from the Athens MessengerCASEY S. ELLIOTTLegislators need to do more to help the poorest of the poor, several area advocates said Wednesday.The directors of the Athens, Vinton and Hocking County Departments of Job and Family Services, the directors of Hocking and Athens County Children Services, and the director of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Board for Athens, Hocking and Vinton County (317 Board) have sent a joint letter to state and federal legislators asking for their help in reforming public assistance to the needy.Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services, said all the agencies came together to do this because they recognize that the assistance has lagged behind the need."We are concerned that the state hasn't focused on the...
from the Cleveland Plain DealerLoss of good jobs is blamedRobert L. SmithThe number of people using food stamps has risen sharply in Cuyahoga County in recent years, especially in the suburbs, which experts see as evidence of more hunger and weaker jobs.The number of county residents in the federal food stamp program surged 40 percent between 2002 and 2007, according to a study by the Center for Community Solutions released Thursday.The study found that about 14 percent of Cuyahoga County's 1.4 million people received federal food stamps last year, probably a historic high."That's very likely the highest percentage ever enrolled in the program," said Joseph Gauntner, the county director of Employment and Family Services.The federal food stamp program helps low-income people to buy food,...
from The Tribune ChronicleWARREN — In a six-year period, only three states in the nation were able to go from providing less funding to their high-poverty school districts to providing more.Ohio was one of them.A study was released Thursday by The Education Trust that provides a state-by-state analysis of funding trends from 1999 to 2005, comparing the resources available to districts serving the highest percentages of low-income students and students of color to the resources available to districts with low percentages of those same students, a news release states.The study shows that Ohio was among 10 states that increased funding equity between its low- and high-poverty districts by more than $200 per student.Ohio also was noted along with Maryland and Wyoming for moving from...
from The Cincinnati EnquirerBY CLIFF PEALE | CPEALE@ENQUIRER.COMDenenne Watkins never imagined she’d be at home this holiday season marveling about her college grades.But the Westwood resident will be doing just that after earning two Bs and an A in three University of Cincinnati courses she took this fall. That’s the first term UC has offered courses through the Accounting and Credibility Together center downtown, the welfare-diversion program known as ACT.“It’s such a blessing to be in the ACT family,” said Watkins, 35, who has four sons ages 14 to 20. “They offer all kinds of support. You know, school is expensive!”ACT pays the difference between whatever the students can get in financial aid and full costs of the classes offered by UC’s Raymond Walters College. That...
from The Cleveland Plain DealerSheryl HarrisPlain Dealer ColumnistOhio's poorest residents won't go without heat this winter if they fall behind on their utility bills - as long as they keep trying to make some payments.In response to a call by Gov. Ted Strickland, the Ohio Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday forbade electric and natural gas companies to disconnect electric or gas service for Ohio's poorest consumers over the winter.The three-month moratorium applies only to consumers whose incomes are at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. To qualify, a single person could make up to $17,867.50 annually; a family of five, $42,227.50. But consumers who fall within income guidelines could still find themselves without heat if they ignore their bills.The disconnect...
from The Springfield News SunSchool district says a big challenge is that 67 percent of its students are in poverty or poor.By Lucas SullivanSPRINGFIELD — One Springfield City Schools board member says the district's children aren't as poor as some might think."I just want people to know that the 67 percent of children living in poverty is not accurate," board member Don Reed said. "I did some poking around on the U.S. Census Bureau's Web site and found that the number of children living below the federal poverty line in Springfield is significantly less than that."District administrators have said that one of the biggest challenges it faces is that 67 percent of its children are in poverty or poor."That is false," Reed said.The number of children living below the poverty line in...
from The Cincinnati EnquirerBY PEGGY O'FARRELLThe number of Ohio residents living in poverty has inched up since 2005, according to a new statewide poll.Overall, 16 percent of people lived below the federal poverty level in 2007, compared with 14 percent in 2005.A closer look at the 2007 Ohio Health Issues Poll shows the number of middle-income families shrinking across the state.The number of adults 30 to 45 living below the poverty level jumped, and the number of upper-income families slid in Southwest Ohio.Mirroring data from the U.S. Census, the poll also shows more of those lower-income families living in the state's urban areas, while the suburbs remain more affluent.The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati commissioned the poll, which also looks at the number of Ohioans who were...
from the Wooster Daily RecordBy RACHEL JACKSONWOOSTER -- Representatives of social service agencies and individuals alike gathered Monday to hear details of a new approach to ending poverty.Scott Miller, of Move the Mountain Leadership Center in Ames, Iowa, said it is possible to dramatically reduce poverty by bringing community resources together and forming relationships with those in poverty.The current social services system might move a few people out of poverty but is not set up to make a large impact, he said."It hasn't gotten any better," and it won't until the community works its way into people's lives, Miller said.Before founding Move the Mountain, Miller worked for an agency whose statistics were less than impressive. In a five-year period, just 10 percent of the people the...
from the Oxford PressBy Carmen M. HubbardStaff WriterHAMILTON — The image of poverty isn't always what we picture. Sometimes it's a senior citizen whose Social Security check is just enough to cover monthly bills except groceries."I try to get here once a month," said Patricia Parish of Hamilton after receiving food from Serve City's Lord's Cupboard pantry. "I'm on Social Security (disability for emphysema and arthritis) and can't afford to buy groceries. I don't eat very much."Other times, the image of poverty is a young adult, usually a single mother raising her small children with a menial job. Such is the case for friends Shawna Cook, 26, and Kendra Blevins, 23, who brought her 1 1/2-year-old daughter Adriana Martinez to Serve City on East Avenue in Hamilton. The women say they...
from The Ball State Daily NewsFake money, food stamps were used to purchase goodsJessica HusekBall State University students found out what life at the poverty line is really like at the poverty simulation Wednesday.Simulation Facilitator Kyra Hainlen said the Department of Social Work and TEAMwork for Quality Living held the event."The exercise is designed to give students a hands-on look at the realities of living in poverty," she said.About 76 students showed up, Hainlen said.Each participant is assigned a role in a family such as an unemployed single mother, she said.Each family of about four members are at or are just above the poverty line, Hainlen said. In other words, they are making too much money to receive government aid, but not enough to meet the needs of their family, she...
from The Star BeaconConneaut schools will get thousands more from state, may lose elsewhereBy MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.comStar BeaconCONNEAUT — Poverty levels in Conneaut now entitle the local school districts to receive thousands of dollars in state aid, Board of Education members learned at Thursday night's work session.The district will receive $700,000 in poverty based assistance, the maximum allowed, said Jack Nairus, area coordinator for the Ohio Department of Education's office of school finance. However, more than half of the amount must be spent on the district's all-day, every day kindergarten program.Nairus also warned the state stands to deduct some $200,000 in other areas of funding assistance.The Conneaut Area City Schools district this year crossed a...
from the Youngstown VindicatorAll six counties in theYoungstown diocese have seen increases in poverty, according to the census.Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown is involved in the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, a multiyear initiative launched by Catholic Charities USA earlier this year. The goal is to cut poverty in half by 2020. The campaign urges Congress and the administration to give a much higher priority to the needs of the poor in budget and policy decisions on issues such as health care, housing, nutrition and economic security.Catholic Charities USA is leading a broad effort involving partners in social service agencies, the faith community and other groups in a sustained effort to convince government officials of the importance of making systemic changes...
from The Ball State daily NewsStudent housing increases numbers for local surveyJoe Cermak The inclusion of Ball State University students, prison inmates and nursing home residents might have skewed results in a survey that stated Muncie had one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, Clive Richmond, senior program analyst for the American Community Survey, said.It included students in order to become more representative of the population than the 2005 American Community Survey."We did this to survey everyone equally," he said. "This is the first year we had money to do so."Students involved in the survey were considered "living in group quarters," which are not considered "housing units," a different sub-group in the study, Richmond said.Because of the inclusion of those living in...
from The Marietta TimesBy Connie Cartmell, ccartmell@mariettatimes.comPoverty knows no geographical limits.A recent U.S. Census Bureau report shows Cincinnati and Cleveland ranked third and fourth, respectively, among the nation’s 10 poorest big cities, as determined by the number of people living below the federal poverty level.People expect poverty to plague such cities, but across the rolling hills, picturesque villages and lush farmland of rural southern Ohio, poverty is also real.“Of course there is poverty out there — homelessness and all the current issues of poverty,” said Jim Baker, director of planning and development with Washington/Morgan Community Action.Poverty in the cities simply gets more media attention.“There’s just a lot of poor people out there,” Baker...
from Yahoo NewsThe new rankings of America's poorest cities will be released on Tuesday, a list that Cleveland has been at the top of in recent years.Mayor Frank Jackson talked to NewsChannel5's Paul Kiska about getting a handle on the city's poverty crisis.With factory jobs moving on and poverty rates over 30 percent, Jackson knows the numbers and the people behind them."Even if we're ranked 50th instead of first, it doesn't matter if you're the one in poverty," said Jackson.The mayor said improving schools is a big step in the right direction. Good schools lead to higher education, which leads to better jobs.Jackson believes keeping and attracting new business starts with regionalism."And allow companies to move in the region with no harm and have revenue sharing," he said.But the...
from News 5 NetCLEVELAND -- Almost hidden within the city that last year ranked as the nation's most impoverished is a village of 1,400 people, where incomes of $100,000 or more are common and homes are occasionally placed on the market for millions.The three mile-long, half mile-wide Bratenahl is incorporated, with its own mayor and police force. So, it's demographic data aren't included in the Census Bureau's poverty rankings for big cities, which for two of the past three years, including last year, pegged Cleveland as number one nationally in poverty rankings among large cities.The next annual poverty ranking -- part of the Bureau's American Community Survey -- is due Tuesday, when Cleveland will find out if it will take another hit to an already tarnished national image.The Census...
from The Cincinnati EnquirerNearly four years ago, six Cincinnati Country Day eighth-grade girls decided to raise money to buy shoes for children in a poverty-stricken South African village devastated by AIDS.They sold T-shirts in their school cafeteria for $15 apiece and raised $2,000.That success encouraged them to expand their project - which they named Helping Other People Endure (H.O.P.E.) - to raise money to feed the many orphans in the little Zulu village, Langkloof.They sold more T-shirts with H.O.P.E. emblazoned across the front. They held bake sales. They washed cars. They solicited individual donations. They held a fashion show featuring students from Cincinnati Country Day in Indian Hill and four other high schools.Today, those six girls and two other classmates who later...
from The Newark AdvocateMental Health America is conducting classes in the coming weeks to help people escape poverty.The agency is accepting applications from parents who have jobs but whose income is within 200 percent of poverty guidelines.Applications must be approved by Job and Family Services before classes start, so applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible. After telephone screening, MHA will invite eligible participants to sign-up meetings or private appointments in Newark or Pataskala to complete their applications. The schedule includes:# Newark: 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and Friday for sign-up meetings, with classes starting Feb. 15. Classes will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays one week, and Tuesdays and Thursdays on alternate weeks.# Pataskala: 1 to 2:30...
from The Post OnlineAndrea Golby / Staff Writer / ag232304@ohiou.eduThis year, minimum wage workers in Ohio will make $1.70 more per hour — about the cost of a large fast food drink — and public officials say the extra cash might help low-income workers get closer to breaching the poverty line.In Athens County, 20.6 percent of households have an annual income of less than $10,000, or about the annual salary full-time employee making the previous minimum wage of $5.15, said Tracy Galway, spokeswoman for the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. That amount is $6,600 below the poverty line for a three-person family based on the 2006 guidelines.With the new, statewide minimum wage of $6.85 an hour, which went into effect Jan. 1, a full-time minimum wage employee will make...
from The Columbus DispatchState holds hearings to better define the mission of CMACAO’s successorBarbara CarmenDonald E. Harrington has lived in one of Franklin County’s most poverty-stricken communities for 65 years.So his question to state officials yesterday, as they pondered what services a new anti-poverty agency would offer, was a practical one."What’s going to happen to us out here? We have a lot of seniors, and a whole lot of other people need help," Harrington said. Harrington lives in Urbancrest, where one-third of the 868 residents live in poverty, 2000 Census data show.For the next hour, citizen after citizen at a meeting held Downtown at the Riffe Center filed up with a version of that same question.About 30 people came to the first of several public meetings that the...