Economy Not Kind to Working Poor

Despite reports of an improving economy, some charities say growing numbers of people have come to them in recent months asking for help to pay the rent or feed their children.

The Sullivan Center, which takes applications for rental assistance one day a month, got requests from 399 people Tuesday. Over the previous three months, more than 400 people have come in every month to seek help with rent or utilities, said Sister Marie Sullivan. That's double the number of applicants who came in during the same period last year, she said.

The increase is sobering because the agency can afford to help only 75 to 100 families a month, Sullivan said.

"It's a sign of the times, the economy," she said. "Most of the people who are here, it's because they lost their jobs."

Lynn Hunter, 51, was one of the people applying for help at the center Tuesday afternoon. The southwest Atlanta resident said she lost her job as an assistant at a nursing home in August when sciatica made it too painful for her to walk. She applied for Supplemental Security Income, but has fallen behind on her bills while waiting for the payments to start. She thinks she's well enough to start working again, but she hasn't been able to find another job.

Hunter has gotten a little financial help from her church, but it's a small amount and many other members are also having financial troubles. "My friends, my family, everybody's scuffling," Hunter said.

At North Fulton Community Charities, which serves Roswell and Alpharetta, the number of requests for rent money or food from the pantry over the past four months is up about 20 percent over the same period last year, said director Barbara Duffy.

"The majority of the families that we help are the working poor," said Duffy. "They are the first affected and the last to recover in any kind of economic slowdown."

Duffy said 75 to 100 families a day seek help with rent, mortgage payments or utilities, or goods from the agency's food pantry. Part of the problem this year, she said, may be that there were few seasonal jobs because retailers did not want to hire many additional workers.

David Enniss, executive director of Clayton Family Care, said his agency had not seen an increase in the number of people seeking help. But he said families need more money than in the past to get them through a crisis.

"It's just getting more expensive to live," Enniss said. "Housing costs are up, utility costs are up."

Recent reports have found similar trends across the country.

In August, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that poverty in the United States grew from 12.1 percent in 2002 to 12.5 percent in 2003, an increase of 1.3 million people.

A November report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that more than 36 million people, including 13 million children, experienced hunger or worried about it last year. Two years ago, the figure was 35 million people.

"The bottom line is that it's harder and harder for the working poor to make ends meet in this country," said Ross Fraser, a spokesman for America's Second Harvest, a national food bank network.

While the economy is improving, it's still not as strong as it was a few years ago, said Enniss of Clayton Family Care.

"I do think we're seeing some job growth," Enniss said. "The unfortunate part of that is, with most of the job growth, the wages aren't that strong. We're seeing people laid off from a $40,000-a-year job and in order to go back to work they're having to take a $20,000- to $25,000-a-year job."

The largest group seeking aid is single mothers. Ennis said that about 90 percent are facing a one-time emergency, such as car problems that keep them from getting to work for a few days or a child who gets sick, forcing the parent to stay home and risk losing her job. "Those are the sorts of everyday, routine things that will throw a low-income family into crisis."

At the Sullivan Center, applicants are required to take classes in financial planning and nutrition in exchange for one-time help with rent and utilities. Applicants who are selected for the program get one-on-one meetings with a finance expert and can get help from Legal Aid if they need it.

Sullivan said some people get into trouble at the holidays because they spend more than they should, often on presents for their children. But this year, she said, most are citing a job loss or reduction in work hours as the reason they're running into trouble.

Paulette Hampton, case manager at the Sullivan Center, said the number of people seeking help has been on the rise for the past four years. About 30 percent of applicants have a full-time job and another 20 percent are working part time and trying to find full-time work, she said.

Just a few years ago, Hampton said, applicants simply couldn't find a job. "And now there are jobs, and they're not paying enough."

Anna Varela
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution