Isakson points to the downturn in higher-paying industrial jobs and an upturn in lower-paying service-industry jobs. His mantra is shared by the Heartland Center, which revealed more than 6,600 high-paying manufacturing jobs were lost in Lake County from 2001 to 2005.
The people who lost those jobs, in turn, are taking up more of the lower-paying service-industry jobs, which Isakson said has affected those who previously held those positions.
"Those laid-off mill workers (moved) to the $10- or $12-an-hour jobs, grabbing up the jobs that aren?t high-paying but are better than minimum wage," Isakson said. "That bumped other workers down and created a glut of skilled and dependable workers in the market."
People who never thought they would require assistance suddenly are coming forward and asking for help. St. John Township Trustee Jean Shepherd sees it every day.
"They can't make a living working at Burger King or telemarketing," Shepherd said. "They're just not making it, not with their lifestyle. When I talk to those people, there are options, whether it's relocating or moving in with friends or family or getting more education."
NEWS: The High Paying Jobs are gone; Poverty Explodes
April 8, 2006
By Tom Wyatt / Post-Tribune staff writer
Beatrice Adams? three-hour wait every other Friday at the North Township trustee?s office in Hammond is proof.
The hustle and bustle by those in Valparaiso preparing for Spring Valley Shelter?s weekend move to a larger facility is further evidence.
More than 54,000 people in Lake County live in poverty. In Porter County, the number is appreciably lower. Still, 8,500 individuals fit the mold.
The Heartland Center in Hammond, an organization serving Northwest Indiana through research study on social issues, released its report this week detailing the ongoing issues surrounding poverty in Lake County.
?Poverty isn?t just an issue that affects Gary, East Chicago and Hammond,? Heartland Center research analyst Cheryl Ward said. ?It affects everyone.?
The report points to the eroding value of minimum wage, which sits at $5.15 an hour and hasn?t increased since 1997. It also suggests the need to adjust Temporary Assistance for Needy Families standards to reflect inflation statistics.
Studies suggest the Earned Income Tax Credit has had a substantial effect on decreasing poverty, but many individuals still don?t know they are eligible for the relief. The report also suggests thousands of individuals statewide do not apply for the Food Stamp Program even though they might qualify.
In Adams? case, the Hammond resident has been diligent about receiving as much aid as possible in a period of her life deemed transitional.
Adams is a 43-year-old single mother of two. With her children off to college, she is unemployed as she works toward a degree in early childhood education at Ivy Tech Community College in Gary.
After working for 14 years as at a mental health center in Tinley Park, Ill., Adams decided it was time to do something different with her life.
?I had no other experience,? Adams said.
She plans to open a childcare center after she graduates from Ivy Tech in May 2007. In the meantime, she simply is trying to get by while working toward her degree.
?It?s been a struggle,? Adams said. ?Education is what I push in my family. And it will take education to get off assistance and stand on my own two feet.?
So every other Friday she comes to Frank Mrvan?s North Township trustee?s office, where she sits in a small waiting room with others seeking assistance from the township that serves the northwest corner of Lake County.
Adams carries a folder full of papers, including proof she continues to attend classes regularly. This week, she brought her Northern Indiana Public Service Co. bill, which the township helps cover. She gets $365 toward rent and a two-week food order.
?Without this, it wouldn?t have been possible to enroll full-time (at Ivy Tech),? Adams said.
Adams is a prime example of the type of assistance Mrvan hopes to provide. Education, he said, is key.
?We can?t pay for school,? Mrvan said. ?But we can pay for their shelter, and pay for their household goods and food.?
In Porter County, Tom Isakson, director of Spring Valley Shelter, spent Friday preparing for Saturday?s big move. That?s when the shelter leaves its tiny eight-room facility on the city?s south side for one large enough to place 28 homeless households.
Even with the bigger housing facility, families still are turned away. It?s evidence, Isakson said, that Porter County clearly is not immune to the effects of poverty.
?Citizens in Porter County are becoming more aware of poverty as an issue,? Isakson said.
Indiana?s Family and Social Services Administration statistics say 3,600 households in Porter County receive food stamps. More than 400 families receive TANF money.
Isakson points to the downturn in higher-paying industrial jobs and an upturn in lower-paying service-industry jobs. His mantra is shared by the Heartland Center, which revealed more than 6,600 high-paying manufacturing jobs were lost in Lake County from 2001 to 2005.
The people who lost those jobs, in turn, are taking up more of the lower-paying service-industry jobs, which Isakson said has affected those who previously held those positions.
?Those laid-off mill workers (moved) to the $10- or $12-an-hour jobs, grabbing up the jobs that aren?t high-paying but are better than minimum wage,? Isakson said. ?That bumped other workers down and created a glut of skilled and dependable workers in the market.?
People who never thought they would require assistance suddenly are coming forward and asking for help. St. John Township Trustee Jean Shepherd sees it every day.
?They can?t make a living working at Burger King or telemarketing,? Shepherd said. ?They?re just not making it, not with their lifestyle. When I talk to those people, there are options, whether it?s relocating or moving in with friends or family or getting more education.?
For children, the options are fewer.
In Lake County, the study reports, 25.8 percent of children younger than age 5 are living in poverty.
The Heartland Center?s report said preschool children exposed to poverty have a higher risk of being poor as an adult. And in Lake County, children of single-mother families are eight times more likely to live in poverty than children with married parents.
?A single mother needs help with those children,? Shepherd said. ?It makes it difficult for her to work. It makes it difficult for her to continue her education and to get a better job so she can support herself and the children.?
The answer seems obvious, but the Heartland Center and local leaders agree the only way to prevent the spread of poverty is to curb it now through funding, education and better jobs.
?Part of the big-picture solution for families we serve is to gain a skill somehow or at least to become a manager in the fast-food or retail industry in which they?re working,? Isakson said. ?That?s another way out of poverty for them. If you?re going to work in the retail business, work your way up to the top.? |
