Though Economic Stress is Up, Small Programs in Kalamazoo are Finding Success in Combating the Strain

What happens to your blog when you take a 4 day weekend void of internet exploration? You miss a lot of good articles! That is why I will attempt to update you to as much as I missed as possible, without overwhelming the senses.

Over the last 5 days there has been a plethora of articles related to the PRI. Lets take a look at what transpired while your were tending to your fireworks, pools and barbecues:

Hunger, Homelessness and Economic Strain

• Meals on Wheels is lacking the funds necessary to keep up with its program. For the first time in its history, it has had to turn down people asking for service. The program will continue to deliver 450 meals per day throughout the county, but it stopped taking more clients as of June 29. Home-delivered "convenience meals" still are available for $3, she said. Donations for Meals on Wheels may be made online at www.seniorservices1.org or mailed to Senior Services Inc., 918 Jasper St., Kalamazoo, MI 49001.
  
  
• As the NY Times Reports, the summer usually brings an increase in homeless populations. There are a few reasons for this. Landlords who are reluctant to evict during winter are less hesitant when it is warmer. Parents like the Maldonados, who have endured poor housing conditions to spare their children agitation and humiliation at school, finally pack up and leave. And relatives who have taken in families in cramped apartments lose patience when children are suddenly underfoot all day long. The article chronicles the story of a homeless family in New York City. A tough read to swallow, but a powerful article.
  
  
• California, Michigan and South Carolina suffered the most financial pain in May as unemployment, home foreclosures and bankruptcies rose, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of economic stress in more than 3,100 U.S. counties.

Effective Summertime Relief

• KDPS officers are keeping Urban Youth off the streets with a Youth Fishing Program. Officers from the community policing unit recruited 12- to 17-year-olds to participate in their Youth Fishing Program to help them learn new skills and to create a relationship between the neighborhoods and the officers. The program takes from 9 a.m. until noon Wednesdays through Aug. 26. It is free and the kids get to keep a Shakespeare fishing pole and a fully-stocked tackle box if they attend the majority of classes.
  
  
• The Youth Summer-jobs Program is still seeking applicants in Kalamazoo. Half of 1,000 federally funded summer youth jobs in the area have been filled. According to Kathy Olsen, employment and training coordinator for Michigan Works!, for which Y.O.U. operates the summer jobs program, said the agency's goal is employ 1,000 youths in Kalamazoo and St. Joseph Counties. Youths interested in summer employment can call Youth Opportunities Unlimited in Kalamazoo at (269) 349-9676 or the Michigan Works! office in St. Joseph County at (269) 273-2717.

• Summer school programs are keeping kids sharp during the summer months. There are 877 elementary students, 154 middle school students and 288 high school students in summer school this year at Kalamazoo Public Schools.

• The recession as well as health benefits are fueling "biker fever" in Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo Bicycle Club membership is up and more people locally are using their bikes for transportation.

Take some time off from the dreary

A unemployment number highest in 26 years. A tumbling stock market. Expensive health care and environmental legislation that can barely make it through congress. It's been a rough week.

Today was basically some rough news that we are going to be in this recession for longer. Not that it isn't anything that one of us couldn't have predicted, but its never fun to hear.

My message for the weekend: Don't let it worry you too much over the holiday weekend. Enjoy the fireworks, grill some food, and enjoy an ice cold beverage. Relax your mind, and we'll get back to work on Monday. Until then...

Michigan Braces for a Surge in Welfare Applications

News from the Washington Post, where Michigan's 14.1% unemployed will soon find their employment benefits gone. Nearly one in seven unemployed workers will have exhausted their jobless benefits by January of 2010 which amounts to about 100,000 Michigan workers.

"We're expecting a huge influx of applications in the next few months," said Barbara Anders, the director of adult and family services at the Michigan Department of Human Services.

Many of these workers will be forced to apply for welfare services, where Michigan has one of the strictest rules in the nation for cash benefits. Nearly one in seven of Michigan residents are receiving food benefits in their households.

Local advocates for low-income people cite Michigan's rules limiting the income or assets of would-be welfare recipients. A family of three that earns more than $814 a month is ineligible for welfare in Michigan, a threshold that hasn't changed in more than two decades, said Sharon Parks, president of the Michigan League for Human Services, an advocacy group for low-income people.

"The fact that it's stayed the same means that you have to be poorer and poorer to qualify for cash assistance," Ms. Parks said.

What this means is that more workers will increasingly depend on a welfare system that is already buckling to support them. I will continue to follow this story as updates occur.

Monday Round-up

• A great article on local artist and teacher 'Pops' who is inspiring many Kalamazoo area youths to pursue careers in arts. He has assisted nearly 200 students in receiving scholarships to the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and has inspired many toward careers in graphic and commercial art, and teaching.
• Efforts are being renewed to bring business back to Davis park in Kalamazoo. The former home of a refinery has taken millions of dollars to clean up environmental waste and is now eligible as brownfield property to be developed.
• Residents of the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission held a talent show last Friday to honor its residents and promote well-being.

Private Enterprise For Good

A luxury condo development in Brooklyn has been turned into a homeless shelter. The city will pay $90 a night for an apartment which includes marble baths and granite countertops. The original sale price for each apartment was approximately $350,000, but as a result of the housing market decline the developer and a non-profit agreed to use it as homeless shelter.

Lets talk about America and its a approach to solving poverty. Not having the same welfare support system such as countries in Europe, the United States often relies on a high amount of its support systems through non-profits.

Non-profits essentially rely on their support through big grants, small donors, and the largest ones utilize corporate donations to a high amount. When the economy is struggling, all of these three struggle and if not for grant opportunities from sources such as the stimulus packages, a lot of non-profits have to reduce or eliminate their services.

When Private business can use their resources to provide solutions, it removes pressure off of both governmental bodies and non-profits who are already strained. I think all of us who work in poverty reduction would love to see less governmental intervention and more reliance simply on the private sector, but when the private sector doesn't come through it's difficult to rationalize not calling for more governmental support. This makes a tough message to get across to political followers who advocate for small, limited government.

My message to them: If the private industry makes more projects such as these, we wouldn't need government to support us. Please follow this lead and keep up the good work!

Patients feel ache of state Medicaid cuts

From the Detroit News,

"Automotive retirees aren't the only ones rushing to get dentist appointments this month.

Medicaid patients are swarming dental offices, too, hoping to get last-minute work done before the state-run medical program stops paying for cleanings, fillings, partials and dentures at month's end as a part of broader cutbacks announced in May to help balance the state's distressed budget.

The cuts affect adults age 21 and older covered by Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health care coverage for certain low-income individuals and families.

Of Michigan's 1.6 million Medicaid enrollees, about 610,000 are adults. The budget cuts also eliminate other benefits, such as vision care, chiropractic services and podiatry, and reduce by 4 percent across-the-board Medicaid payments to physicians, hospitals and other providers, including dentists."

And while most people consider basic health care the fundamental problem in the United States, you can bet Dental care is even worse. Time and time I have heard reports of members not even low-income who consistently skip dental cleanings because of cost-related issues.

Unfortunately for those who skip, an oral examination can spot signs of illness in ways that some doctors appointments cannot. And simply, the pain of not being able to fix a throbbing tooth makes me cringe a bit. Lets hope congress figures something out that will bring benefits to so many suffering because of no benefits.

The Debt Poor: Undocumented Poverty

Today's news features two the most highlighted topics in America right now: Debt and Health Care. According to the San Francisco Chronicle,

"Four million Americans would fall below the federal poverty line if the interest they pay on their credit cards and other consumer debt were subtracted from their incomes, say two economics professors who call these people the "debt poor."

For people with low-income who have bad credit, it is often more expensive to live as consumers who are in debt as they have to pay higher fees and are subject to services that prey on them. Payday lenders, loan sharks, and even banks charge higher rates to the debt. They can get away with it because it is considered a "high-risk" to lend to these types of consumers.

In truth, it perpetuates poverty because consumers must take out loans to pay off previous ones, therefore falling further and further into debt. It is a cyclical process they cannot escape.

There are initiatives underway to combat this type of consumer abuse. Bank on San Francisco is unique collaborative effort to bring 10,000 of the city’s estimated 50,000 unbanked households into the financial mainstream. The Mayor’s Office and the Treasurer’s Office of the City and County of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, a local nonprofit EARN (Earned Assets Resource Network), and the city’s financial institutions worked together to:

1. Increase the supply of starter account products that work for the low-income unbanked market by developing baseline product criteria that must be offered by all participating financial institutions.
2. Raise awareness among unbanked consumers about the benefits of account ownership and spur them to open accounts.
3. Clamp down on the proliferation of check cashers and payday lenders.
4. Raise city-wide awareness of the unbanked problem and potential solutions.
5. Make quality money management education more easily available to low-income San Franciscans.

Banks and credit unions participating in Bank on San Francisco have agreed to:

• Offer a low- or no-cost product with no minimum balance requirement. High minimum balances and fees are a key factor keeping people out of the financial mainstream.
• Adapt internal systems to allow customers with a poor banking history to open “second chance” accounts.
• Accept consular identification cards as primary ID. For many immigrants, the barrier to opening an account is having the proper documentation.
• Waive one set of overdraft fees per client. Banks are often criticized for penalizing clients for mistakes, so this waiver gives everyone a chance to learn account management.
• Improve customer service at the branch level, expand marketing and outreach strategies in targeted, low-income neighborhoods, and increase the visibility of appropriate products in San Francisco.
• Partner with local community based organizations to provide financial management training and transition customers ready to enter the financial mainstream.

One year into the pilot, the collaborative of financial institutions had opened over 11,000 Bank on San Francisco accounts, surpassing the original goal of banking 10,000 of San Francisco’s unbanked. The goal has now doubled to banking 20,000 unbanked individuals in the city by the fall of 2008.

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In Kalamazoo, The Poverty Reduction Initiative in collaboration with city and county officials, the Hispanic Council, Consumers Credit Union, and other affiliates are trying to achieve similar goals. A meeting this July will bring together key leaders to discuss the opening of financial assets to low-income families with debt. Be sure to check out http://www.haltpoverty.org for more updates on the progress.

Obama's Health Care Reform

From the Economist....

Michigan Unemployment rate highest in 26 years

• As reported by the Detroit Bureau, The Michigan Unemployment rate is the highest in the last 26 years and will probably get worse even if the economy improves. The 14.1 percent is highest since it hit 14.2 in 1983 losing 24,000 payroll jobs in May and shedding 303,000 jobs in the past 12 months.
• The Kalamazoo Community Mental Health has bought a new building, but has put the move on hold because it wants to wait until plans for a downtown arena are finalized and the state's budget picture becomes more clear.

Can Stimulus help turn the tide? Job losses, plant closes and budget cuts running amuck

The Kalamazoo Gazette reported a feature on the joblessness in Southwest Michigan this weekend. In Kalamazoo, the unemployment rate of 9.7% is up 70% from last year.

The Gazette interviewed a cross-section of the community and found many poignant stories that brought the stark numbers to life. Not surprisingly, many we talked with were reluctant to share publicly their personal tales.

A single mother who previously earned more than $60,000 a year moved to Kalamazoo from out of state to care for a sick parent. She left behind more than a job -- she lost her home, her car, and some of her pride. She now lives with that parent, is supported by that parent and has only found occasional part-time employment.

Then there's the married father of two who was downsized out of his career after 32 years. A family member offered him a job out of state, but he can't sell his home for a large-enough sum to cover the mortgage. And not only does he feel stuck, his wife's job could be on the chopping block. Without her job, the family loses its health insurance, a devastating possibility considering one of their daughters is ill and recently moved back home.

These reports are all to familiar for many of us who have felt the job losses among our friends and families first hand. In addition, a plant in South Haven will close sometime this month leading to the loss of some 279 jobs. This is a significant loss considering South Haven only has 1,070 industrial jobs total, meaning it only 2/3 of those jobs will remain after the closing. Though local officials are working to diversify the community, it will take some time to restore losses this large.

Meanwhile, teachers who cannot afford to retire are disrupting school budgets. Sixteen teachers are retiring from Kalamazoo Public Schools, less than half the usual number. A state buyout planned that failed early this month has limited financial flexibility of those wanting to retire. This adds to budget woes already faced by some schools - Portage schools are now poised to cut teachers, buses and custodians in an effort to balance their budget.

There is some hope on the horizon as Joe Biden's visit to the region announced a new federal bond program that could inject $102 million into Southwest Michigan's economy. The plan could allow government and private businesses in Michigan to sell $2 billion in bonds. Kalamazoo County could get $46.1 million; Allegan County, $18.9 million; Cass County, $9.9 million; St. Joseph County, $14.0 million; and Van Buren County, $13.5 million, according to the U.S. Treasury.

The program has two types of bonds. Recovery Zone Facility Bonds give private businesses a low-cost way to finance capital projects such as building a hotel or manufacturing plant, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds allow state and local governments to finance projects such as infrastructure improvements or job-training and educational programs.

Good news to give support to development in SW Michigan that has been halted if not reduced over this economic downscale. Regardless, the PRI has its work cut out for it in the coming months.