Overnight links for December 20th

The Pan American Heath Organization is getting ready to begin cholera vaccinations in Haiti. Jane Sutton from the Scotland Herald says that the PAHO still needs to raise more money to manufacture more vaccine before they begin.   

The latest U.S. Census Bureau numbers show that the Muncie, Indiana area has a higher level of poverty than state or even national levels. Seth Slabaugh of the Muncie Star Press looks into the reasons why poverty is so high for this rural area. 

Canada will soon be withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The country is beginning to talk about how they continue to help human rights in Afghanistan after the troops are gone. From the Globe and Mail, writer Sarah Smiles Persinger examines the new debate.   

Teens make a documentary on poverty

A group of teens are working on a documentary that exposes poverty in Lafayette Indiana. Making the video is a service project for an after school club the kids belong to. The teens say making the film really opened their eyes to the problem in their home town.

From the Journal and Courier, writer Taya Flores talked to the teens.

A group of local teenagers wanted to bring awareness to this issue. Members of the Keystone Club, a leadership development group at the Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club of Tippecanoe County, are working on a documentary about poverty in Lafayette.

"The goal is to create an awareness (about) poverty and the issues surrounding poverty," said Dustin Bankhead, program director at the Boys and Girls Club on Beck Lane.

The documentary will be screened Nov. 19 at the Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club in Lafayette. The documentary is the group's National Keystone Project, an annual project designed to challenge teens to address social issues in their community.
...

The teens questioned their subjects about how they defined poverty and if they thought poverty existed in Lafayette.

Working on the documentary was a learning experience for the teens as well.

Before beginning the project, many believed poverty did not exist in Lafayette because it hasn't manifested itself on the streets in the form of urban blight.

"If (you) walk around town, you don't see people on the streets sitting there asking for money," said 14-year-old Cheyenne Russell.

However, after working on the documentary, they realized that poverty is right at home in Lafayette.

"My family receives Medicaid and we have had food stamps in the past," said 15-year-old Selina Gaeta. "Most of us are in poverty and just don't realize it."

Indiana sees a jump in poverty level in 2008

Your blogger's home state of Michigan has seen many jobs go to Indiana instead of coming here. Indiana seems to do a good job of attracting business down there thanks to favorable tax breaks.

But Indiana' proximity to Detroit means it was reliant on the auto industry as well. The effects of the car bankruptcy's has hit Indiana hard according to the US Census Bureau.

In another of our series of the Community Surveys, Indianapolis Star Press gives us the results for Indiana.

The percentage of Hoosiers living in poverty increased to 13.1 percent in 2008, up from 12.3 percent the year before, according to the Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey.

That survey estimates that more than 807,000 Hoosiers were living in poverty in 2008, up from 757,000 in 2007.

The numbers are particularly disturbing for black and Hispanic Hoosiers. In 2007, 25.5 percent of blacks and 22.2 percent of Hispanics lived below the poverty line, compared with 10.4 percent of whites. But this year's survey shows those numbers have climbed to 28.1 percent of blacks and 23.7 percent of Hispanics. The percentage of whites rose more slowly, to 11 percent.

Experts who work with the homeless and help distribute food stamps say Indiana's increased poverty rates reflect what they've seen since last year: More Hoosiers are struggling to make ends meet and feed their families.

"These numbers are directly related to what we've been seeing, that's for sure," said Rich Adams, deputy director of the state's Division of Family Resources, which distributes food stamps. "We've seen a steady increase in the number of people needing food stamps for the last several years."

The census survey found that California, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Hawaii and Connecticut also had significant statistical increases in their poverty rates.

South African food pantries visit the states for ideas

A group of South Africans who head up a national food bank are in the states for ideas. People from Food Bank South Africa visited the Food Bank of Northern Indiana in South Bend.

From the South Bend Tribune, reporter Sue Lowe talks to Bob Forney from the Global Food Banking Network, who organized the trip.

There have been food pantries in South Africa for years, but the national food bank network is new. Forney described conditions in South Africa that make us realize our good fortune.

He said unemployment is 40 percent and that's not counting the people who have just given up.

Stuart McPherson, with the Food Bank in Cape Town, South Africa, said the country needs to feed 6 million refugees who have streamed in from neighboring countries.
...

Forney said the government has a defined role in operating the regional food banks in the country along with private citizens and business.

He predicted that in the next couple of years, the country will have the fifth or sixth largest food bank network in the world.

He said the South Bend food bank is a good place for the group to visit because the country has many cities the size of South Bend and rural areas like much of the six counties the South Bend food bank serves.

The Food Bank of Northern Indiana works with almost 200 agencies that provide food for people in need.

Muncie, Indiana gathers for a town hall meeting on poverty

The town of Muncie, Indiana had a town hall meeting last night to discuss how to combat poverty in their community. The meeting also talked about how the working poor is falling further behind. Ivy Farguheson of the Star Press tells us what was presented.

Sponsored by TEAMwork for Quality Living and the Economic Poverty Impact Coalition, the meeting was intended to discuss what needs to be done in Muncie and the surrounding areas to assist those living in poverty.

Residents from across varying income levels were on hand, not only to ask what can be done to assist someone in poverty but also what can be done to assist the ever-increasing working poor.

"When you have a middle class that's working and they are considered a working-poor group, there is a larger problem out here," said Monica James. "We do fall short, and it's not because we're lavishing ourselves in these wonderful gifts."

Leaders of local non-profits presented the evidence of increasing demands for their services by the working poor and offered suggestions for where to receive services to make it through tough times.

But there was also an emphasis on giving people information that could save them time and money in the short and long term.

"We need to have a better infrastructure that allows this sort of information to get out," said Gary Chenault, president and CEO of the United Way of Delaware County. "We have an information gap."

Another increase infood bank usage story

This time it's from Indiana. Since the weather became cold in the states, food banks here have noticed a big increase in the numbers coming in for help. As Lauren Daley of the Indiana Gazette notes, sometimes the demand on the food pantries is too much.

With decreasing state and federal aid and a growing demand, the Indiana County Community Action Program is simply trying to use what it has and rely on community donations to support those in need.

Lorna Vite, executive director of ICCAP, said Indiana County residents seemed to make do when gas prices were high in the summer, but food bank numbers jumped as cold weather hit.


``I think if someone is on a fixed income, this is one way they can free up a little bit of money to go into the fuel bill,'' Vite said. ``I think that as cold weather hit, people were looking for all ways to help their household.

ICCAP's 21 food pantries served 1,713 households in October, an increase from 1,380 in July. The agency also gave out significantly more emergency food bags - 393 - in October, a spike from 92 in August and 88 in September. Those who receive emergency food bags are allowed to do so only three times a year and are referred to the county food bank.

Vite said the agency helps approximately 3,200 people per year, a number she believes will increase in 2009.

``I feel like it will go up. Even if it doubled, we would have to work to supply each family with a bag of food. I feel we could handle that, but we have not been in that situation before,'' she said. ``It would be something we would have to work for.''

Based on U.S. Census data, Vite said there are 24,844 people in Indiana County who are eligible for ICCAP's food bank. To determine eligibility, ICCAP takes 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which is an income amount set each year based on household size.

Indiana TV station doing a series on Poverty

The TV station WNDU is running a series on poverty in Indiana. It's a special series that they are running during the 11 o'clock news.

Here is the link to the video on last night's story.

A reporter for the station, Alana Greenfogel profiled a homeless single mother in her story.

Rebecca Roberts is 22 years old with four children, and home for her is the Center for the Homeless.

“This was my... kinda only choice,” says Roberts, who explains the choice came when she left an abusive relationship.

“Homeless people are not guys with shaggy beards living under bridges; they’re like my parents, or like me,” she says.

Jacqueline Kronk, with the Center for the Homeless, says, “We’re seeing families and we’re seeing children and we’re seeing younger and younger children.”

Men and women in this very community who, before these times, never considered poverty a piece in their puzzles are now finding it fits.

“We’ve had dentists, we’ve had doctors. Whether it be generational poverty or situational poverty, they’ve walked through our doors,” says Kronk.

More seeking aid from food pantries

Here is the view from Indiana on how the economic depression in the US is effecting people there. Many more people are turning to food pantries to help put food on the table. The number using food pantries are sure to increase as all the recently announced job layoffs begin to occur.

A reporter for the Muncie Star Press, Ivy Farguheson details what is happening in the state of Indiana.

"If you talk to anybody that runs a food pantry, they will tell you that the demand this year has almost doubled, if not more, than this time last year," says Major Douglas Rick of The Salvation Army of Delaware County. "A lot of people were just making it last year, just getting by. This year, if they didn't come into the food pantry, they wouldn't be making it at all."

On a statewide level, 28 percent of Indiana's working families, or more than one in four, earned less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the most recent Working Poor Families Project report, released in late October. That threshold was $41,228 in 2006.

That number of families was an increase of 2 percent, or 17,000 families, from a 2004 study.

And there's more bad news: the number of working families considered low income likely will grow during the current economic downturn.

"We're seeing working class people that try to work and try to make a home for themselves and pay their bills, but they can't make it with the cost of everything going up," said Kay Walker, the Center Township Trustee. "It's growing every day."

Local non-profits can offer anecdotal evidence of the change. Many of the people seeking help from their pantries are new, including some who might have donated to the pantries just last year.

"There are just more people who aren't able to make it on their limited incomes. The working poor ... times are more challenging for them," said Becki Clock of Christian Ministries. "They're just getting behind and then further behind and then further behind."

It doesn't help that 25 percent of the state's jobs are in occupations that generate an income below the federal poverty level for a family of four. Indiana ranks 25th in the nation for the percentage of low-income working families, a drop of five places in the national ranking since the 2004 report.

Hawthorne earns national recognition

from the Indianapolis Star

By Bill McCleery

A prestigious award from the U.S. Department of Education has sparked a spirit of celebration at Hawthorne Elementary School in Warren Township.

The school won recognition for two consecutive years of making "adequate yearly progress" under goals set forth by the federal No Child Left Behind law despite serving a high-poverty area.

The award -- formally called the "Distinguished Title 1 School Award" -- essentially declared Hawthorne the state's top model for schools serving low-income populations.

"This year we have 68 percent (of students) receiving the free and reduced lunch," said Principal Phil Talbert, referring to the federal program for students from low-income families.

"The research says high-poverty kids cannot achieve as high as kids from higher-income families, but our kids are scoring as well as anybody else. That's where we're showing it can be done."

Officials announced the award at an all-school assembly Sept. 25. The school's award is more than a plaque to hang on the wall. It comes with a $50,000 check.

"Is that exciting or what?" Talbert said.

School officials attributed Hawthorne's achievement to the staff's emphasis on data-driven instruction. Teachers carefully track students' progress in all academic areas and strategize regularly with one another toward addressing any areas of weakness. Teachers work with each student based on what data they've collected, said Talbert, who has been principal 13 years and spent his entire 34 years in education in the district.

"We don't guess anymore about kids," Talbert said. "We know exactly what they need, and we work toward meeting their needs for each individual student."

A Hawthorne special education teacher said she has implemented the same strategic approach with her students that have proved successful schoolwide.

"I've seen it work with all types of students," teacher Debbie Williams said. "We have a lot of students here (from) poverty, but that's not allowable as an excuse in our school. It doesn't hold us back in any way. We know these children with the right experiences can learn, and they do learn and are learning."

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Indiana expands child health insurance program

from the Munster Times

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- As many as 10,000 Indiana children became eligible Wednesday for the State Children's Health Insurance Program under a recently approved expansion, state officials said.

The expansion of eligibility to children up to age 19 in households earning up to 2.5 times the federal poverty level was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in May. The new eligibility level is a sliding scale that includes families of two earning up to $35,000 per year and families of four earning up to $53,000.

Families with children newly eligible under the expansion will need to pay higher premiums, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration said.

Households earning 200 percent to 225 percent the poverty level will pay $42 per month for one child or $53 monthly for two or more children. Households earning 226 percent to 250 percent of the poverty level will pay premiums of $53 for one child or $70 for two or more children.

FSSA estimated more than 5,000 children will gain coverage during the first year of the expansion.

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Ball State study finds Muncie's poverty rate is lower, but more are struggling

from the Star Press

By KEITH ROYSDON

MUNCIE -- A new Ball State University study maintains that Muncie's poverty rate is lower than previously announced, which prompted one local advocate for the poor to say the study might be an over-simplification.

One thing that the study's author and local experts in dealing with poverty can agree on: The number of the working poor locally is high and might even amount to a third of the city's population.

The first of a three-part report, "Understanding Regional Poverty: What is Poverty," was released this week by the Bureau of Business Research at Ball State University.

The report, by economist Michael Hicks, reiterates points made in September 2007, when experts said changes in how the U.S. Census measures poverty skewed the government's estimation of how many local people are considered poor. The presence of college students in Muncie and other Indiana cities with universities increased the number of annual incomes below the poverty threshold of $10,294.

Muncie's poverty rate was 24.2 percent in 2005, before the change in Census reporting, when it jumped to 32.6 percent in 2006. Hicks' study started from an even lower poverty rate of 23.1 percent, subtracted 15.3 percent -- representing 15,000 students -- and found an adjusted poverty rate of 7.8 percent. That number would rank Muncie below other college communities like Terre Haute, West Lafayette and South Bend.

"It's not a happy story, but [poverty] is not exploding like the Census suggests," Hicks said in an interview.

Molly Flodder, executive director of TEAMwork for Quality Living, said she had seen the Ball State study.

"I think there's some truth to that, but I think it simplifies the matter in a way that's too far in the opposite direction.

"Even if the rate is lower by 15 percent to account for the student population, that would still leave a higher poverty figure among non-university, city residents than he comes up with," Flodder said, adding that including rural Delaware County in the figuring also skews the urban poverty rate.

When asked for an estimate of how many local residents could be classified as working poor -- employed but not making a living wage -- Hicks said, "I would guess a third of Muncie residents easily fit the bill -- 20,000 is probably not far off."

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Bloomington poverty rate tops 41 percent

from The Star Press

A new U.S. Census Bureau report which found 41 percent of Bloomington residents living in poverty is somewhat misleading because of the city's large population of college students, officials say.

The report, which includes Indiana University students in its figures, found that Bloomington's poverty rate grew from 34.7 percent in 2006 to 41.6 percent 2007 — a nearly 7 percent rise.

But the numbers are skewed because many IU students either have no incomes or paltry paychecks from part-time jobs, said Barry Lessow, executive director of United Way of Monroe County.

"These numbers reflect the reality that poverty is certainly an issue in our community," he said. "But as we look at the poverty numbers, we're also cognizant that they are impacted by the large number of IU students included in the census figures."

In 2007, the federal government considered a single person making less than $10,210 a year — or a family of four making less than $20,650 — to be in poverty.

Therefore, any student making less than $10,210 a year would be considered living in poverty.

Mayor Mark Kruzan said that regardless of the fact that IU's student population contributes to the high poverty number assigned to Bloomington, poverty is a reality for too many people in the city of about 70,000 residents.

"In addition to job loss and export, federal and state assistance programs have continually been cut as need for those services increases," he said in an e-mail statement.

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Fair donations will aid pantries

from the Indianapolis Star

Those attending county event are asked to bring canned goods to help the needy

By Tania E. Lopez

While fair food is a summer favorite for many who attend the Hamilton County 4-H Fair, one local community leader wants to shine the spotlight on residents who are struggling to feed their families.

That's why for the fourth consecutive year, Good Samaritan and 4-H leaders will conduct a 4-H CAN Make a Difference food drive during the fair, Thursday through Monday.

Nancy Chance, founder of Good Samaritan, said the food drive helps stock 32 local food pantries in preparation for back-to-school and the holidays.

"(In total), we don't get much (from the fair)," she said, but every bit helps.

Fairgoers may drop off nonperishables such as canned soup, vegetables, beans, peanut butter, pasta, cereal/oatmeal, powdered milk and rice at Hall B in the main Exhibition Center, said Kathleen Koch, 4-H youth development Extension educator.

"We do encourage our local 4-H families to bring at least one can," said Koch. "A little goes a long way."

Good Samaritan is the county's umbrella organization for 64 agencies and trustee offices that provide food, clothing and other services to residents who need help to meet their basic needs.

In 2006, census estimates showed 3.9 percent of people living in Hamilton County were below the poverty level.

Chance believes there are more.

Last year, Good Samaritan served 14,978 families who qualified for assistance. Families that apply for township aid also may get emergency food through referrals to local pantries.

Donations to Good Samaritan are down 25 percent this year, Chance said, pointing to high gas prices and the ailing economy as factors that hurt donations. She predicts the situation will worsen once students return to school.

"Hamilton County is supposed to be an affluent county, and it is, but there is a need," she said. The majority of families who get help from Good Samaritan are the working poor -- families that struggle financially to meet basic needs.

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Report: More kids in state slip into poverty

from the Indianapolis Star

Experts cite job losses as factor in 29% rise
By Jeremy Herb

The number of children living in poverty in Indiana rose nearly 29 percent from 2000 to 2006, an increase nearly five times the national rate, according to a new ranking of child welfare.

As a result, Indiana's child poverty level for the first time matched the national rate of 18 percent in 2006, the Annie E. Casey Foundation reported in its Kids Count report released today.

Local advocates said the numbers aren't surprising in light of job losses in Indiana. They also said some of the taxpayer-funded help that low-income families receive is being scaled back as more Hoosier children slip into poverty.

"When needs go up in times of economic downturns, that's when state budgets tighten and services are cut," said Rochelle Finzel, director of Indiana's Institute for Working Families. "There's always those issues that funding goes down when people need it most."

In part because of reforms aimed at moving people off welfare rolls, the number of Hoosiers receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dropped 9 percent from March 2006 to March 2008. The number of children receiving TANF also dropped by 1 percent in the past year to 76,801. The state, on the other hand, increased by 15 percent the amount in food stamps it issued from 2006 to 2008, to $62.8 million.

The Casey Foundation report is based on 10 factors, including child poverty. It ranked Indiana 34th overall, down three spots from the state's 2007 ranking.

About 277,000 children in Indiana live in households below the federal poverty income level, or $20,444 a year for a family of two adults and two children in 2006. The number of children in extreme poverty -- who live in families earning below 50 percent of the poverty level -- was up 60 percent since 2004 and stood at 8 percent in '06.

Bill Stanczykiewicz, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Indiana Youth Institute, said three factors are causing Indiana's poverty rate to climb: loss of jobs, especially in manufacturing; an increase in out-of-wedlock births; and a rise in immigrants, who historically are the lowest-paid workers.

In the past year, Indiana has shed 13,000 industrial jobs, reducing the number of manufacturing jobs to 539,300 and marking a decline of 131,500 factory positions since 2000. The state has shed 20,000 jobs in all industries since employment peaked at 3 million in 2000. The overall employment figures for Indiana are positive because metro Indianapolis has added about 62,000 jobs.

The percentage of children born to single parents climbed to 40.1 percent last year, increasing 16 percent since 2000, according to Kids Count data.

And in 2006, 23 percent of children in immigrant families in Indiana lived below the poverty line.

Stanczykiewicz and Finzel said economic conditions must turn around before the poverty rate will improve.

"We really need to let kids know that the days of a parent graduating high school to support their family -- that's over," Stanczykiewicz said. "You need post-secondary education or training."

The state has attempted to address that problem in part by working with the Indiana Youth Institute to get more at-risk children enrolled in job-training programs and by expanding the Ivy Tech Community College system.

But dollars are limited.

The Hawthorne Community Center on Indianapolis' Westside has seen more families seeking assistance as its state funding for child-care programs has been cut 20 percent, Deputy Director Betty Harris said.

Funding for its program providing free care for children before and after school and in the summer was cut by more than $6,500 this year. Harris said the decrease, which starts July 1, will force the center to reduce staff hours, potentially cutting up to 20 children from the program.
Cutting back

Several parents at the Hawthorne center on Wednesday afternoon said losing the after-school and summer programs would force them to cut back on work or lean on relatives to take care of their children.

Laura Sparks, who works full time as a security guard, said she would have to leave her 12- and 6-year-old children home alone and work only part time if she couldn't send them to Hawthorne.

Whether other similar programs face such cuts was unclear Wednesday. Officials with the state Family and Social Services Administration were unavailable for comment because they were busy attending to flooding-related duties.
Addressing the problem

State governments across the country have made attempts to reduce child poverty, which has increased nationwide, according to a report in April by the Center for Law and Social Policy.

More than a dozen states either have proposed legislation or called for committees to look at the problem.

In the Midwest, Michigan has made plans for a November summit on child poverty, while Illinois has legislation pending to set a target for cutting extreme poverty in half by 2015, according to the report.

Connecticut, which has the third-lowest child poverty rate in the nation, was the first state to enact a law setting a target to reduce its child poverty in half, a goal it hopes to achieve by 2014. The state created a council that reports annually on how the state can reduce poverty.

The Casey Foundation report shows Indiana has improved in several categories, cutting its high school dropout rate by 38.5 percent and its teen pregnancy rate by 12 percent. Still, both remain above the national average.

Conditions in Indiana also have worsened since 2000 in several other categories examined in the report:

The number of low-birthweight babies increased 12 percent, from 7.4 percent to 8.3 percent, while the U.S. rate went up from 7.6 percent to 8.2 percent.

The infant mortality rate increased 3 percent, from 7.8 percent to 8 percent, compared with the national rate, which held steady at 6.9 percent.

Students are eager to help others

from the Indianapolis Star

By Melanie D. Hayes

Some Carmel Elementary third-graders have decided they aren't too young to try to change the world. And they have joined forces with one of the most influential people who try to make a difference every day -- Oprah Winfrey.

The television host's Oprah's Angel Network and Free the Children have created O Ambassadors, a school-based program to help raise awareness about global issues and encourage kids to be leaders, said Ashley Aletto, a club sponsor.

Carmel Elementary applied and joined the program last fall -- the year the program started. Each school is assigned one of five world regions, and Carmel got East Africa.

To get in the club, third-graders had to submit a two-page application essay about why they wanted to join. All 37 students in Aletto's and Stephanie Borlik's classrooms who applied were accepted and formed a chapter.

Members dedicate an hour every Tuesday after school to it.

"We teach them about East Africa, and within that, we teach them about poverty, health, education and sustainable development," Aletto said. "We analyze pictures, show videos, read stories and do activities. We look at the differences in their lives and ours.

"For example, in East Africa, girls don't get as many privileges. In school, they can't speak. So one time, the girls couldn't say anything in our class to make them see what it would be like."

The club has been raising money throughout the year to send to Free the Children, which will use it to help kids in East Africa.

The local O Ambassadors also have organized a three-hour, end-of-the-school-year fair, Carmel's Big Give Carnival. Students from all 11 Carmel elementary schools Friday are invited to enjoy inflatable moon walks, face painting, bingo, a dunk-a-principal game and more.

The goal is to raise $20,000 through wristband sales and donations for kids in East Africa, Aletto said.

As a way to draw kids and parents out to the carnival, the O Ambassadors made several marketing materials about their club and the need in Africa. They created a video, a brochure and signs.

"We have been learning about how people in East Africa are living and how sad it is," said Kyle Schultz, 9. ". . . A lot of people don't have shelter. I think all of us couldn't imagine how sad it would be."

Dani Van Buren, 9, wants to encourage kids to go to the carnival, and to help in other ways.

Young people fight hunger with 30-hour famine

from the Journal and Courier

By BOB SCOTT

Two dozen young people from Lafayette recently fasted 30 hours to raise money to fight world hunger.

The youth group at Sunrise Christian Reformed Church raised about $5,000 as part of its second annual World Vision 30 Hour Famine weekend. The youths raised $1,100 last year.

"Not eating for 30 hours was hard, but it was not as bad as what kids around the world face," said Paul Lyzenga, 17.

"It was pretty cool for me to come in and do something for world hunger."

The senior at Faith Christian School also helped build 1,208 6-by-8-inch wooden crosses that were installed outside the southside church.

The crosses represent the number of children age 5 and younger who die from poverty and hunger each hour worldwide, according to World Vision 30 Hour Famine.

Jean Dahnke, the children's ministry director, said last weekend's retreat was an educational experience for the group.

"I hope they realized that they can make a difference," she said. "Spiritually, I hope they grow in their Christian walk and know they can accomplish a lot of things with Jesus Christ at their side."

She said there were no complaints during the fast and overnight retreat.

"None of them complained," she said. "When you get hungry, you tend to get grouchy. I'm proud of them."

Lyzenga said when the fast ended, the group had rice and then spaghetti. The idea was to give the fasters food that would not upset their stomachs.

"I did have three plates of spaghetti," he laughed. "It tasted great."

The participants also played games that were fun and educational, Dahnke said. The focus was on Indonesia and the impoverished children there.

"One game was called 'earthquake survival,' " she said. "The kids journaled, too."

One game's question was, "How do you think it would be to be separated from your family during a crisis?"

"It made you think," Dahnke said.

Other games focused on the "mosquito menace" and malaria, which is a major killer worldwide.

"It takes $365 to feed a child for an entire year," she said.

Sisters Emily and Maggie Wetzel said it was a "great weekend." Emily, 14, and Maggie, 12, attend Lafayette Christian School.

"The best part was raising money for kids in poverty," Emily said. "We asked our families and friends at church to help."

Maggie said she enjoyed being with her friends for 30 hours.

"Having fun was the best part for me," she said. "But while we were having fun, we knew we were helping people."

The sisters were part of a church team that went to Lima, Peru, last year. They are going back again this year.

"You have no idea what poverty really is until you go down there and see it," Maggie said.

DeVol challenges community, companies to expand efforts to address local poverty issues

from The Bluffton News Banner

By Mark Miller

ADDRESSING POVERTY - Author Phil DeVol used a Power-Point presentation to help explain how individual companies and communities can deal with poverty issues and help people “climb out” and improve their situations, which also improves their communities. DeVol made his presentation to approximately 25 community and industrial leaders Thursday morning at the 4-H Community Center.

Phil DeVol challenged local business and community leaders to move forward with an aggressive approach to address poverty issues in Bluffton and Wells County.

DeVol, co-author of “Bridges Out of Poverty,” gave a synopsis of his research and writings, as well as an overview of one case study in which a company reduced their turnover in their manufacturing jobs dramatically to a group of approximately 25 people at the 4-H Community Center Thursday morning.

The session was a condensed version of the two-day seminar DeVol presented in early November to a larger group of service agency directors and employees, educators and government officials. He was in Bluffton again Thursday to perform a training session for people who will be leading a series of “Getting Ahead” classes next spring.

Those classes will walk people who are struggling to escape poverty through a process that will help them better understand how to do that and will give them tools and resources to succeed.

DeVol emphasized to the group of community leaders Thursday morning the importance of addressing the poverty issue.

Historically speaking, he noted, the disparity between the rich and the poor is widening now more than practically at anytime in history.

“From about 1945 until 1970, everyone’s economic status was improving in America,” he said. “What we’re experiencing now is only comparable to the historic ‘Gilded Age’ and the ‘Roaring 20s’.”

When a community’s poverty level reaches a critical point, that puts a burden on the entire community that may be the beginning of an irreversible downward spiral, he explained.

DeVol walked the attendees through the basics of how people in poverty view the world versus middle and upper classes and how that impacts them as employees. He also explained the causes of poverty.

“Community resources is a key component to this issue,” he noted, explaining that a community needs not only to be focused on economic development, but more so in building what he called “equity.”

That means, he explained, “giving people a fair shot at decent jobs, decent healthcare, eduction, fair credit and a connectiveness to the community.”

As an example, DeVol noted that bringing in a new factory with low-paying wages is “only buying more poverty.”

Examples of communities that are formally addressing the issue utilizing the “Getting Ahead” programs included several in Indiana, such as South Bend and Indianapolis. Each community has established a steering committee that includes representatives of the three basic socio-economic classes that exist, which he stressed is key to a community’s success.

“All three groups must sit down together to analyze the community’s situation and their resources and work to break down barriers,” he said.

Following his presentation, United Way executive director Pamela Beckford told the group that a steering committee has already been formed as a result of the earlier visits this year by DeVol and his colleague and co-author, Dr. Ruby Payne.

Beckford encouraged individual businesses to get better acquainted with the “Bridges Out of Poverty” program and how other companies in other communities have utilized it to their benefit.

DeVol, who is associated with Payne’s company, Aha Process, Inc., noted that a series of success stories is in the process of being put on their website as a reference for other communities and companies. Currently, only the South Bend experience has been posted but others will be added, he said.

That can be found in the “Best Practices” area at .

The breakfast was organized by the United Way of Wells County and funded by a grant from the Wells Community Foundation.

The training session for the “Getting Ahead” trainers was organized and funded by the Department of Child Services.

Residents Facing Poverty Seek Community Response

from The Times Union

Tim Robertson
Staff Writer

Editor's Note: This is the third of a three-part series on poverty in Kosciusko County. The series looks at three local events aimed at raising awareness and facilitating responses to poverty in our area.

The day starts for Warsaw residents Jamie Caudill and Brandy Holle in much the same way as it starts for many of their neighbors across the county.

Caudill, 29, lives with her children, ages 2 and 10, and her boyfriend in a one-room efficiency apartment. She does not own a car, and must arrange a ride or walk more than five miles to her job at a local nursing home.

Holle, 27, lives with her 9-year-old son and her disabled fiance in a house she bought three years ago. But Holle's house has been foreclosed upon and she and her family must be out soon.

"In two months, I don't know if I'm going to have any place to live," she said.

Caudill and Holle are examples of a growing group in Kosciusko County, the working poor. Both women are involved in a local program aimed at helping them pull themselves and their families out of poverty. Every Monday, the women attend a 2-1/2-hour class called "Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World," offered by local service agency Combined Community Services. They said, in the class they're learning to set personal goals and take steps to move their families past the daily cycle of survival and crisis negotiation and into a more secure environment.

But, Caudill and Holle said they're also learning that for effective, widespread change in the county's poverty situation, it takes the response and action of the entire community.

Brenda Rigdon, Kosciusko County Community Foundation development director, agrees. On Jan. 24, the KCCF will sponsor a workshop with Dr. Ruby Payne, a leading U.S. expert on the mindsets of poverty, middle class and wealth. Rigdon said the aim of the workshop is to act as a catalyst for action against poverty in the county.

Caudill said she has always lived in poverty. When she was 17, Caudill got pregnant and dropped out of high school. Five years later, she had another child. She said she got by working what jobs she could find and receiving public assistance for groceries and childcare items until 2005. That year, Caudill's 5-year-old son died and that's when she said she hit rock bottom.

"I went straight down hill," Caudill said. "I sat on my couch and I didn't care about anything else. The bills weren't paid and I didn't care that the bills weren't paid."

Holle also had a child when she was 17. Through a CCS program called Project Independence, Holle was able to complete a college degree in the field of health care. Holle said things were tough when she was studying.

"I was making about $3,000 a month. I was on food stamps and Medicaid, and I lived in an apartment with cockroaches," Holle said. "I couldn't afford diapers for my son."

Holle said things got better for her after she graduated. She found a job, though not in her field of study, and was able to buy a house and a reliable car.

Then disaster struck. Holle lost her job and, in the same month, suffered some serious health problems.

"I went from making about $40,000 a year down to about $12,000," she said. "I lost my home and now I'm trying to file for bankruptcy."

Philip DeVol is a consultant and trainer with Payne's organization aha! Process Inc. DeVol said Caudill's and Holle's stories demonstrate some of the main causes of poverty and barriers to leaving poverty.

"There are a lot of people that are playing by the rules, working hard and something comes along and blows up their day," DeVol said. "It's a very complex kind of picture."

DeVol said personal choices and individual situations play a role in most situations in which people lose their self-sufficiency. Often, he said, decisions are made within the context of sets of hidden class rules which exist within poverty, middle class and wealth. Those working to get out of poverty are often just one disaster or one illness from losing their self-sufficiency.

DeVol said individual choices and circumstances are not the only factors affecting those in poverty.

"It's not as simple as get sober, get a job, be more punctual, make better decisions," he said.

Many of the major factors, DeVol said, are found on the community level.

"American towns and cities are having a difficult time offering some very simple basics," DeVol said.

He said communities need to take a close look at how readily available well-paying jobs, good education opportunities, health care and fair credit are locally.

For example, DeVol said, local employers should know what it takes to provide basic, secure survival for a family in this county. According to a nationwide county-by-county survey by Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group Wider Opportunities For Women, in 2005 in Kosciusko County, an adult with an infant and a preschooler needs to make $13.38 per hour to be self sufficient. A single adult with an infant, a preschooler and a school age child needs to make $18.39 per hour to make ends meet.

DeVol said Payne's workshop will lay some of the groundwork for professionals from the health care, education, business and local government sectors to understand the hidden rules of living in poverty, middle class and wealth so they can take more effective action to help stabilize the local environment for those in poverty.

DeVol said communication is an important starting point.

"If we all agree on what poverty is like in Kosciusko County, if we share a common understanding of what poverty is, we'll be more effective when we come together to talk about what to do about it," he said.

DeVol said, because poverty isn't simply a matter of lacking financial resources, but a lack of spiritual, physical, emotional resources and support systems, all sectors of the community play a role in alleviating its affects.

"That's what I think the community's job is," DeVol said. "It's not just, 'Good luck pal, getting yourself out of poverty.' It's helping create this stable environment for people to live in."

According to DeVol, the participation of those living in poverty is key to a successful response.

"Often we end up doing our planning for helping people in poverty without any of them in the room," he said. "If we sit at the planning table with everybody, that is so much more useful than just telling people what to do."

When Caudill and Holle finish their 16-week course with CCS, they'll receive $100 in cash and free membership to the local YMCA. They said those are great rewards, but they feel the even bigger rewards will be tools they can use to bring their families closer to self-sufficiency.

Caudill wants to find a home for her children that will not be as crowded and stress-inducing.

Holle wants to find a place for her family to live and begin working to re-establish good credit.

Both women said with red tape involved in receiving public assistance and the common misconception that people in poverty are lazy or drug addicts, they know they're facing an uphill battle. But they're optimistic that things can change for people in need in this county.

Poverty: Raising Awareness, Fighting Effects

from The Times Union

Tim Robertson
Staff Writer

Editor's Note: This is the second part of a three-part series on the effects of financial need in Kosciusko County. The series looks at three local events aimed at bringing awareness and responses to poverty in our area. Part three will be published Tuesday.

It is not uncommon to be asked for some spare change or to see homeless people sleeping on park benches in a big city like Chicago or Detroit. But those things aren't as common in rural communities like Kosciusko County.

Community Ministries Director of the Kosciusko County Salvation Army Ken Locke said that doesn't mean there aren't people in need here. According to Locke, the number of Kosciusko County residents living in poverty is climbing and awareness is the first step to alleviating the problem.

"It's hard to put a face on poverty, especially in a rural area," Locke told a crowd of about 40 Thursday. "We don't have people living in cardboard boxes, yet we do have homeless people here."

Locke was speaking at See the Need, a community art exhibit aimed at raising awareness and response to local poverty. About 20 local artists contributed to the exhibit held Thursday, Friday and tonight at New Horizon Community Church, Winona Lake.

New Horizon Pastor Scott Barger said his church chose to host an art exhibit because of the personal way in which art can communicate.

"People connect with it," Barger said.

Though his church is not a social service agency, Barger said they want to be involved in helping fight the effects of poverty. He said See the Need is a first step for both his congregation and the community to gain more awareness of the problem and then begin to identify actions they can take.

"You can't care about something that you don't acknowledge," Barger said. "The first step is getting people to acknowledge this is a problem. If we can get that first step, maybe we can begin to do something about it."

At the exhibit Thursday, area residents browsed the paintings, photographs and other work on display. One artist, Rebecca Gypson, Warsaw, described the idea behind her piece, a photographic portrait of a tired-looking man with a beard.

"I met this man a few months ago," Gypson said. "He has spent many years of his life homeless. He told me that for five months he lived in Warsaw in an abandoned storage unit. I grew up in this area and always thought that there were no homeless."

Gypson, who works for New Hope Clubhouse, Warsaw, said in recent years her perspective has changed. "Now, I encounter poverty daily because of my job," she said. "I am constantly surprised by the poverty that exists in our community because there is a lot of wealth in our community."

Gypson said she hopes See the Need can begin to get a message out to the local community. "The poor in our community are hidden," she said. "The desperately needy people deserve our notice. We need to take up their cause."

Grace College students Matthew Rupple and Jaime Ove said, to them, the exhibit's message was loud and clear.

"[Poverty] is something we just look over," Rupple said.

"It's something that's here, not just in other countries," said Ove. "This is we need to be helping."

Josh Phillips, of Warsaw, said he felt the pieces in the exhibit represented an accurate picture of need in this county.

"From what I've seen personally in this county, they've done a good job portraying it," Phillips said.

Locke and Combined Community Services Director Lewis Jones held a question and answer session, Thursday, at See the Need. Locke said he was glad to see an event organized to bring awareness. He said more awareness of the problem of poverty will lead to more community involvement in solving the problem.

"The good thing is that people are talking," he said. "The one way we're going to be able to attack poverty is if we're talking with one another."

Locke told the crowd it is important not only to be aware that poverty exists in the community, but also to have an accurate perception of the issue of poverty.

"Poverty is not a sin," Locke said. "I think, especially in America, if you're poor, it's almost as if it's a sin. Poverty is a condition. It doesn't matter how much the guy next to you has in his pocket, in God's eyes, we're all equal."

Jones said it is often easy for outsiders to think that people in need could solve all of their problems with a little planning ahead. "But, one of the problems with poverty is that people are living day to day," Jones said. "There is no way, in all that chaos, to look into the future."

Jones said, to make a difference, it will take the combined efforts of government representatives, social service agencies, area employers, local churches and individual residents who care. "Let's all work together for a common good," he said.

Locke said he knows from personal experience the difference one community or even an individual can make. "I grew up poor," he said. "The thing that changed for me was there were people who gave me opportunities through education and encouragement."

See the Need is open to the public tonight 6-11 p.m. John Shirk, a poet from Chicago, is scheduled to read some of his poetry at 7 p.m. "A lot of my stuff is really about loving your neighbor even when your neighbor is not very lovely or is not like you," Shirk said.
Next in the series:
The Kosciusko County Community Foundation is initiating efforts to help community members take action against the effects of poverty.

On Jan. 24, the foundation will host the Helping Overcome Poverty's Effects workshop. Nationally acclaimed educator, author and speaker, Ruby Payne, PhD., will present material from her book, "A Framework for Understanding Poverty," at the workshop.

Professionals who have daily contact with those in poverty, including school faculty, social workers, case workers and service providers are being invited to attend the workshop.

KCCF Executive Director Suzie Light said efforts are already underway to utilize the workshop as a catalyst for action against the effects of poverty in the county. "The community foundation strategically formed a steering committee so that after the catalyst of Dr. Payne being here, we wouldn't lose any momentum," Light said. "Instead, we'll be ready to pursue ways to bring people out of poverty."

Poverty: Raising Awareness, Fighting Effects

from the Times Union

Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series on the increasing effects of financial need in Kosciusko County. The series will look at three local events aimed at bringing awareness and response to poverty in our area. Part two will be published Saturday, and part three will be published Dec. 6.

******

The holiday season has most area residents making lists and planning parties.

But, according to data from the 2004 U.S. Census (the most recent figures available), the number of families just trying to make ends meet in Kosciusko County is on the rise.

Between 2000 and 2005, the percentage of families living at or below the poverty level in Kosciusko County rose from 4.4 percent to 7.9 percent.

While 7.9 percent is still less than Indiana's state average, 11.1 percent, it represents an increase that hasn't gone unnoticed by local agencies working to provide services to those in need. Poverty rates are set by the federal government based on income and size of family. For example, a family of four with an annual household income of $20,650 or less is living in poverty, according to the 2007 rate. A poverty rate of 7.9 percent means that almost 6,000 people in this mostly rural county rely on assistance to access basic necessities of life.

According to Louis Jones, director of Combined Community Services, the poverty rate is just one indicator of financial need in the county. Jones said the large number of students on the free or reduced lunch program in local school districts is another indicator.

"The Warsaw Community School District reports that almost a third of their students are on the free or reduced lunch program," Jones said. "These percentages jump even higher for other school districts in the county."

While the free or reduced lunch program does not necessarily mean participating families are at the poverty level, Jones said the large number of families enrolled is an indication that a growing number of families in the county are not completely self-sufficient and need assistance.

"We call these families the working poor," said Jones, "people who are just one paycheck or one problem away from needing public or private assistance. This is one of the largest problems here in Kosciusko County and a large number of the people we see at Combined Community Services. They have jobs, sometimes more than one job, but they are only earning minimum wage and barely making it."

On Nov. 13, about 30 local professionals sat in a conference room in Westminster Hall, Winona Lake, looking through colorful folders. They came from Beaman Home, Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw Housing Authority, Cardinal Center, Kosciusko County Health Department, Warsaw Community Schools and other agencies or organizations which work with or provide services to the area's poor. The folders contained paper cut outs of items like televisions and wedding rings. Most of the folders also contained paper children.

The professionals were gathered for a poverty simulation organized by Kosciusko Community Foundation, Grace College Social Work Department and Goodwill Industries of Michiana.

In the exercise, participants try to successfully live through a typical day of someone in poverty, one day in the life of the people they serve.

"The main focus of the simulation is to create empathy for people who live in poverty as well as trying to help us become better, more compassionate providers of services," said Rebecca Coleman, Grace College social work professor.

Deb Coble, vice president of workforce development for Goodwill Industries of Michiana, facilitated the simulation. "Welcome to Welfare U.S.A.," Coble told the participants. "You're going to have the opportunity to be on the other side of the desk today."

In the simulation, participants play characters in poverty and have a list of things they need to accomplish by the end of the exercise. Participants must obtain food to feed their family, pay for child care, attend parent-teacher conferences, pay utility bills, bail spouses out of jail, buy medicine for their children and run other important errands starting with few resources. Volunteers staff stations representing food banks, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the post office, social service agencies, school and other entities someone in poverty would interact with regularly.

Coble said, in addition to the challenges of limited access to resources, people in need also face the misconceptions of mainstream society.

"'Why don't they do things to make the situation better?' That is the attitude that society in general tends to have," Coble said.

Melissa Stolfo, director of workforce development at Goodwill Industries of Michiana, said the simulation is designed to debunk the over-simplified view of poverty.

"It's not as simple as 'Just go get a job,'" Stolfo said. "For example, it's not as simple to keep a job when they set your food stamp appointment at 10 a.m. and you have to be at work."

During the simulation, participants sometimes found those manning the stations to be less than helpful. Nancy Zinz, of CASA, arrived at the post office to pick up her welfare check just as volunteer Brenda Green, set a sign on her desk.

"It says she's on break and I should check back later," Zinz said with a sigh.

Kosciusko County Prosecutor Steve Hearn, looking for $150 to pay utility bills, tried to sell one of his items, a flatscreen television, at the pawn shop.

"They offered me $20 for it," Hearn said.

Brenda Rigdon, of KCF, said the simulation was aimed at improving the services offered to those making ends meet with few resources.

"If it improves the system in even a small way, it will be worth it," she said.

Rigdon said she thinks the simulation got that point across.

Rigdon said another simulation is planned for late February for human resources employees of local businesses. For more information, contact Rigdon at 574-267-1901.