Very often when the topic of poverty is raised our minds wander to images of rural America, Appalachia, for instance, where poverty has been a way of life for so many people for such a long time. We don’t very often stop to consider that the faces of poverty might include our neighbor down the street that works two jobs, or the grocery clerk that always double bags our groceries for us who is a domestic violence survivor, or the family that sits in the pew beside us at church that lost their health insurance. But the face of poverty in our country is changing. More and more people find themselves with very little resources in which they can buy the groceries needed to feed themselves and their families.
And as a Nation we’ve been slow to catch on to the newest faces of poverty. Perhaps we just haven’t stopped to consider that when home heating fuel prices skyrocketed last winter that some people had to sacrifice eating in order to stay warm. Maybe we just assume that our neighbor down the street has health insurance, and we haven’t stopped to consider that he just paid $200 for a standard office visit to the doctor when he had the flu, and then paid close to $100 for the medicine. That might be the reason he only has $20 left in which to feed a family of three for the week.
Why is it that everyone is there to offer help and assistance whenever a neighbor’s house burns down, but doesn’t even stop to consider that that same neighbor may not have had any food on the shelf for the past week? Are we, as Americans, so busy that we just don’t have the time to notice when someone needs our help? And what happens if we one day look in the mirror and see the face of poverty looking back at us? Who is going to notice and will anyone be there to help us?
Navigating the channels of various social services can be challenging to someone who has never had to do that. Very often you are forced to jump though hoop after hoop in order to get any assistance – if any assistance is available for you at all. Could anyone tell me why a family of three that earns $20,000 a year, who has had large medical bills, but no children under the age of 18 living in the home, is not even eligible for emergency food stamps in many states? How come if I quit my job I can receive food stamps, and yet if I’m working and still not making enough money to pay the bills and buy food for the family I’m not eligible for any assistance at all? Why is that? And what kind of message does it send to people who are working to improve their situation, but still need a little bit of help during the tough times?
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has an interesting article on the subject of suburban poverty. Everyone should read it and consider what is being said.
And as a Nation we’ve been slow to catch on to the newest faces of poverty. Perhaps we just haven’t stopped to consider that when home heating fuel prices skyrocketed last winter that some people had to sacrifice eating in order to stay warm. Maybe we just assume that our neighbor down the street has health insurance, and we haven’t stopped to consider that he just paid $200 for a standard office visit to the doctor when he had the flu, and then paid close to $100 for the medicine. That might be the reason he only has $20 left in which to feed a family of three for the week.
Why is it that everyone is there to offer help and assistance whenever a neighbor’s house burns down, but doesn’t even stop to consider that that same neighbor may not have had any food on the shelf for the past week? Are we, as Americans, so busy that we just don’t have the time to notice when someone needs our help? And what happens if we one day look in the mirror and see the face of poverty looking back at us? Who is going to notice and will anyone be there to help us?
Navigating the channels of various social services can be challenging to someone who has never had to do that. Very often you are forced to jump though hoop after hoop in order to get any assistance – if any assistance is available for you at all. Could anyone tell me why a family of three that earns $20,000 a year, who has had large medical bills, but no children under the age of 18 living in the home, is not even eligible for emergency food stamps in many states? How come if I quit my job I can receive food stamps, and yet if I’m working and still not making enough money to pay the bills and buy food for the family I’m not eligible for any assistance at all? Why is that? And what kind of message does it send to people who are working to improve their situation, but still need a little bit of help during the tough times?
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has an interesting article on the subject of suburban poverty. Everyone should read it and consider what is being said.
#####
Food shelves in Twin Cities suburbs -- even affluent ones -- are suddenly busier than they've ever been, according to a report to be released this morning.
A state study that is undertaken only twice each decade will reveal a huge jump in visits in places such as Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Golden Valley, according to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, the organization that coordinates the work of the shelves.
In Eden Prairie, it says, the number of visits for free food soared from slightly more than 1,500 in 2000 to nearly 10,000 last year.
"Hunger is not an issue that just affects homeless people on downtown streets," said Colleen Moriarty, executive director of Hunger Solutions. "They also live next door."
Beneath the numbers, experts say, lie a number of intriguing messages, including a rise in affordable apartments in many suburbs long considered bastions of wealth, and a widening gap between wages, on the one hand, and rents and mortgage payments on the other.
The report comes weeks after one from suburban Dakota County, whose board of commissioners learned last month of a sudden increase in poverty after decades of low and stable rates.
The most notable increases in the food shelf study, however, occurred in Eden Prairie and other cities in neighboring Hennepin County, suggesting a wider suburban phenomenon. By comparison, use of food shelves in Minneapolis, in the same stretch, barely budged...
"What struck us is how few food shelf users are on MFIP," said Laura Schauben, of Wilder Research, co-author of the survey, referring to the public assistance program formerly known as AFDC. "Most are working. But it's turning out that employment doesn't solve everything."
Suburban middle-class families also need help from time to time.
"Lost jobs, divorce, domestic violence -- things happen," Holden said. "It's hard to come here the first time and ask for help. We have people say they used to donate, and can't believe 'I'm sitting here asking for food.' "
The message that all these needs exist, officials say, is especially important in the summer, when suburbanites' donations fade but the need intensifies: Kids, for instance, aren't getting free or reduced lunches at school, so costs rise.
"We've been working hard to increase inventory in a very generous community," Holden said. "But I'm not sure what will be happening by about August."
#####
I think that most people just haven’t stopped to consider these things. Perhaps the family down the street can’t move into a cheaper home because of a damaged credit from defaulting on a hospital bill. Many people are in effect trapped in a dwelling they can no longer afford because no one else will rent to them because of damaged credit. And how much affordable housing do you see developers building in your city?
It’s worth a second thought if any of this is news to you.
