1 in 8 living in poverty

Even a job won’t assure escape from the abyss

By Connie Cartmell, ccartmell@mariettatimes.com
Washington County is doing a better job than most of its Appalachian Ohio neighbors, but that doesn’t mean poverty is not tightening its grip here, too.

Doris Phillips, 57, of Marietta is approaching her senior years in the uncomfortable and scary position of deteriorating resources and health.

“It’s hard to live,” Phillips said. “I don’t get enough income, not enough SSI (Supplemental Security Income), and I don’t get enough food stamps. I have 15 bottles of medicines, and some I have to pay for myself, some I don’t.”

Phillips has no car, doesn’t drive, and must take a taxi or public transportation wherever she wants to go.

With an income just less than $700 a month, the widow is one of about 8,647 Washington County residents, or 13.3 percent, living at or below the federal poverty level, according to the 2005 Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates, recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. That is a 1.1 percentage point increase from 2004 figures.

Neighboring counties fared far worse off. Morgan County jumped from 14.8 percent in 2004 to 18 percent in 2005. Noble County’s figure rose from 13.2 percent to 14.5 percent and Athens posted 31.5 percent in 2005, up from 20.2 percent in 2004.

Some county officials expressed skepticism about the figures.

“I can see where Athens County might have a question,” said David Brightbill, executive director of Washington/Morgan Community Action. “All these numbers are, are estimates. In Athens, the university skews those numbers so much. They tend to show high.”

Brightbill said it’s hard to tell about these numbers, considering they are several years old now.

“They are as accurate as any,” he said. “All this is guessing now and there is no way of disputing what the numbers are saying.”

But an estimated 1.1 million men, women and children in Ohio, including 235,026 families, according to a report in 1999, poverty is a way of life and reality.

Reasons are many and complex. That doesn’t make it any easier to cope.

Part of the puzzle is because of national pressures of increasing utility costs, high gasoline prices and a shrinking economy. Another part has to do with the numbers of jobs, particularly in manufacturing, that have left the region. Part is the aging population.

For Phillips, who is retired, there are local resources and public assistance to keep her going day-to-day and in her own home. Her son, who lives with her, provides much help and comfort, working a pair of jobs to support the two of them.

Community Action is among the largest single providers of public assistance programs, outside of Washington County Job & Family Services.

“There are some jobs coming around, some opportunities ahead, but overall, it’s very difficult,” Brightbill said. “It’s more challenging than, say, 10 years ago. Truly, I’m talking about people working and not being able to keep up.”

Electric rates this winter have skyrocketed throughout the region and there has been a dramatic increase in the price of propane and fuel oil, Brightbill said. In addition, gasoline is still around $3 a gallon, grocery bills are rising and there is no immediate relief in sight.

“This is squeezing low-income families,” Brightbill said. “People are not refusing to work; they are working, but working people can’t keep up.”

The federal poverty level, set each year by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, reports the poverty level in 2007 for a family of four was an income of $20,650 a year.

“What that means is if you made $20,651, you technically wouldn’t be poor,” Brightbill said. “Desperate maybe, but not poor. And remember, that’s gross pay, not take-home pay.”

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to grant a moratorium on electrical and gas shutoffs for low-income Ohioans through the coldest winter months. The commission complied.

Brightbill said the moratorium has eased the burden, but not for many living in rural southeast Ohio who heat with fuel oil or propane – not part of the agreement.

“If I am sitting in Lower Salem or New Matamoras, heating with propane and my tank is nearly empty, nobody says the carrier has to bring me a refill,” Brightbill said.

The cost of filling a tank can be as high as $500 or more and must be paid on delivery.

In addition to all the increases seen this winter, local social service agencies, such as Community Action, The Salvation Army, Caring Connection and food pantries are feeling the pinch of reduced grants and fewer public donations.

It means there will be less money, programs and services available to help those in need in 2008 and perhaps, beyond.

The State of Ohio is predicting a budget shortfall between $733 million and $1.9 billion in the current two-year budget. Most state agencies must propose spending cuts in the days and weeks ahead, Strickland said Wednesday.

Strickland said he would protect programs he considers critical.

Local agencies that receive state dollars are almost certain to see shortfalls in funding and reductions in programs.

“Over the last three years we have seen a slight increase in the numbers of people receiving food stamps,” said Tom Ballengee, director of Washington County Job & Family Services. “For example, in December 2002, we had 4,582 individuals (2,154 families) who received food stamps. In December 2007, that number was 6,062 individuals, 2,876 families.”

The state agency primarily provides health insurance through the Medicaid program, food stamps and job services.

Higher local poverty rates, are tied directly to the local and national economy. Jobs are the central spoke in the wheel.

“There are jobs available in the county, but not the people trained to fill many of these jobs,” Ballengee said. “People don’t have the skills yet.”

The service industry job base is growing, he said.

Higher-skilled and higher-paying jobs are most sought after in the local economy, but the reality is that more service than industrial jobs are being generated and these are generally lower-paying positions.