Poor Air, Poor People, Poor Health

Berrien and Cass counties rank in the bottom third of Michigan counties when it comes to health, according to a national study released today.

And the news offers little surprise for the area's public health officials.

"The No. 1 contributor to your health is your wealth," said Dr. Frederick Johansen, medical director for the Berrien County Health Department.

And Cass and Berrien are not rich counties.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute did the nationwide study for the year 2010. It shows that Ottawa County (Holland) is Michigan's healthiest, while Clare County in central lower Michigan is its least healthy.

Berrien ranks 65th, and Cass 59th. Van Buren County ranks 51st, and Allegan 21st.

Theresa Green, the Berrien County Health Department's director of health planning, said the study is important because of the broad range of factors used in ranking counties.

The study analyzed socioeconomic factors, behavior, access to clinical care and environment - ranging from air quality to the number of liquor stores per 10,000 people.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/03/30/local_news/4106095.txt

Motel Kids

Homelessness takes many forms. Many in our community use shelters, some live in the woods, in abandoned homes or perhaps on the streets. Many are doubled up, living on the sofa or floor of a friend or relative. As illutstrated in this CNN story, some are Motel Kids, living in one room with mom and dad, brother and sister. Whereas the "hero" here is the chef who prepares meals daily for these children in need, the bigger issue is how to help them move to a place to call home. Studies show that homeless living in shelters struggle for many reasons, and communities pay twice as much for sheltering then it would cost to subsidize housing vouchers. A long term solution is imperative, if kids are to succeed. Read/Watch more here

The Struggles of the Long Term Unemployed in Michigan

When Tim Zaneske lost his information technology job in June 2009, he never dreamed that he would be unemployed for months and months and months.

Today, nearly two years later, the Flushing Township resident is still looking for permanent work. His lengthy job search has taken its toll, forcing the father of two young children to file for bankruptcy. Last month, Zaneske finally got some relief: a part-time contract job.

"You get job leads, but nine times out of 10, it's nothing," the 44-year-old said. "It's beyond frustrating."

Last year, 36% of Michigan's 590,000 unemployed workers had been searching for a job for a year or longer, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was the third-highest rate in the country, behind only New Jersey and Georgia...

Some labor market experts, including Timothy Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, say they believe that the federal government should establish a temporary job creation program.

Bartik said hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers could be put to work performing public service jobs at small nonprofit organizations, doing everything from repairing schools and renovating parks to cleaning up abandoned properties.

Long-term joblessness can damage a country's long-run economic productivity, Bartik warned. And it's no secret that people who are out of work for long periods usually experience a number of negative effects, including a decline in job skills, reduced self-confidence and mental and physical health problems.

"A lot of economists believe long-term unemployment can permanently reduce the productive capacity of some people," Bartik said. "It's not in the interest of society to throw away that long-term productive capacity."

www.freep.com/article/20110327/BUSINESS06/103270499/Jobs-Michigan-Hunt-work-an-endurance-test?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Coloma Students Pack 11,000 Meals for the Poor

Coloma school district students found out this week just how much can be done when they work together as a team.

More than a hundred students and community volunteers Thursday afternoon packed into the high school cafeteria and assembled 11,000 meals for the poor.

The Kids Against Hunger event was a partnership between the schools and the Freshwater Community Church, which meets at the district's middle school.

Debbie Ulrich, a district employee and church member, said a third of the meals that were prepared will stay local. The rest will be distributed both nationally and globally, she said.

In just three weeks the church raised the $2,800 for the food that went into the meals, said Pastor Jason Hitchcock.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/03/26/local_news/4055882.txt

Michigan Lawmakers Cut Unemployment Aid

The state Legislature beat a deadline to make Michigan workers eligible for a federal unemployment extension Thursday — but included a reduction in state-level benefits for future jobless workers.

Under a bill passed by the Republican majorities in the state House and Senate, federal unemployment checks will be extended for another 20 weeks for about 150,000 Michigan workers. But the bill permanently reduces state-level unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks for workers who file starting Jan. 15, 2012.

Democrats opposed the new limit inserted in the bill, calling it "shortsighted and reckless."

As of late Wednesday, it was unclear if Gov. Rick Snyder would sign the bill into law by April 1, which is the deadline for Michigan to comply with requirements to get the federal extension, said spokeswoman Sara Wurfel.

"The governor's priority was to ensure no one receiving unemployment benefits was cut off abruptly," Wurfel said. "He believes we simply can't afford to let Michigan families in need face that imminent danger starting as early as next week.

www.detnews.com/article/20110324/POLITICS02/103240373/Michigan-lawmakers-cut-unemployment-aid-for-future-applicants

Census Bureau: Poverty Is Primarily a Temporary Condition

Poverty is not necessarily a permanent condition, according to a report released (March 16) by the U.S. Census Bureau. While 29 percent of the nation's population was in poverty for at least two months between the start of 2004 and the end of 2006, only 3 percent were poor during the entire period.

The report, Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Poverty, 2004-2006>, traces a sample of U.S. residents over the aforementioned 36-month period and examines how many of them were poor during at least some portion of that time and how long their poverty spells lasted. It also looks at how many fell into poverty, how many climbed out of it and how many stayed poor during the period. The data are presented by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics...

According to the report, poverty can be a persistent condition: among the 33 million people who were poor at the start of the period — January and February 2004 — 23 percent remained poor throughout the next 34 months.

However, many people did escape poverty: 12 million, or 42 percent, who were poor in the 2004 calendar year were not in poverty in 2006.

As some moved out of poverty, others moved into it. About 10 million who were not in poverty (4 percent) in 2004 slipped into poverty by 2006.

www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/poverty/cb11-49.html

The Prophetic Voice of the Church: Questioning Budget Cuts to Programs that Help the Poor

An editorial from Grand Rapids Press Religion Editor Charles Honey:

"Do we really want the church to get between the president and the Pentagon?

How about between the governor and the cash-starved cities?

The first instinct may be, let’s not. But then, prophets rarely make people comfortable.

For some Christian leaders, now is the time to get prophetic about the effects of budget cuts on those Jesus called us to protect: the poor, marginalized and hungry.

“A budget is a moral document,” read a recent ad in Politico. “Our budget should not be balanced on the backs of poor and vulnerable people. We ask our legislators to consider ‘What would Jesus cut?’”

At this point, Jesus might cut off his name from all future slogans. Be that as it may, the point was made by 28 religious leaders who signed the ad: child health and nutrition, education and humanitarian aid are gospel issues, not budget-trimming options.

It’s worth highlighting their concerns as Congress and President Obama tangle over how to reduce the budget deficit from dinosaur dimensions to mere elephant-size (that would be the Republican plan).

There are far too many zeroes in this year’s projected $1.6 trillion deficit — let alone Obama’s proposed $3.7 trillion budget — for me to comprehend. But cuts to education, home-heating aid and child nutrition programs — those pretty much anyone can understand.

That’s where faith leaders are stepping in to stand up for the “least of these” Jesus instructed his followers to care for, urging Obama and Congress not to start balancing their checkbook at the expense of the poor. "

www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/03/charley_honey_religious_voices.html#incart_hbx

Bridges to Digital Excellence Expands Job Opportunties in Benton Harbor with a Recycling Venture

Southwest Michigan's trash is Doug Chapman's treasure.

Chapman, executive director of Bridges to Digital Excellence, is taking the unwanted refuse of many Southwest Michigan businesses - in the form of old computers, vacuums, microwaves and anything else with a plug - and, almost literally, turning it into gold.

With its new Responsible Recycler Program, officially announced Thursday, BDE is reaching out to the many area businesses with closets full of junk nobody seems to know what to do with, Chapman said. The Benton Harbor-based BDE, a nonprofit that donates computers, provides computer training classes and offers IT services, collects and breaks down the electronics into their recyclable parts.

"We really do try to make it a point to recycle everything we can," said Chapman, while standing in the recycling center surrounded by BDE employees systematically stripping computer hard drives and snipping wires, tossing each component into its own bin to make the recycling easier...

BDE employs 19 people though Michigan Works, the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative, the Michigan Department of Human Services' Jobs, Education and Training program, and other organizations that help the chronically unemployed.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/03/18/local_news/3945241.txt

Number of Millionaires Increases Dramatically for Second Year in a Row

What recession? The millionaire population jumped in the U.S. by 8% last year, fueled by the stock market recovery, according to an industry report on Wednesday.

The number of U.S. households worth at least $1 million rose to 8.4 million in 2010, compared to 7.8 million the prior year, according to a report by Spectrem Group.

"The affluent market grew in 2010 due primarily to the stock market rebound, but despite their growing portfolios, attitudes remain significantly different than in 2007," the report said.

"The size of the affluent market increased in 2010 but did not reach the highs obtained in 2007," the year that the recession began, according to the report.

Last year marked the second consecutive year of increases, the group said, following a 16% surge in the millionaire population in 2009.

"The millionaire comeback continues," said George H. Walper Jr., president of Spectrem Group.

But he added that many millionaires are still operating under a cloud of caution.

"While investors are feeling positive about their own portfolios, they are not convinced that the economy has recovered," said Walper. "Our ongoing polling and research indicates that investors remain unconvinced that we are back on solid ground."

In the prior year of 2008, the millionaire population plunged 27%.

The group said the number of "ultra high net worth" households, with a net worth of at least $5 million, jumped 8% in 2010 to 1.06 million, compared to 980,000 the prior year.

The broader affluent population, meaning households with a net worth of $500,000 or more, also grew in 2010. This population rose by 6% to 13.5 million in 2010, compared to 12.7 million the year before.

finance.yahoo.com/news/US-millionaires-population-cnnm-649773567.html?x=0

Jack Lessenberry's Essay on: Young People Writing About the American Experience

An Essay by Jack Lessenberry:

... It’s been a long and grinding winter, and we all know we haven’t seen the last of the snow and ice yet. And while unemployment is down, most of us know people who have been out of work, or still are.

But I can’t help but think of something inspiring that happened at the start of this winter. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan ran a high school essay contest.

Students were asked to read Emma Lazarus’s poem on the Statue of Liberty, the one that includes the famous line, “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to break free.”

Then, they were to write about how their experiences as a part of this melting pot had defined their American identity...

The winners included a girl of Irish ancestry named Oona, and an African-American star basketball player. Plus a Muslim girl from Pakistan who intends to become a brain surgeon, and a Hindu girl who wants to be an attorney fighting for civil rights.

That young woman wrote “My differences have not made me feel like I don’t belong to this nation -- they have made me feel like an important addition to this melting pot. I think my differences make me feel even more American than I would feel if I were not an immigrant.”

jackshow.blogs.com/jack/2011/03/essay-glimmers-of-hope-31511.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Andrews University Students Learn About & Support Polly's Place Women's Shelter

Andrews University counseling and ministry students got a firsthand look at the face of domestic violence when two women told their stories of abuse at the hands of former husbands and a boyfriend.

The stories were part of a visit last week by representatives of the Niles-based Polly's Place women's shelter. The women were invited by instructor Alina Baltazar to speak to her class, called Family Violence through the Lifespan. Baltazar worked at Polly's Place six years ago and is familiar with the agency's program.

Polly's Place representatives came to the class for two reasons: to tell their stories and accept gifts of money and goods collected by students for the shelter over the last few months.

Students raised money with two projects. Several of the young men sponsored a "Barefoot Race" around the campus in January and raised more than $200, while many of the young women had an information booth in the student center and collected another $250 in donations.

Students also collected toiletries and other items to donate to the shelter. The university's student association will match the $250 raised in collections. Some students also have volunteered time at the shelter.

Polly's Place board Chairman Peggy Cain was the first to tell her story. She said she had been abused physically, emotionally and sexually in both of her marriages and can see how that abuse has harmed her children.

"Abuse comes in a lot of forms," Cain told the students. "Often, people don't even realize they're going through it. I wasn't aware, I didn't know that marital rape was abuse. It's also not just bruises or verbal threats."

heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/03/14/local_news/3855968.txt

African Americans: Twice as Likely to Have Low Birth Weight Babies in Berrien County

Having celebrated February as African American History Month, it is important to look back on accomplishments. However, at the health department it is also important to look forward for improvements that can be made for the African American community, especially as it relates to health in Berrien County.

Although many civil rights improvements have been made in the past century, there remain areas where African Americans are still suffering from inequalities, and one of these areas is health.

Racial and socio-economic disparities (differences) in health of people in the US, including people in Berrien County, are shocking and unacceptable. Disparities in health status in Berrien County as well as the rest of the country take many forms, and affect people of color as well as people with lower incomes.

There are many health conditions that show disparity in Berrien County, but one of the most notable is infant mortality.

Babies born to black mothers in Berrien County are twice as likely to be born at a low birth weight as those born to white mothers, which can lead to serious complications, including the death of an infant. Disparities in infant mortality (death before the age of one year) have been well-documented, and several programs have been started in Berrien County to address this tragedy.

http://www.nilesstar.com/2011/03/06/health-remains-an-area-in-need-of-improvement-and-equality/

Detroit Free Press Editorial: Don't Eliminate Earned Income Credit

An editorial viewpoint from the Detroit Free Press:

"Lawmakers need to push back against Gov. Rick Snyder's plan to end the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit. Tax credits for low-income workers not only give people an incentive to work but also circulate quickly through the economy because they put money into the hands of people who need to spend it immediately.

On average, the credit yields $432 a year for more than 700,000 working families and individuals. The state credit is set at 20% of the amount that the federal government formula allots for its Earned Income Tax Credit...

The flat-rate income tax is embedded in the state Constitution, and voters last fall rejected an opportunity to rewrite it. Without constitutional change, the Earned Income Tax Credit may be the only tool to protect and encourage workers with the most meager incomes."

www.freep.com/article/20110308/OPINION01/103080317/0/SPORTS02/Editorial-Axing-Earned-Income-Tax-Credit-would-hurt-poor-state?odyssey=nav|head

Unique Calhoun County Program Offers Dental Care in Exchange for Volunteerism

One son needing braces is expensive enough, but twin brothers with wonky teeth?

It would have cost Karen Peterson more than $12,000 for her 12-year-old fraternal twins to get braces if not for a unique program that quietly began last year in Calhoun County.

"My boys couldn't have gotten their teeth fixed without it," Peterson said. "They would have had to go through life with teeth like mine."

Four years after the successful launch of the Dentists' Partnership, a Community HealthCare Connections program in which local dentists provide free care in exchange for patients volunteering in the community, a similar program for orthodontists and low-income patients has developed.

Tentatively named Better Smiles for a Better World, the program requires a deeper commitment from both the orthodontist and the patients because of the time and expenses incurred.

But the program has the potential to help deserving children get a better start in life, with confidence in their smiles and the knowledge that they have passed the favor forward.

And the idea has started to catch on.

www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110306/NEWS01/103060307/1002/news01/Program-provides-braces-kids

Cutting Business Taxes: Not a Solution to Michigan's Unemployment

Even business is not convinced that reducing business taxes by 86% and raising personal income taxes by 32% will improve our state's financial fortunes and add jobs. In fact, one writer for Michigan Business says:

"... where (Governor Snyder's) justification for business tax cuts falls apart is in his contention that easing the tax burden on businesses will “enable all businesses and industries, large and small, to grow and create jobs.”

Republicans have been making this claim since at least the days of Ronald Reagan, but there’s little evidence that cutting taxes leads to job growth.

Michigan cut taxes throughout much of the past decade, but still lost nearly 850,000 jobs.

I know — you’re dubious of the claim Michigan cut taxes.

But the state tax burden — taxes as a percentage of personal income — has fallen from 9.5 percent to 7 percent over the past decade, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency.

Michigan was the only state in the country to experience a general fund revenue decline between 2000 and 2009, according to state Treasurer Andy Dillon.

State business tax revenues have fallen 15 percent since fiscal 2008, the year the MBT was enacted.

And Michigan’s business tax climate, which includes sales, personal income, business and unemployment taxes, jumped to 17th last year from 28th in 2006, according to the conservative Tax Foundation.

That included a period in which Michigan’s personal income tax rate jumped from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent and the MBT, with its 22 percent surcharge, was implemented.

The MBT should be replaced, if for no other reason than to simplify what is an unnecessarily complex tax.

But it’s apparently not the jobs killer that Snyder and many lawmakers claim."

www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/03/rick_haglund_history_doesnt_pr.html

Child Abuse Reports Spike in Allegan County

Allegan County children are more than twice as likely to be confirmed victims of child abuse than they were in 2000, according to information released by Kids Count Michigan, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track child welfare across the United States.

The county has seen a 112-percent increase in the number of confirmed victims of child neglect or abuse from .6 percent in 2000 to 1.4 percent in 2009 of county children.

The report also showed increases in the number of children living in families investigated for abuse and the number of children living in out-of-home care.

Increased awareness

The rise in confirmed victims may not be the result of more children being victimized, said Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center executive director Lori Antkoviak. “There is better community awareness that there is a problem with child sexual and physical abuse,” Antkoviak said. “Part of the problem in the past is people didn’t know what to look for.”

While people often recognized that children who were victims had behavioral problems, many members of the public did not know that abuse could be an underlying cause, she said.

Safe Harbor in Allegan and other child advocacy groups throughout the state have worked hard to educate the public about abuse during the past decade, she said.

“It was being done in the past,” she said. “People just didn’t know what to do about it or how to stop it.”

www.allegannews.com/articles/2011/03/04/local_news/3.txt

Homeless Man Found Dead in Abondoned Garage

Cars speed by the spot where Brent King died, hidden behind the cold white steel of a abandoned garage, his tomb for the past month until his discovery Wednesday.

No one really knows how long Brent King's body lay lifeless in the garage. He was discovered by police lying on a mattress in the rear of the two-car garage at 1804 S. Main St. An employee at the Center for the Homeless called police to report King missing earlier in the day, saying he hadn't been spotted since Jan. 23, when the overnight temperatures dipped into negative numbers.

Deputy coroner Nancy Pemberton said an autopsy showed King likely died of hypothermia, although toxicology tests are still pending.

"The last time someone had talked to him was in January," Pemberton said. "He'd been there for about a month."

www.southbendtribune.com/article/20110304/News01/103040322/-1/XML

According to a police report, King would make weekly appearances at the homeless center, where he would make calls to his parents and sometimes receive packages.