jennings explained that the members of his church have been volunteering at the Lottridge center for the last two years. And during that time, Jennings and the other volunteers have seen the need for help at the center go up as the economy has worsened.
“It has increased this summer,” Jennings said. “There are always new people.”
Many people are suddenly out of work or facing financial problems for other reasons, and now find themselves needing help from organizations such as Friends and Neighbors.
“Even in our (church) office, the calls for help have increased,” Jennings said. The Central Avenue United Methodist Church used to receive an average of one call per week for help, and now the church receives two or three per week. Usually the calls are from people looking for financial help to pay their utility bills or rent.
His church members also volunteer at the Kilvert Community Center, and Jennings said he also sees a great need there for assistance for people living in poverty.

Public school fees waived for Ohio children in free lunch program

2009-08-26T15:34:00.002-04:00

All children who receive free lunch as part of the National School Lunch Program will no longer have to pay general school fees at public schools in Ohio. The new state budget includes a provision that waives these fees for children who receive free lunch.
The legislation does not apply to extra-curricular fees.
It is common in Ohio for schools to charge up to $100 in general fees just for students to attend school and take classes. Not all schools charge the fees, but the ones that do often hold back grade cards from the students who do not pay the fees. Some schools even contract with collection agencies to have the fees collected.
It is very difficult for families living on limited incomes to pay the fees, and very frustrating to see schools charging for a public education that is supposed to be free and open to all.
The change in school fees this year is a very positive first step, and Athens County Job and Family Services would ultimately like to see all fees waived for all children at public schools in Ohio. Click here to read more about the public school fees and the change in legislation this year.

Overcoming obstacles

2009-07-02T12:16:00.003-04:00

Many the people who rely on public assistance in Ohio face a wide range of obstacles that make life very difficult. Reta and Jerald, for example, are a Nelsonville couple raising grandchildren and one great-grandchild while dealing with health problems. Jill is a single mother living in The Plains who is unable to work anymore because of her own health problems. Margaret and her family, who live in the Albany area, do not have health insurance, cannot buy the insurance because of a pre-existing condition and no longer qualify for Medicaid.
Reta, Jerald, Jill and Margaret are all facing significant challenges, but they are doing whatever they can to overcome these barriers and provide for their families. Click here to read about Reta and Jerald, click here to read about Jill and click here to read about Margaret. Click here for several other stories and videos of Athens County residents discussing how they are overcoming their own obstacles and explaining how much it would improve their lives if the state would provide more financial assistance.

State leaders need to raise revenue, not cut funding from social service programs

2009-06-19T15:37:00.008-04:00

Representatives from local social service organizations met in Athens on Monday, June 15 in order to discuss how the next state budget could have drastic impacts on services for people living in need and to explain why the state needs to raise revenue instead of just cutting funding.

Advocates for Budget Legislation and Equality (ABLE), organized the meeting and is sponsoring similar meetings and press conferences around the state to discuss the current budget situation. Click here to read ABLE's budget platform, and click here for more information on ABLE.
Ohio leaders are currently trying to fill a $3.2 billion shortfall in the next state budget, which will begin in July. Representatives of ABLE and other organizations are concerned that in order to solve the budget crisis, state leaders will further cut funding for social services programs.

“We need to raise more revenue,” said Jason Denzin, a statewide organizer for ABLE. Programs that help Ohio’s most vulnerable populations have already had their budgets cut, and the state needs to find ways to bring in more funding instead of cutting spending for these programs, he said.

Kathleen Gmeiner, representative of Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) of Ohio, said that if the state cuts funding for Medicaid, it would also lose federal funding for the program. In fact, for every $0.40 that the state pays toward Medicaid, the federal government matches with $0.60, Gmeiner said. So if state leaders try to fill part of the budget gap by cutting this funding, they will be actually losing more than twice the amount of money they cut, and it will be extremely harmful to the people who rely on Medicaid services.

Cindy Birt, representing Athens County Family and Children First, explained that she is concerned about the state cutting funding for the Help Me Grow program, which is an early intervention program for that provides health care and development services for children. Studies have shown that investing in early intervention programs actually saves the state money in the long run, because if the children don’t receive these important services they will likely need assistance from more expensive state programs when they are older.

Lois Whealey and Mike Turner spoke out against cutting funding for senior citizens. Whealey said the state needs to do more to help seniors stay in their own homes. Turner added that if the state had not started rolling back taxes in 2005, Ohio would not have these budget problems.
“The tax cuts did not work,” Turner said.

Cliff Bonner, a teacher from the Federal Hocking Local School District, said his district has already had to eliminate several teaching, administrative and staff positions. He would like to the school funding system changed to be more fair and equitable, and he is concerned about public schools losing money in the budget battle.

Bill Sams, who represents the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 8, said that the state has already cut funding to social service programs and has eliminated countless jobs with these programs at a time when unemployment rates are already very high.

In addition, at a time when more people are living in poverty and the demand for social service programs is increasing, the state is reducing the number of people who are working for these programs, he said. It is wrong both practically and morally for the state to be reducing the number of people working to help people in need during these economic times, Sams said.

William Peacock spoke out for the needs of the disabled in Ohio, and said he is concerned about cuts in funding for programs for these individuals.

Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Pantry in Lottridge, said food pantries are seeing their demand increase more and more as the economy worsens.

“I see people lining up for two or three hours before the doors open,” Roberts said. “I see senior citizens standing out in the snow or the rain.” People need to have their basic needs met first before anything else, and more and more people are being forced to visit food banks, Roberts said.

“If you are hungry, you really can’t be anything else,” she said. Roberts believes the governor and state leaders are trying to help the poor, but they are faced with a very challenging budget situation. She hopes that the state will not cut funding programs for food banks or for people living in poverty, though, because so many people rely on these programs.
“We see new people every day,” Roberts said.

Jack Frech, director of Athens County Job and Family Services, pointed out that even before the recession began, Athens County and southeast Ohio were already hurting economically. The poverty rate in Athens County, for example, has been nearly 30 percent for several years, and nearly 50 percent of the population live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, Frech said.

“Children are going hungry in Ohio. There’s no excuse for that,” Frech said. The national recession has caused the economic problems to spread into parts of the state that have never experienced these types of poverty problems before, he added.
“This is a statewide issue,” Frech said.

People are facing problems with unemployment, lack of health care, hunger and numerous other issues, and now is not the time to cut funding for programs to help these people, Frech said. Instead, now is the time for people to pull together and share resources. The state needs to find ways to increase its revenue, not just cut funding, Frech said.

The people with more financial stability in Ohio and across the country have to work together and share with the people who have very little, Frech said. The gap between the rich and poor is widening, and our leaders need to make changes to help the poor and decrease this gap.

Denzin of ABLE pointed out a few simple ways that state leaders could raise revenue without hurting the poor. Currently, Ohio has $7 billion worth of tax exemptions, and state leaders need to look at some of these exemptions to see if any can be reduced or eliminated, he said. In addition, the state should roll back the tax cuts that were put into place in 2005 and then phased in over the next five years, Denzin said.

These are just two steps, but they would go a long way toward helping to fill the state’s budget shortfall.

TJ's amazing story

2009-05-28T08:39:00.003-04:00

TJ is a 26-year-old Athens County resident who has overcome a very rare and dangerous medical condition. His family receives Medicaid, and they are thankful for all of the ways that the program helps them. At the same time, they see several other ways that it could provide assistance to TJ. For example, TJ's family cannot afford to add a bathroom onto the house that would allow him to take a full bath or shower. The Medicaid payments also do not pay for many of the supplies he needs, such as a simple straps and a new air mattress. To read about TJ and his family, click here.
To read stories about other Athens County Job and Family Services clients and the struggles they are facing and overcoming, or to watch videos about a few of the clients, click here.
TJ is shown in the photo with his neice, Paris. Photo by Rachel Mummey.

Testimony presented to an Ohio Senate subcommittee about Ohio Works First funding, state budget priorities and a proposal to eliminate school fees

2009-05-22T11:41:00.005-04:00

Presented by Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services on May 20, 2009.
Click here for a link to an Ohio Works First fact sheet that was presented with the testimony.
Click here for comments from several Athens County residents about the Ohio Works First cash assistance program and the need to eliminate school fees.

Chairman Carey, Ranking Member Dale Miller and members of the committee, I am Jack Frech, Director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. I am here today to request that the benefit level for the Ohio Works First (OWF) Program be increased by at least $100 a month.

According to the Governor’s budget proposal, the average OWF benefit is $358 per month. Under his plan, these families will only receive increased benefits of about $19 a month over the next two years. Even when combinedwith food stamps, the total benefits are only slightly above the federal poverty level.

Today in Ohio, more than 140,000 children depend on the OWF program. Their families are faced with daily struggles to meet the most very basic of human needs. They are often hungry, cold and living in substandard housing. It must be remembered that these are the families who are living by all of the rules of the “reformed welfare” system. They have work requirements, time limits, and strict eligibility requirements. We go to great lengths to verify that they are dirt poor and then we give them half of what we know they need to live on. I know of no other government policy that is as intentionally harmful to children.

Half of these children live with grandparents or other relatives. In a typical situation, a grandmother would receive only $259 a month for the full-time care of a child, which compares to:
• An average per child per month cost for childcare of about $450.
• Monthly foster care payments of about $600.
• Monthly payments for the Early Learning Initiative are over $1000.

Intervention programs to help these families such as job training, education, parenting classes, counseling and substance abusetreatments are all unlikely to succeed when so much energy must be focused simply on surviving. When parents are worried about how they are going to feed their children or where they are going to sleep at night, it makes it difficult to succeed in these other programs.

Currently, only about one third of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant is spent on direct cash assistancethrough the OWF program. While an additional $100 would not solve the problems these families face, it would make a hugedifference in their daily struggle.

I would also ask that the committee restore the funds the Governor’s budget cut from the Counties. These funds have been used to provide a wide range of essential services to low income families as well as offer job and education support. Our agency is losing $1.3 million and 34 staff positions with the following consequences:
• Cuts in eligibility workers and job counselors will increase caseloads by at least 25%.
• Work support programs to repair automobiles, provide gas vouchers for new hires, and pay for training, tools anduniforms have been eliminated.
• Nurses to conduct home visits to help families whose caretakers are disabled have been eliminated.
• A very successful dental access and other supportive health programs have been eliminated.
• A program to provide computers for low-income children is gone.
• Contracts for Child Welfare Services, domestic violence intervention, home delivered meals, summer education campfor poor kids and Big Brothers/Big Sisters have been terminated.

All of these cuts have been made at a time when our caseloads for cash assistance, food stamps and other programs are increasing. More and more people need our help, but Ohio has reduced the funding for the programs that have proven to be successful in helping these families.

Our families also struggle with a lack of behavioral health services, especially for adults. Mental health and substance abuse issues are far too prevalent in our clients’ lives. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that the appropriate services are there when needed.

I would also ask that the committee consider the elimination of school fees. Currently, practice has created a regressive and counter productive form of taxation that disproportionately harms the same low-income families that many of the administration’s education reforms are intended to help.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of my testimony.

Ashley's story

2009-05-04T13:15:00.000-04:00

Leslie's story

2009-04-28T09:36:00.000-04:00

School fees hurt Ohio families

2009-04-15T15:43:00.002-04:00

A movement to eliminate public school fees in Ohio is gaining momentum, and now has the support of a state representative from southern Ohio.
School fees are a longstanding problem in Ohio that create a serious educational barrier for many families. It is common for public schools in Ohio to charge families $25 to $50 per child simply to attend school. Those fees are often in addition to the requirements that students bring in supplies that cost between $10 and $50 per child.
Many Ohio families do not have enough money to meet their own basic needs, and have a nearly impossible time trying to pay the school fees.
Advocates for families have been calling for the fees to be eliminated, and now Rep. Debbie Phillips, who represents the 92nd Ohio House District, is backing the proposal to have the fees eliminated. Phillips is writing an amendment to the state’s education bill, and hopes to gain support for it in the Ohio House. All Ohio residents are asked to contact their state representatives and express their support for this legislation.
Fees charged by schools have become a perfectly legal and acceptable form of taxation, initiated at the hands of the local school boards, with few restrictions. These fees also are an extremely regressive type of tax that hurts those children in families who are already having the greatest challenges succeeding in school.
Now that state leaders are making changes to the school funding system in Ohio, it is the perfect time to eliminate these fees and create a truly free public education system.

Jennifer Pierce, a single mom living in Tuppers Plains, has three children in school and simply can’t pay the fees all at once at the beginning of each school year.
“I just try to pay one at a time,” Pierce said. The school would like her to pay all of the fees right away, but she is allowed to spread out the payments throughout the year.
“They don’t care as long as they get paid by the end of the school year,” Pierce said. If the fees are not paid by the end of the year, the district can hold onto the students’ grade cards, she added.
It’s also expensive paying for all of the school supplies, Pierce said. One year, she had to send in expensive extra supplies such as a roll of film and a package of copy paper, and it was hard to come up with the money.
“Plus, if they play sports, you have to pay for that,” Pierce said. A $50 fee allows students in the district to play sports, but the parents still have to pay for cleats and other items for their children. Most field trips are paid for, but the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. this year cost $500 and was simply out of reach for Pierce’s son.
“He couldn’t go because I didn’t have the money to pay for him to go,” she said.

“I think the schools should be accountable. They should be the ones that have to take care of that,” Coolville resident Tasha Adams said about the school fees. She has two children in school, and has a hard enough time paying all of her monthly expenses.
The school fees average around $20 per child for her family, plus all of the money that is spent on supplies like paper towels and tissues.
“When we were younger, we just needed the notebooks, the pens and pencils, you know certain things like that,” Adams said. Today, though, the schools ask parents to send in items like paper towels, tissues and hand sanitizers.
“I just don’t think that’s right at all,” she said.

Lisa Roberts, who lives in Coolville and runs the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center in Lottridge, said that school fees are very hard on her clients, and they were also tough on her family.
“I raised six kids and school fees kill you. They are very, very hard to come up with,” Roberts said. Many families can’t put money aside for the fees because they don’t have the extra $35 or more.
“They keep telling your kid over and over, ‘Your school fees haven’t been paid.’ They ask in front of the class,” Roberts said. “It’s horrible for the child and it’s bad for the parent, too, because you’re already feeling bad enough that you can’t come up with the money.”
The teachers do what they can to be nice to the children, but they have to ask for the fees because the schools have to collect them, Roberts said.
“Sometimes they won’t give you your report card if you can’t come up with a school fee,” Roberts said, adding that her children were faced with that problem several times.
“Plus, you have to send all those supplies. (The list of supplies) is enormous. They want you to bring all kinds of stuff,” Roberts said. The list of supplies often includes several boxes of tissues, even though most families she knows can’t afford tissues and just use toilet paper instead, Roberts said.
“You can’t very well send toilet paper in to your teacher,” she added.

One grandmother from Athens County is currently raising three of her grandchildren, and also has a difficult time with the school fees, which cost her $25 per child. She and her husband live on a fixed income, and it is difficult to pay these fees along with other extra costs that come up with children throughout the year.
“I know they need the money, I’m not saying they don’t,” she said. But for families that are just getting by, it is extremely difficult to have to pay these fees, she added.
School pictures can be another big cost during the year, she said, as some packages cost as much as $45. She can’t afford a big package of pictures, and wonders if she will be able to afford any of the pictures next year.

Catherine Hogsett of Glouster lives on a very tight, fixed budget and can’t afford the cost of school supplies each year.
She has a back injury and is unable to work, and lives on $400 a month in child support, along with Food Assistance Program funding. The elementary school her children attend did not charge fees this year, but did ask for supplies, Hogsett said.
“It was over almost $200,” she said about the supplies for her children.
“They had to have reams of paper, they had to have four or five boxes of tissues,” Hogsett said. Her mother helped her pay for the supplies, or she would not have been able to afford them all, Hogsett said. Her son also wants to play baseball this spring, and there is another $25 fee to be on a team, she said.
“I really think that any help that can be given to people, especially people who are on assistance, for education would be beneficial,” Hogsett said. She added that by helping people pay for their educations today, it helps everyone tomorrow as the graduates will be able to get better jobs and bring positive benefits to their communities.

Grandparents raising grandchildren in Ohio face numerous financial challenges

2009-04-08T14:22:00.001-04:00

State should focus on basic needs

2009-04-01T16:32:00.002-04:00

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, wrote an opinion piece that was published in newspapers around Ohio recently about the crisis facing the state's emergency food network and about what state leaders can to to help people living in poverty. Click here to read the article as published in The Athens NEWS.

Video discusses public assistance in Ohio

2009-03-26T11:21:00.003-04:00

Ohio needs to eliminate school fees

2009-03-23T10:43:00.004-04:00

One issue that is largely forgotten in Ohio's school funding debate is the issue of fees that parents have to pay to send their children to public schools. Athens County Job and Family Services is asking Ohio legislators to eliminate these fees in order to help Ohio families. Jack Frech, Athens County Job and Family Services director, had a letter about this issue published in The Columbus Dispatch on March 17. Click here to read the letter.

Testimony presented to Ohio House of Representatives subcommittee

2009-03-18T09:16:00.004-04:00

House Finance and Appropriations Committee
Human Services Subcommittee

Testimony of Jack Frech, Director,
Athens County Department of Job and Family Services

Here is a link to an Ohio Works First fact sheet presented with the testimony.

Here is a link to a document telling the stories of a few of our clients. This document was also presented with the testimony.

Chairwoman Brown, ranking Member Burke and members of the subcommittee. I am Jack Frech, Director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services.
I am here today to request that the benefit level for the Ohio Works First Program be increased by at least $100 a month. According to the Governor’s budget proposal, the average OWF benefit is $358 per month. Under his plan, these families will only receive increased benefits of about $19 a month over the next two years. Even when combined with food stamps, the total benefits still are only slightly over half of the federal poverty level.

Today in Ohio, there are more than 140,000 children who depend on the OWF program. Their families are faced with daily struggles to meet the most very basic of human needs. They are often hungry, cold and living in substandard housing. It must be remembered that these are the families who are living by all of the rules of the “reformed welfare” system. They have work requirements, time limits, and strict eligibility requirements. We go to great lengths to verify that they are dirt poor, then we give them half of what we know they need to live on. I know of no other government policy which is as intentionally harmful to children.

Half of these children live with grandparents or other relatives. In a typical situation, a grandmother would receive only about $259 a month for the full time care of a child. That amount compares to:
• An average per child per month cost for childcare is about $450.
• Monthly foster care payments are about $600.
• Monthly payments for the Early Learning Initiative are over $1000.

Intervention programs to help these families such as job training, education , parenting classes, counseling and substance abuse treatment are all unlikely to succeed when so much energy must be focused simply on surviving. When parents are worried about how they are going to feed their children or where they are going to sleep at night, it makes it difficult to succeed in these other programs.

Currently, only about one third of the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families block grant is spent on direct cash assistance through the OWF program. While an additional $100 would not solve the problems these families face, it would make a huge difference in their daily struggle.

I would also ask that the committee restore the funds the Governor’s budget cut from the Counties. These funds have been used to provide a wide range of essential services to low income families as well as offer job and education support. Our agency is losing $1.3 million and 34 staff positions with the following consequences;
• Cuts in eligibility workers and job counselors will increase caseloads by at least 25%
• Work support programs to repair autos, provide gas vouchers for new hires, and pay for training, tools and uniforms have been eliminated.
• Nurses to conduct home visits to help families whose caretakers are disabled have been eliminated.
• A very successful dental access and other supportive health programs have been eliminated.
• A program to provide computers for low income children is gone.
• Contracts for Child welfare services, domestic violence intervention, home delivered meals, summer education camp for poor kids and Big Brothers Big Sisters have been terminated.

All of these cuts have been made at a time when our caseloads for cash assistance, food stamps and other programs are increasing. More and more people need our help, but Ohio has reduced the funding for the programs that have proven to be successful in helping these families.

Our families also struggle with a lack of behavioral health services, especially for adults. Mental health and substance abuse issues are far too prevalent in our clients’ lives. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that the appropriate services are there when needed.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of my testimony.

Video shows huge need at local food pantry

2009-02-04T16:00:00.006-05:00

State, federal governments do not provide enough assistance to cover basic needs

2009-02-02T13:49:00.003-05:00

Many people believe that cash assistance, food programs and other forms of public assistance provide enough to allow people living in poverty to get by, but that is not the case.
Cash assistance, called Ohio Works First (OWF), is only provided to families with children. The monthly funding is less than one-third of the monthly federal poverty level. The majority of OWF recipients are grandparents raising their grandchildren, and the second highest group of recipients is single mothers. The recipients have to meet strict requirements, including work requirements, in order to be eligible for benefits.
In 2009, a family of two will receive up to $355 per month in OWF funding, while a family of three will receive up to $434 per month.
By comparison, the federal poverty level for a family of two is $1,215 per month. For a family of three, it is $1,526 per month. Some families may also receive money for food through the Food Assistance Program, but that program is designed to only provide about two weeks worth of food per month.
The monthly income for these families is much less than the federal poverty level, and they are forced to turn to food banks and other charitable programs for assistance.
Many people living in poverty in our community have had to leave their homes to move in with family or friends or stay at shelters. Too many children live in overcrowded and unsafe homes and go to bed hungry. Grandparents who are living on fixed incomes often can’t afford the medicine or the medical care they need because all of their money goes to food and living expenses for their families.
People are living in abject poverty all around us, and we cannot allow this to continue.
The human and social service agencies in several southeastern Ohio counties are calling on state and federal leaders to make important changes to help these families.
· Ohio Works First funding must be increased by $100 a month.
· Food Assistance funding must be increased so that it can provide enough food for a whole month.
· Health care services must be available to all adults who live below the federal poverty level.
· Disability income must be increased.
· Funding for mental health and substance abuse counseling for families living below the poverty level must be increased.

These changes will not get families out of poverty, but they will make a big difference in their lives.
Please call, write or e-mail these representatives asking them to make these changes.
· Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland – Governor’s Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108. Phone (614) 466-3555. E-mail by logging onto http://www.governor.ohio.gov/ and then clicking on the link that says Contact The Governor.
· State Representative Debbie Phillips - Phillips represents the 92nd Ohio House District. The 92nd District Office can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 11th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2158. The e-mail address is district92@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative Dan Dodd – Dodd represents the 91sth District and has a mailing address at 77 S. High St., 10th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2500 or send an e-mail to district91@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative Clyde Evans – Evans represents the 87th District and can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 13th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-1366 or send an e-mail to district87@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative T. Todd Book – Book represents the 89th District and can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 14th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2114 or send an e-mail to district89@ohr.state.oh.us
· State Senator Jimmy Stewart – Stewart represents the 20th Senate District and can be reached by mail at Senate Building, Room #040, Ground Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. His office phone number is (614) 466-8076 and his e-mail address is SD20@senate.state.oh.us.
· State Senator John Carey – Carey represents the 17th Senate District and can be reached by mail at Senate Building, Room 127, First Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Phone (614) 466-8156 or send an e-mail to SD17@senate.state.oh.us.
· U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, Sixth District – 226 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone 1-888-706-1833. Wilson can be e-mailed through the link on his office Web site, which is located at http://www.charliewilson.house.gov/.
· U.S. Rep Zack Space, 18th District – 315 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone (202) 225-6265. Space can be e-mailed through the link on his office Web site, which is located at space.house.gov.
· U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown – 455 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone (202) 224-2315. Send e-mails from his office Web site, brown.senate.gov.
· U.S Sen. George Voinovich – 524 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone (202) 224-3353. Send e-mails through his office Web site, voinovich.senate.gov.
· The White House – 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. Phone (202) 456-1111. Send e-mails to comments@whitehouse.gov.

For more information contact Nick Claussen, community relations coordinator, Athens County Job and Family Services, at (740) 797-2523 or clausn@odjfs.state.oh.us.

Food pantry gives away toys, food for Christmas, sees demand continue to rise

2008-12-29T14:47:00.002-05:00

Families from Athens, Meigs and Washington counties poured into the tiny Athens County village of Torch recently, stopping at a small, indiscriminate building to find Christmas presents for their children.

Inside the building, the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Pantry was holding its annual Christmas toy giveaway program. The program is designed to provide enough toys for 100 families, but Director Lisa Roberts said that this year additional families called and asked about toys after the registration deadline, so she hoped to be able to provide for 115 families.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” said one Meigs County resident while picking out presents for her children. “If it wasn’t for this, my kids wouldn’t have any Christmas presents this year.”

The woman is unable to work because of her disability, so she tries to survive on her disability income. She does not have enough money each month to pay most of her bills, and this year she knew that for the first time she would not be able to afford to buy Christmas gifts for her children.

“I’m not allowed to buy my own home,” she added. She can barely pay the rent as it is, and said it has been getting harder every day to get by. This year has been the worst, which is why she had to visit the Christmas present giveaway program. Her children have been adjusting well to the tough economic situation at home, but the woman was very happy to have the presents to give them.

Roberts said every year she hears stories similar to this woman’s, stories of people who are just struggling to get by.

“It’s worse this year,” Roberts said. The high gas prices hurt people earlier in the year, the rising prices for groceries and other items have had an impact, and the national economic problems have just made things tougher for many people.

“As winter comes on, it presents another challenge,” Roberts added. Many people have to pay high utility bills during the winter months. Even if they receive funding from home heating assistance programs, that funding often does not get them through the whole winter.

Flu season is also tough on many families living in poverty, Roberts added. Over-the-counter medications can be expensive, but people often need the medicine for themselves or their children. When you add in trying to buy Christmas presents and serving a special Christmas meal at home, it can all cost too much for many families, Roberts said.

The Friends and Neighbors Community Food Pantry toy giveaway program was held over three days, Dec. 18,19 and 20, and provided a lot of toys for families in need. Each family could pick up stuffed animals, large toys, small toys, electronic toys, dolls, coloring books, socks, underwear, sweaters, coats, hats, gloves and other types of items.

“We started working on this in January,” Roberts explained. The food pantry takes donations and saves up items throughout the year, and also buys many of the presents at summer yard sales. Area residents also donate money to the center for the program, and that allows the volunteers to buy toys from local stores. This year, the center also held a Chinese auction where they raffled off Christmas decorations and raised more than $300 for the Christmas present program.

The pantry also held extra food giveaway programs, where local families could pick up items especially for a Christmas meal.

Like many food pantries, Friends and Neighbors operates out of small buildings and humble surroundings. Volunteers run the operation, and many of them have received food and other items from the pantry previously.

But while the Friends and Neighbors program may look small and simple, it is providing a huge service to people in need, and it made Christmas much warmer and memorable to more than 100 families this year. For more information on the Friends and Neighbors programs, call Roberts at (740) 667-0684.

New Census figures show people of all ages are living in poverty in Athens County

2008-12-15T11:15:00.008-05:00

The city of Athens has the highest poverty rate in the country for any city its size or larger. Athens County has the highest poverty rate in the state.
Those two statements should alarm and outrage the people of Athens County.
New U.S. Census figures for 2005-2007 show that 52.3 percent of the people in the city of Athens are living in poverty. The figures also show that 31.6 percent of the people of Athens County are living in poverty.
While Ohio University students have an impact on the survey, the Census figures show that the poverty rate in the city is very high even if the students are not counted.
· 50.4 percent, of the children under the age of five in Athens live in poverty.
· 34.6 percent of the city residents who are 18 years old or younger live in poverty.
· 30.5 percent of the married couples with children under the age of five live in poverty.
· 48.8 percent of the families with a female head of household live in poverty.
· 100 percent of the families with a female head of household that have children under the age of five live in poverty.
The Census figures also show the poverty problem for all of Athens County.
· Athens County has the fourth-highest rate in the state of children under the age of 18 living in poverty at 32.4 percent. The state average is 18.5 percent.
· Athens County has the eighth-highest rate in the state for people over the age of 65 living below the poverty level at 13.3 percent. The state average is 8.4 percent.
· Athens County has by far the lowest percent of employed civilians over the age of 16 working in manufacturing. Just 5.6 percent of employed civilians work in manufacturing. The state average is 17 percent, and the highest average is 38.5 percent in Shelby County.
· Athens County also has the highest percentage, again by a wide margin, of employed civilians over the age of 16 who work in service occupations. In the county, 25.1 percent of employed people work in the service industry. The state average is 16.5 percent, and the lowest percent is in 11.9 percent in Delaware County.

The Census numbers show that the students are not the main reason the city’s poverty rate is so high. Athens has a higher poverty rate than other college towns in Ohio such as Bowling Green, Kent and Oxford. The figures show that a very high number of non-students in the city live in poverty.
For the county, the figures clearly show how children, senior citizens and residents of all ages are living in poverty. The county has very few manufacturing jobs where people can make high-paying wages, but has a large number of low-paying, service industry jobs.
The county also has a high number of professional jobs through Ohio University, Hocking College and other institutions, but these jobs are not as accessible as manufacturing positions. Often, the professional jobs are filled by people who move into the area.

Also, there is no reason why the students should not count in the Census figures or why their presence here should allow anyone to downplay the poverty problem.
The students all live in Athens and use city and county services. While they contribute to the university, which creates job and benefits the community, for the most part they do not pay local property taxes or income taxes that help pay for government services. They also do not spend much money at businesses outside of the area near campus.
· The city of Athens has the lowest percentage in the state of married couple households, according to the Census figures. The rate in the city is 24.9 percent while the state average is 49.2 percent.
· The city has the lowest percentage in the state for owner-occupied homes. The rate in the city is 32.1 percent, while the state average is 70 percent.
· The cities that have the highest percentages of married couple households and the highest percentage of owner occupied homes are among the cities that have the lowest poverty levels in the state.
· The city has the second highest rate in the state for people who lived in different homes one year ago. The rate in Athens is 62.1 percent, while Oxford has the highest rate at 63.3 percent. The state average is 15.5 percent.
· The city also has the lowest rate of people who drive to work (or school). In Athens, the rate is 41.2 percent, while statewide the percent is 83.1 percent.
The figures show the city is filled with students who are here for a short time, do not have large incomes and do not impact the community in the way that stable families who own their own homes and have large incomes would.

The state and federal governments need to do more to help the people in need. Cash assistance, which only gets an eligible family up to nearly one-third of the federal poverty level, needs to be increased by $100 per month.
In addition, monthly food stamps funding, which only provides for enough food for two weeks, needs to provide enough food for an entire month. Health care services must be available to all adults who live below the federal poverty level. Disability income must be increased. Funding for mental health and substance abuse counseling for families living below the poverty level must be increased.
All of these programs help those in need, and they help the community as a whole. Studies show that public assistance programs stimulate the economy, because the people who receive the funding spend it at local businesses. For every $1 spent in food stamps, for example, $1.73 goes into the local economy.
We can’t just ignore or downplay these poverty figures, or ignore or downplay these people living in need. It’s time to take action to help.

For more information, contact Nick Claussen, community relations coordinator for Athens County Job and Family Services, at (740) 797-2523 or clausn@odjfs.state.oh.us.

Area residents wait for hours for food, line of cars stretches 1 1/2 miles

2008-11-25T10:59:00.007-05:00

When the Smith Chapel Food Pantry in Logan opened at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, the line of cars waiting to get in stretched for 1 ½ miles.
Cars began arriving at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night, and by 5 a.m. there were already 106 cars filled with people waiting in the dark, cold night for food.

The pantry hands out food items on the fourth Monday of every month to families that register with the facility. More than 80 volunteers were on hand on Nov. 24, working out in the rain to get food to the families who might otherwise go without.

“Have a smile on your face today and give everyone a kind word. This may be the only kind word they get all week,” said Dannie Devol to the volunteers just before the pantry opened for the day. Devol and his wife, Jane, run the facility, which also has a thrift shop that is open on Wednesdays and Fridays. The thrift shop helps to support the pantry, and also allows area residents to buy clothing items for $.50, coats for $1 and other items for very low prices.
In October, the pantry served food items to 759 families, which represented more than 2,000 people in need. The number of people helped on Monday was expected to be even higher.
Devol starts each day at the pantry leading the volunteers in a prayer and short pep talk. Then, the volunteers get to their stations and two lines of cars begin slowing making their way through the parking lot, getting food items placed in their vehicles at each station.
James Thompson got in line at 12:30 a.m. on Monday so that he could get through the line quickly after it opened.

“I wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t get here then,” he said. He also receives food stamps, but that program only provides for enough food for his family for about two weeks. The food pantry items help his family get through the month, he said.

One woman, who only wanted to give her first name, Cindy, explained that she got in line at 4 a.m. “I wouldn’t be able to make it without this,” she said. Cindy works part-time, but the job does not pay enough to cover all of her bills or provide for her and her daughter.

One man, who also did not want to give his name, explained that he is disabled and unable to work. He got in line at 4:20 a.m. in order to get food. While he is very thankful for the assistance, he wishes that he could be one of the people giving out the food instead of being one of the people receiving it.

Tammy Tippie got into the line at 4:30 a.m. She explained that the food items the pantry hands out make it worthwhile to spend much of the night sleeping in her car out in the cold.

“I’ve got my blanket,” she said. Tippie moved to Logan a few months ago and was able to find a job, but it does not pay enough to cover all of her expenses. She did not know how she would have made it through Thanksgiving without the help from the pantry, and said it means a lot to her and her family.

The food pantry hands out items such as cereal, tomato paste, vegetable soup, tomato juice, green beans, corn, peas, rice, dried cherries, applesauce, beef stew, ham, onions, noodles, potatoes, apples and bread. On Monday, it also provided turkeys and turkey breasts for Thanksgiving.

Volunteer Susan Aldridge helped to coordinate the turkey hand-outs on Monday. Aldridge is the store manager for the Logan Wal-Mart, and explained that the store had 31 employees volunteering at the pantry. The store previously has had as many as 68 volunteers at the pantry, and Aldridge explained that Wal-Mart donates $5,000 to the pantry every time a certain number of volunteer hours are worked there by the store employees.

“It humbles you,” Aldridge said about working at the pantry. “You look at all the people in line and you’ve got to be thankful for what you have, and you want to give something back.” The people going through the line are also very thankful, and Aldridge said she enjoys talking to them.

One woman told Aldridge that her grandchildren were coming to her home for Thanksgiving, and she was worried she wouldn’t have anything to feed them. The food bank was a big help for her, she said.

One store employee worked until 11 p.m. on Sunday, and then got in line at 1 a.m. so she could pick up food for two elderly shut-ins that she knows, Aldridge said. Many people, like that employee, go through the line picking up items for other people even if they are not receiving any food themselves.

George Ralph spent his day giving the people in line fliers about the free medical clinics held at local churches for the uninsured and underinsured. Ralph said that it is striking to see how long the line is for people waiting for food, and said it shows how deep the poverty problem is in the region.

“It gets a hold of you,” Ralph said.
The poverty problem is growing in southeast Ohio and the holidays can often add to the burden faced by local families. The fact that Thanksgiving and Christmas both come at the end of the month, while the government benefits many people receive don’t provide for enough food or funding to make it through a whole month, also makes it difficult for many families.
For more information on the Smith Chapel Food Pantry, call Devol at (740) 974-1356 or log onto smithchapelfoodpantry.com

By Nick Claussen
Community Relations Coordinator, Athens County Job and Family Services
(740) 797-2523
clausn@odjfs.state.oh.us

Foodbanks see need increase, supplies decrease

2008-11-25T10:43:00.003-05:00

While the federal government discusses $700 billion bailouts and broad economic plans, hundreds of southeast Ohio residents are lining up in the middle of the night in the hopes of receiving food.
All of the local food pantries are seeing an increase in demand, but the huge need is especially shocking to see at the Smith Chapel Food Pantry in Logan.
Dannie Devol, coordinator for the food pantry, explained that people will often begin arriving the night before the once-a-month giveaway, waiting in their cars until the pantry opens at 8 a.m. When the pantry opens, the line of cars can stretch for 1 ½ miles.
Many of the people wait in their cars all night so that they can get to work on time in the morning after picking up their food, Devol said. Many also just want to make sure they can get food items they need for their family members.
“About a year and a half ago, we had about 400, 450 (families receiving food boxes). It’s up to 750 now,” Devol said.
Marilyn Sloan, food bank manager for the Second Harvest Food Bank in Logan, explained that the Smith Chapel Food Pantry has items such as apples, bread, cereals, tomato paste, vegetable soup, tomato juice, green beans, corn, peas, rice, dried cherries, applesauce, beef stew, ham and wide noodles to give to area residents.
The Second Harvest Food Bank is a regional food center that distributes supplies to food pantries in 10 southern Ohio counties.
Hocking County currently has 10 active food pantries. Ten years ago, the demand was much smaller and the county only had four active food pantries, Sloan said.
“We had so much food back then, and now that things are really hard, the demand is up and the donations of food are down,” Sloan said.
The country’s economic recession has hurt manufacturers that used to donate to the food pantries, and it has also hurt numerous public and private donors who used to contribute, she said.
“They have scaled back,” Sloan said.
Some people who used to drive others to the food banks are now in the position where they need to receive food boxes in order to make it through the month, Sloan explained.
“What we are seeing more and more of is elderly and people who are on disability who are just not making enough money to keep up with the demands,” Sloan said. “It’s just a very difficult time for our families.”

The 750 families served by the Smith Chapel Pantry in October represented more than 2,000 people who received food, Devol explained. He talks often with senior citizens, veterans, individuals who are disabled and people who have lost their jobs about the problems they are having making ends meet every month. Many people are also working in the community and simply can’t make enough money at their jobs to pay all of their bills, he added.
“The economy, it’s just thrown everything into a real tough situation for us,” Devol said.
The food pantry also runs a thrift store that is open on Wednesdays and Fridays. Many people in the community donate clothing and other items to the thrift store, which sells the clothing items for $0.50 each. Winter coats cost $1 a piece.
By charging a small amount per item, it helps raise money for the pantry and it also brings in customers who would not come in for hand-outs, Devol said.
“Last year, this little shop took in $39,000,” Devol said. All of the money from the thrift store goes to the food pantry, and it makes up about 50 percent of the food pantry’s budget, he said.
The food pantry also receives donations from organizations such the United Way and Wal-Mart, as well as receiving a small amount of government funding and a large number of private donations from the community.
“Wal-Mart has been very supportive,” he said, adding that the food pantry also receives between 20 and 30 volunteers from Wal-Mart every month.
Because the Second Harvest Food Bank cannot get many canned good items to the local food pantries anymore, Devol often buys items from Wal-Mart to hand out. Recently, for example, he had to order 8,000 cans of corn and beans, well as items such as ramen noodles and peanut butter.
“All of that came from Wal-Mart, and they gave me a very good price on it,” he said.
The pantry also receives excellent support from community members who volunteer every month.
“I never make a phone call. (The volunteers) know when it is and they’re here,” he said. People need to fill out applications in order to receive food at the pantry, and Devol said the volunteers help with this, too.
At age 83, he enjoys working at the food pantry and thrift store every day, and said that he and his wife, Jane, know that their work is needed.
“We feel that it’s a need in our community,” Devol said. “We have been blessed to a certain degree. We sort of feel like it’s a way to pay something back.”
He sees nearly every day how the food pantry helps people in need, and said that it is also good for him to be working at the facility.
“We don’t want to sit in a rocking chair and deteriorate. If you use your mind and your body like the Bible says, you’ll live longer,” Devol said.
For more information on the food pantry, call Dannie Devol at (740) 974-1356.
For more information on the Second Harvest Food Bank, call Marilyn Sloan at (740) 385-6813.

By Nick Claussen, community relations coordinator
Athens County Job and Family Services
(740) 797-2523
clausn@odjfs.state.oh.us

Slackers?

2008-11-14T16:31:00.002-05:00

The campaign for a “Real Bottom Line of How Much Money it takes to Survive” has provided a much-needed resource to define what amount of money a family needs to meet its basic needs. The research and hard work put into this effort are to be commended. If nothing else, it confirms the inadequacy of our financial safety net of public assistance programs. It also explains the constant struggle our working poor families are facing in their effort to make ends meet. It further suggests that government programs should look to this new higher standard as a guide for eligibility. This would, of course, expand the benefits many of our financial assistance programs offer to many more families, which is a worthy goal. No one in America should do without basic human necessities.

Unfortunately, in a sample letter to the editor (see below) issued by the supporters of this plan, there seems to be very inappropriate comments about “welfare” and those receiving cash assistance as being “slackers.” Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines a “slacker” as “a person who shirks work or obligation.” The writer seems to be making the point that somehow the assistance we give to working families is not welfare and in the process chooses to malign those families who currently must rely on cash assistance.

The term “slacker” cannot be applied to folks receiving assistance under the “reformed” welfare system adopted in this country ten years ago. Welfare reform added time limits, work requirements, reporting requirements, and sophisticated computer monitoring systems to resolve the issues of who “deserved” public assistance raised by all the old myths about welfare. Folks receiving public assistance benefits cannot and do not shirk work or their many other obligations. However, apparently some of the advocates for the poor have adopted the currently fashionable political posturing of some that public assistance given to folks who are more like “us” is not welfare and, therefore, is acceptable. Folks who are more like “us” are more “deserving” of our help.

Instead of trashing the poorest people, those on cash assistance, we need to build stronger coalitions among all low-income families and individuals. The truth is that all means-tested financial assistance programs are welfare. That includes Medicaid, child care subsidies, housing assistance, earned income tax credits and HEAP. It baffles me as to why some programs are seen in such a positive light and others denigrated. Someone receiving financial assistance due to limited income is in the same boat as millions of other people who are sick, disabled, unemployed, divorced, elderly or just working at a low wage job. We should all be proud that we live in a country that feels a responsibility to help its less fortunate citizens. Pitting the poor against each other does not advance our efforts to create a just and fair society.

Jack Frech 11/10/08
Director, Athens County Department of Job and Family Services

==============================================================
DRAFT Op-ED for Submission to Daily Newspaper Editorial Editor by Low Income Advocate
Please review carefully and personalize with individual country information

What’s the REAL Bottom Line of How Much Money it Takes to Survive Here in XXXXX County and Why It Matters

As ______[job title and organization]_____________________________, I’ve learned that how we as a nation define, measure and report poverty is emotionally charged and can often generate more heat than light.

Many times, when the conversation turns to poverty here in America and in our community, logic and rationality can go out the window. And when that happens the possibility of any useful follow-up discussion about what, if anything, can and should be done to assist those who are not making it financially becomes almost impossible.

But in these scary and challenging economic times, it’s even more critical to have these kinds of discussions as more and more Ohioans find themselves closer to the margins and living on the edge.

I’ve seen it many times. Just using terms like “poverty”, “poor” or “low-income” can conjure up arguments, resentments, political agendas and a host of other distractions that don’t help us get any closer to answering the real question that we as citizens of any income level or political viewpoint should want to know: Exactly how much money does it take to be economically self-sufficient right here in our community? In other words, exactly how much money is required to be able to pay the basic bills without any family, charitable or government assistance?

If conservatives, liberals and everybody else could just find common ground on what economic self-sufficiency really means in the real world – what the REAL bottom line for survival is – then we could discuss and debate what we should do about it in a more meaningful way. We might not agree on the policy prescriptions or action agenda for helping people become more self sufficient but, at least, we could start the discussion on the same page.

With a new President and Congress (on the horizon) the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA) – the organization representing Ohio’s XX locally-governed poverty-fighting organizations – believed the time was right to answer this question for each of Ohio’s 88 counties. So, they asked the University of Washington to develop something called The Ohio Self Sufficiency Standard for 2008.

The Ohio Self-Sufficiency Standard uses a proven formula and real world data to determine exactly the minimum amount of money it takes to pay the rent, buy food, cover child care, get to work and just cover the basics without any savings, fun or frills in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

Right here in XXXXXX County, for example, two working parents with an infant need to earn at a minimum of $XX,XXX a year to be considered self sufficient; that’s $X.XX per hour per parent. Again, this represents the REAL bottom line of what it takes to just get by. That figure is well above the federal poverty guidelines, which determine eligibility for programs like Head Start and Medicaid that can help low income working people better be able to hold onto a job. That figure is well above the minimum wage. In fact that figure is more than most jobs in Ohio pay.

The Ohio Self Sufficiency Standard presents a budget and the necessary income to meet that budget for various family sizes and configurations in every Ohio county along with full information on how the researchers determined each county’s self-sufficiency budgets. You can access the full report at: www.oacaatraining.org (or newspaper web site, if posted there).As you look through the report and digest the numbers keep these things in mind:

The families who live below the self-sufficiency standard or even below the federal government’s definition of poverty – which is usually around half of the self-sufficiency standard – are by-and-large working families. They aren’t on welfare. They aren’t slacking off. They work low wage jobs and are treading water. Sadly today, with fewer jobs and lower wages in every corner of Ohio, working is too often not a ticket to true self sufficiency;
In order to survive and be able to raise a family on wages that pay below the self-sufficiency standard, we believe – especially now -- that a solid system of work supports needs to be in place – child care assistance, health care, job-training and skills development, housing vouchers, etc. – to reward work and help assure families can cover the basics that low wages do not until additional training and job success moves them toward real self-sufficiency;
We also believe that the federal Poverty Guidelines used to determine eligibility for these kinds of work supports should be adjusted to be closer to the self-sufficiency family budgeting standard in the report rather than the artificially low and outdated methods used to calculate them today.

Look through the self-sufficiency standard for your county and ask yourself if the numbers make sense as a way to determine a survival baseline. If they do, then join us in the coming dialogue on how we can assure more Ohio working families meet and ultimately exceed this standard.

XXXXXXX is XXXXXXXXXXXX

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No bail out for our poorest children

2008-10-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

There are 3 million children in America, including 130,000 in Ohio, who depend on the reformed welfare system to meet their basic needs. The families of these children comply with all of the time limits, work requirements, extensive verifications and numerous rules of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant. An average family of two on TANF in Ohio receives $336 a month in cash assistance and would also be eligible for a maximum of $298 a month in Food Stamps. When combined, this only provides an income of roughly half of the Federal Poverty Level. Ohio’s benefit amount is close to the national average.

These families cannot meet their basic needs. The economic depression is here for them now. They must frequently depend on food pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters. They are doubled and tripled up in their housing.

The annual TANF appropriation for the nation is about $16 billion. The Food Stamp program appropriation is about $35 billion. Both have been reauthorized by Congress in the past few years. There were no emergency meetings of Congress, no pleas from the White House, no media attention to address the 3 million American children who are hungry by design. Yet, Congress is willing to spend $700 billion to bail out Wall Street.

Jack Frech
Director

It is time to face Ohio's problems for the poor

2008-10-06T15:21:00.001-04:00

As I sit in my office today in Perry County, my heart is full of sorrow. My question as the County Director for Perry is," How will I make the lives better for the poorest of the poor in Perry County? " Looking out my back window I watched many children enter the church behind our agency to get a "free" pair of shoes for school. One after another they lined up to get their shoes...my heart aches. These same children will not have school supplies, new clothes or a full stomach when they go to school the first day. This is a real picture of what is happening in every county in the State of Ohio. These are poor parents struggling to meet the needs of their families. They are trapped with no way out. How many of you go without a meal? Most poor children can't imagine having fresh fruits and vegetables as they cost too much. Their meals consist of pasta and whatever else the food pantries have available because they are running low on commodities.

My question to those that want to balance the state budget is," Are you willing to do that at the expense of the poor and especially the children."Someone with more power than a County Director must do something about this problem as I have personally done all that I can with the monies I have received. The choice is yours to ignore the situation or actually care about the people of Ohio. It is time to FACE OHIO'S PROBLEMS FOR THE POOR....NOT TURN YOUR BACKS !

Respectfully submitted,
Sherry L. Sterner
Director Perry Co. Dept. of Job & Family Services

How can you help?

2008-09-17T15:03:00.004-04:00

People have been asking, "how can I help those in need?"

Be a voice for many who often aren't able to make their own voices heard. Don't let our state and federal elected officials turn away from their responsibility to ensure all Ohioans and all Americans have their basic needs met when they need a safety net. Use the links below to contact your elected officials and express your support to focus on basic needs as a first priority.

Thank you!

Looking for more poverty information?

2008-09-08T15:59:00.004-04:00

Looking for more poverty information and data? Be sure to check out the Athens County Job & Family Services' blog: http://athensjfs.blogspot.com/.

Children Services posts banner

2008-08-19T14:27:00.002-04:00

Athens County Children Services has placed a banner on East State Street (Athens, Ohio) expressing its concern for families living in extreme poverty and its impact on children.

The agency wants the community to recognize that this is a serious issue that is affecting the safety and well being of the children of this county.

Harmful Effect of Poverty

2008-08-15T08:56:00.007-04:00

Athens County Children Services is the county agency responsible for protecting children from abuse and neglect. The agency provides an array of services to support families to keep children safely in their home. We know that research has identified several stress factors that can lead to abuse and neglect of children1. One of the stress factors is a family’s inability to meet their basic needs: food and shelter for their children. With the increasingly severe situations of poverty, we believe the risk of abuse and neglect are also increasing.

In July, 2008, Athens County Children Services caseworkers were asked whether or not poverty, the inability of parents to meet basic needs, were putting children at risk of abuse and neglect. The following are some of the responses from agency staff:

“I am so scared for families this winter. Although there is HEAP and other programs, some families face their utilities being turned off all the time. With the rise in gas prices, I fear for families this winter.”

“Transportation in this rural area is huge. How can they get to a job without a care and how can they save to buy a car without a job? It’s a vicious cycle.”

“I have seen families running out of food stamps well before the end of the month due to high food costs. I have shopped with a mother who did not buy her six children milk because it is too expensive.”

“80% of the elementary students in the school district qualify for free/reduced lunches this year, compared with 67% last year.”

“Transportation is a huge problem. Families become isolated and bored; parents become stressed and depressed. Even if we give families free pool passes, how do they get there?”

“I recently worked with a single mother with several children on cash assistance and food stamps. This family has no transportation, relying on others for transportation. They live in a two bedroom trailer in poor repair and inadequate furniture. The mother needs mental health services, but cannot get transportation for service or the funds to pay for medication….The family does not have the resources to function successfully: no bank account, no money to save, no transportation, medical bills they cannot afford and housing which is not suitable.”

“Families are often unable to afford housing, so they move from family to friends. The children do not have a home, no regular schools and no consistency. Some of these moves put children in homes with adults who are not safe around children.”

“The local homeless shelter has been full for the past several months, so homeless families have no place to go.”

“Parents have no medical cards and cannot get treatment for depression or other mental health problems.”

1. The Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3; Andrea J. Sedlak and Diane D. Broadhurst, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, Washington, DC, 1996), the most comprehensive federal source of information about the incidence of child maltreatment in the United States, found poverty/family income was significantly related to incidence rates in nearly every category of maltreatment. Reseachers noted that there are a number of problems associated with poverty that may contribute to child maltreatment: more transient residence, poorer education, and higher rates of substance abuse and emotional disorders. Moreover, families at the lower socioeconomic levels have less adequate social support systems to assist parents in their child care responsibilities.

As you sow, so shall you reap

2008-08-14T12:49:00.002-04:00

Many of the families our agency interacts with each day are facing choices between paying bills, buying food, and going without. As one of the poorest and smallest counties in Ohio, the staff of Vinton CDJFS see the problems our families encounter on a daily basis, many are our neighbors and family. Too many families (and elderly) are living at, or below, the poverty guidelines. Until we begin to increase the quality of life for the families we serve, they will continue to struggle with meeting their basic needs, which impacts their ability to function.

There is a Latin saying, "Ut sementem feceris, ita metes" (As you sow, so shall you reap). Ohio needs to take a serious look at it's priorities. Until we begin to raise the quality of life for the poorest of the poor, we will continue to pay a higher cost on the back end (i.e., families falling apart) for our lack of investment on the front.

Jody Walker, Director
Vinton County Department of Job and Family Services

SE Ohio local government agencies stress need to “Focus on the Basics”

2008-07-25T12:07:00.002-04:00

The directors of Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Perry, Ross, Scioto and Vinton County Job & Family Services, Children Services and the 317 Board of Athens, Hocking & Vinton Counties, along with other local government officials and area human services agencies met for a news conference on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, in the conference room of the Ross County Jobs One-Stop, 150 E. Second St., Chillicothe, Ohio for a “Focus on the Basics” news conference.

Their message: we must “focus on the basics” and place a greater priority on local, state and federal resources for the poorest of the poor. The gaping holes in the government safety net for Ohio families has many without sufficient income to meet their basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Our government’s failure to prioritize the needs of the poorest of the poor is causing increased hardships among those least suited to survive them. Simultaneously, other challenges facing many of these same families are growing worse as they must focus all of their energy on simply surviving. We must provide sufficient benefits through our safety net programs to meet all basic needs for these families. This is already a crisis for the people affected by these issues.

We call upon our state and federal elected representatives to not turn away from these serious problems.

We must take immediate action!

Please contact your federal and state elected officials to urge them to address these issues!

“Focus on the Basics” News Conference

2008-07-22T10:57:00.000-04:00

Please join the directors of Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Perry, Ross, Scioto and Vinton County Job & Family Services, Children Services and the 317 Board of Athens, Hocking & Vinton Counties, for a news conference: 10:00 a.m., on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, in the conference room of the Ross County Jobs One-Stop, 150 E. Second St., Chillicothe, Ohio for our “Focus on the Basics” news conference.

The gaping holes in the government safety net for Ohio families has many without sufficient income to meet their basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Our government’s failure to prioritize the needs of the poorest of the poor is causing increased hardships among those least suited to survive them. Simultaneously, other challenges facing many of these same families are growing worse as they must focus all of their energy on simply surviving. We must “focus on the basics” and place a greater priority on local, state and federal resources for the poorest of the poor.

Ohio Works First (OWF) Client Surveys
These quotes represent a sample of the responses by OWF clients to the following question:

"What financial or medical hardships are you facing?"

“Every month I live with the fear of being evicted. I’m a single mom with two children…and if that were to happen, I have nowhere to go. I currently get OWF $410, but my rent is $425 not including utilities, or diapers, wipes, toilet paper, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent or gas for my van. Because of all the rising costs, I’m digging a financial hole every month I can’t get out of. This causes a lot of depression, despair and worry. I’m so busy with the worry of money, I can’t even enjoy my children as much as I would like to. Please, please help us, this can’t go on. Somebody be our voice. Sincerely…”

“I feel kind of a let-down and basically worthless to my son. If I had a car and extra money to feed him our hopes would begin to open up doors.”

“…I am a single father taking care of my 4-year old daughter…I have realized that due to the high bottle gas prices (which is a necessity to have in my home for cooking, heating, and having hot water for showers) and now the rising prices for automotive gasoline, complications have developed in my ability to provide my daughter with new clothing and new shoes when she needs them. This situation is also hurting my daughter due to our home and our vehicle (our only form of transportation), needing desperate repairs done to them. I could sit here and write a novel to you regarding all of the financial, physical, and mental hardships that I face on a day to day basis.”

“…There are days we don’t get to eat a solid meal, just soup and bread if we are lucky…”

“I am a single parent trying to raise 2 children on $410 a month because my doc says I’m unable to work…by the time you pay your utilities you have nothing left so you are struggling every month just to survive…”

Don't Turn Away, Ohio

2008-04-24T16:50:00.007-04:00

We must focus on the basics with a greater priority on financial resources for the poorest of the poor. The failure of government to ensure all families and individuals have sufficient income to meet their basic needs has caused holes in the safety net to steadily worsen.

We call on the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly to support the following:

• Public assistance benefits through the Ohio Works First program should be increased by $100 per month. Currently, the average family receives a combined income of cash and Food Stamps at roughly 50% of the poverty level.

• Health care services must be available to all adults earning less than 100% of the federal poverty level. Individuals not eligible for Medicaid lack the capacity to provide themselves with essential health care.

• Mental health and substance abuse services must be available to all adults and children below the poverty level. Treatment is often jeopardized by a lack of basic needs. Personal and financial recovery must proceed together.

• The disability determination process must be fixed. With two systems (Medicaid and Social Security) to navigate, people waste months or years trying to get the help they need.

We call upon the President and Congress to address the related federal issues:

• Food Stamp benefits are too low. Food Stamp benefits must be increased to meet 100% of the nutritional needs of poor families. Food Stamps are intended to supplement about 75% of a family’s nutritional needs. The presumption is people could make up the difference. With stagnant income levels and the increased cost of living, this is not possible. The end result overwhelms our food pantries and soup kitchens.

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are too low and need to be increased substantially. Payments for the elderly and disabled, in Ohio, average $430 a month (about 55% of the poverty level). Maximum payment is $637 per month (75% of the poverty level). These people cannot work, yet they are forced to live with the constant struggle to meet their basic needs.

We must provide sufficient benefits through our safety net programs to meet all basic needs for these families. This is already a crisis for the people affected by these issues.

We call upon our state and federal elected representatives to not turn away from these serious problems.

We must take immediate action!

Please contact your federal and state elected officials to urge them to address these issues!

Coverage of News Conference

2008-03-19T15:19:00.001-04:00

Links to the local newspaper coverage of our "Don't Turn Away, Ohio" news conference:

The Athens Messenger

The Athens News

Don’t Turn Away, Ohio Position

2008-03-19T15:05:00.002-04:00

It is uncomfortable to face up to, but in our efforts to turn around Ohio, we cannot continue to turn away from our communities’ most severe problems and from the poorest of the poor among us. Families and individuals dealing with serious financial issues; problems caused by domestic violence; addiction or mental health problems are unfortunate realities that don’t go away even if they are ignored. Our goal must be to help people through these situations. While challenging even in the best of times, recent failures by the state and federal governments have made accomplishing this goal significantly more difficult. The failure on the part of government to ensure that all families have sufficient income to meet their basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter has caused holes in the financial safety net to steadily worsen over the years. Our government’s failure to prioritize the needs of the poorest of the poor is causing increased hardships among those least suited to survive them.

Simultaneously, other challenges facing many of these same families are growing worse as a result of insufficient support for basic child welfare, mental health and substance abuse programs. These issues are bound together. It is virtually impossible to resolve many of the behavioral health issues families are facing when they must focus all of their energy on simply surviving. We must place a greater priority on financial resources for the poorest of the poor. We understand that, in these difficult economic times, many working poor families are struggling and need assistance. We certainly support all efforts to provide as much as we possibly can to aid these families. But we feel very strongly that support should not come at the expense of those who are still even poorer and have even fewer services available.

Therefore, we are calling on the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly to support the following:

• Public assistance benefits offered through the Ohio Works First program should be increased by $100 per month as previously proposed by Representative Jimmy Stewart. Currently, the average family receives a combined income of cash and Food Stamps at roughly 50% of the poverty level.

• Health care services must be available to all adults who earn less than 100% of the federal poverty level. Individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid lack the capacity to provide themselves with essential health care and, as a result, cause serious problems that affect the rest of the family, including their children.

• Mental health and substance abuse services must be available to all adults and children below the poverty level. Families dealing with these issues often have their treatment jeopardized by a lack of basic human needs. Personal and financial recovery must proceed together.

• The disability determination process must be fixed. With two separate systems (Medicaid and Social Security) to navigate, disabled people waste many months or years trying to get the help they need. Meanwhile, they suffer without much needed health care and income.

The failure of Ohio to deal effectively with these issues has created serious and unnecessary hardships for poor families and individuals. We have created an overwhelming demand for emergency food and housing services which continues to grow. Untreated mental health and substance abuse problems decimate already poor families. The ability of these individuals to obtain or retain employment is greatly challenged by inadequate health and behavioral health services.

We call upon the President and Congress to address the federal issues related to this problem:

• Food Stamp benefits are too low. Food Stamp benefits must be increased to meet 100% of the nutritional needs of poor families and the minimum benefit level should increase from $10 to $100 a month. Currently, Food Stamps are intended to provide about 75% of a family's nutritional needs. The presumption is that people could make up the difference with their cash. With stagnant income levels for the poor and the increased cost of living, this is not possible. The end result overwhelms our food pantries and soup kitchens.

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are too low and therefore need to be increased substantially. SSI payments for the elderly and disabled in Ohio average $430 a month or about 55% of the federal poverty level. The maximum payment is $637 per month or 75% of the federal poverty level. These people cannot work, yet we force them to live with the constant struggle to meet their basic needs.

We call upon our state and federal elected representatives to not turn away from these serious problems. We must take immediate action. This is already a crisis for the people affected by these issues.

$100 a Month OWF Grant Increase
There are 125,000 children who depend on the Ohio Works First TANF-funded cash assistance program. These families are very poor. We spend a great deal of money, time and effort through our local County Department of Job and Family Services offices to prove that families receiving OWF assistance don’t have other resources and comply with all program work requirements and time limits. After all this, we give them only about half of the money we know they need to live on. There is no doubt that this has caused many hardships for these children and their families. We provide a typical OWF family with about $320 a month in cash and $280 in Food Stamps. This does not meet their basic needs. Ohio has developed the largest balance of unspent TANF funds in the nation because we are unwilling to provide a decent level of assistance for these kids. The Governor’s budget calls for a “cost of living adjustment” in January of 2009, at a cost of $4.6 million. For a family of three, this equates to roughly a 3% increase, or about $10 a month. These children will clearly be much worse off in a year than they are now. Although the Governor’s budget does a lot to help children, it does not help our poorest children.

Health Care for All Adults below the Poverty Level
Much has been said during recent years about the state of health care and its availability. Some feel health care is a basic need and should be universally available regardless of socioeconomic status. Others disagree, calling such an approach “socialized medicine,” thus politicizing the process and making the issue a heated debate. No matter which side of that ideological fence one chooses, it is undeniable that those with health insurance, and thus access to health care, live a different lifestyle that those without it. Many Americans are facing tough choices about whether to take medicine that enables them to live in better health or to feed their families. The basic medical procedures that many of us take for granted are being denied to people who do not have insurance, as health care facilities often will not even attend to an uninsured patient. Additionally, the poor cannot afford to practice preventive medicine. Medicaid and Medicare help children, the elderly and those who are disabled. The OWF program provides health care for some adults, but many poor parents and other adults are not eligible for Medicaid and can’t afford health services.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for All Poor Adults
We must increase access to mental health and substance abuse services for all adults who need services and live below the federal poverty level. With state funding cuts and the increased need to provide local funds for Medicaid match, services to non-Medicaid adults are extremely limited. Medicaid primarily serves elderly, disabled or child clients. Other poor adults are covered only in very limited circumstances. As a result, many are not eligible for Medicaid funded behavioral health services.

This creates a dual challenge to recovery and treatment. Much needed counseling or support services are limited or not available and the adult is left struggling with the day-to-day challenge of meeting their basic human needs.

The impact of untreated mental health or substance abuse issues goes far beyond the individual to affect the whole family and community in general. The state must fund adequate behavioral health services for everyone below the poverty level.

Social Security Disability and SSI Denials
We must reform the disability determination process. The majority of applicants for Social Security Disability or SSI are denied at the time of their initial application. Although 60% of all applicants who appeal an initially denied claim are eventually approved for disability benefits, the 1.5-2.5 year process can have devastating affects on them and their families. Not only are their financial futures in jeopardy, but so is there personal health. Despite their best efforts, they are unable to meet the basic needs of their families.

Waiting more than a year to receive benefits puts an additional strain on already hurting families. The number of backlogged cases is continuing to rise. Unless this issue is addressed, disabled workers who have paid into a system they thought they could depend on will continue to be let down, and the wait will only continue to grow.

Many people have lost their homes, and some their lives, while waiting to receive benefits. These people put their faith into a system that was supposed to help. The system has failed them and could fail thousands more if immediate, effective changes are not made. We must take adequate steps to reduce the number of initially denied applicants.

Overlooking the Basics
Policymakers have cited the importance of early childhood intervention in preparing children for a successful education. Numerous studies have documented the importance of providing children with a variety of education, childcare and parenting programs to help accomplish this goal. Unfortunately, the most important factor in promoting a child’s readiness and success in school is often overlooked or ignored: a safe, stable and secure family.

Programs that address education and child care will not work for families or children who do not have their basic needs met first. Children who are facing continual chaotic or stressful lives due to extreme poverty in their families will not thrive no matter how much their school or daycare improves. By having policies that assure that hundreds of thousands of children will spend time in households that can’t meet their basic needs, we are undermining the potential success of our early childhood intervention efforts.

We must provide sufficient benefits through our safety net programs to meet all basic needs for these families. Below are comments from studies on child care, school readiness and brain development. They all emphasize the prime importance of a safe, secure, and stable family as a prerequisite for success:

“The major providers of early childhood experience are parents. Programs to support and strengthen the family will increase the likelihood of optimal childhood experiences.”

Child Trauma Academy. http://www.childtrauma.org/. How Experiences in Early Childhood Create a Healthy Society.

“In marked contrast to the child-care effects just described, parenting quality significantly predicted all the developmental outcomes and much more strongly than did any of the child-care predictors.”

Belsky, Jay; Vandell, Deborah Lowe; Burchinal, Margaret; Clarke-Stewart, K. Alison; McCartney, Kathleen; Owen, Margaret Tresch. The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2007). Are There Long-Term Effects of Early Child Care? Child Development, March/April 2007, Volume 78, Number 2, pages 693.

“The family plays the most important role in a young child’s life. Public policies should seek to support families in this role and to expand parents’ options for the care, health, and education of their children.”

National Governors Association. Final Report of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness. Building the Foundation for Bright Futures, page 1. Found at: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0501TaskForceReadiness.pdf, last accessed January 3, 2008.

“Responsibility for school readiness lies not with children, but with the adults who care for them and the systems that support them. Public policies should seek to provide comprehensive information, resources, and support to all who are responsible for children’s development.”

National Governors Association. Final Report of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness. Building the Foundation for Bright Futures, page 1. Found at: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0501TaskForceReadiness.pdf, last accessed January 3, 2008.

“The NGA Task Force on School Readiness believes that the family plays the most important role in a young child’s life. Parents have the primary responsibility for nurturing, teaching, and providing for their children. It is the relationship between parent and child that is the most critical for the positive development of children. Children need supportive, nurturing environments. However, the new economy has brought changes in the workforce and in family life. These changes are causing financial, physical, and emotional stresses in families, particularly low-income families… Consequently, the role of parents and the condition of families should be central concerns for policymakers interested in promoting school readiness.”

National Governors Association. Final Report of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness. Building the Foundation for Bright Futures, page 7. Found at: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0501TaskForceReadiness.pdf, last accessed January 3, 2008.

“Parents play a primary role in the development of their children. Children who experience sensitive, responsive care from a parent perform better academically and emotionally in the early elementary years. At the same time, not surprisingly, financial and emotional stresses negatively impact parents’ well-being and adversely affect their attentiveness and sensitivity to their children. For children who receive most of their care from a parent in the home, it seems clear that providing families with the resources, information, and tools they need is an appropriate approach for promoting school readiness.”

National Governors Association. Final Report of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness. Building the Foundation for Bright Futures, page 13. Found at: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0501TaskForceReadiness.pdf, last accessed January 3, 2008.

The above recommendations are endorsed by the following:

Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board, Earl Cecil, Executive Director
http://www.317board.org/

Athens County Job and Family Services, Jack Frech, Director http://jfs.athenscountygovernment.com/

Athens County Children Services, Andrea Reik, Director http://www.athenschildrenservices.com/

Hocking County Job and Family Services, Robert Smith, Director
350 State Route 664 North, P.O. Box 548 Logan, Ohio 43138-0548

Hocking County Children Services, Cathy Hill, Director
93 West Hunter Street Logan, Ohio 43138

Vinton County Job and Family Services & Children Services, Jody Walker, Director
30975 Industry Park Drive McArthur, Ohio 45651