Population of poor rises 57 percent in five years

from The Oregonian

Jill Rehkoph Smith

Valerie Young, 23, visited the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Hillsboro for the first time last week. With 1-year-old son Matthew in the shopping cart, she perused shelves, choosing items to help tide her over until her food stamp application is processed.

Young is supporting two other children and -- with her mother in prison -- a 13-year-old brother. She said she knows how to make food stretch. "My mom taught us about 10 ways to make ramen," she said. "The best way is you cook it till it's barely crunchy and then add some eggs."

Since losing her job at WinCo, the Hillsboro mother has joined the ranks of the suburban poor, who now outnumber inner-city poor nationally, according to a report released last week by the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

The report tracks changes in poverty for the 100 largest metropolitan areas from 1999 through 2005. In 2005, the poverty level for a family of three was an income of $15,753.

The Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area had one of the fastest growing poverty rates in the country for both city and suburbs. Its central-city area was the only one west of the Rockies to rank in the top 11, with an increase in child poverty rates that was second in the nation.

In Washington County, the number of people in poverty has grown five times as fast as the general population, said Jeri Alcock, development director for Community Action, a nonprofit offering extensive services for low-income residents of the county.

From 2000 to 2005, the county's population grew 11 percent, while the poverty population grew 57 percent, according to Community Action's annual "Issues of Poverty" report.

A variety of factors may be responsible. For example, housing is considered affordable if people pay no more than a third of their income for it, Alcock said. But Washington County has the highest land costs in the state, she said, and rent is too high for many people, particularly in light of recent economic changes.

"Job development is taking a scary turn," Alcock said, citing data that show low-wage positions (that pay no more than $30,000 a year) account for 63 percent of the county's job growth since 2000.

Roughly 65 percent of people seeking free health care at the Essential Health Clinic in Hillsboro are employed, said Executive Director Linda Nilsen-Solares.

She added that many of the people coming to her clinic were among the 80,000 dropped from the Oregon Health Plan when the state made cuts in 2003.

At the Oregon Food Bank, distribution of food boxes in Washington County increased by 7 percent from fiscal year 2004-2005 to 2005-2006 -- for a total of 39,451 distributed last year. By comparison, distribution increased by 2 percent in Multnomah and Clark counties and dropped by 1 percent in Clackamas County during that time.

One reason for Washington County's increase might be the Food Bank's outreach work over the past three years, said CEO Rachel Bristol. After seeing statistics on the county's dramatic rise in poverty, the Food Bank began establishing new programs and stepping up its efforts here.

Meanwhile, agencies partnering with the Food Bank report that redevelopment in inner Portland has priced many low-income people out of their neighborhoods and into suburbs at the city's edge.

Len Miller, who helps run the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, has seen such an increase reflected in its clients, whose numbers have doubled since 1999.

More than 60 percent are Latino, she said, although most come just a few times before finding help elsewhere or becoming self-sufficient.

Among the regulars who come back monthly, Miller said, are "retired ladies whose Social Security is about $800 a month."

Jill Rehkopf Smith: 503-294-5908; jillsmith@news.oregonian.com