San Luis Obispo Tribune, March 9, 2008: One stumble from despair.
By Sarah Arnquist
TRIBUNE PHOTOS BY DAVID MIDDLECAMPErminia lives with her son, 10, and daughter,7, in a San Simeon motel room that serves as living area, bedroom,kitchen and dining room. Above, she uses a camp stove to make chilesrellenos for dinner.Click any image to enlarge.
RESOURCE INFORMATION
San Luis Obispo Hotline (805) 549-8989 www.slohotline.orgSan Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services (805)781-1600 www.slocounty.ca.gov/dssEconomic Opportunity Commission (805) 544-4355www.ecoslo.org Food Bank Coalition (805) 238-4664 www.slofoodbank.org Area Agency on Aging, Senior Connection (805) 541-0384 www.centralcoastseniors.org
The county۪s poverty rate is better than the state overall, but other trend lines paint a grimmer picture.
Calif. 10.8% | SLO Co. 7.0%
An increasing number of middle-class families in San Luis Obispo Countyare just an unexpected medical problem or lost job away from fallinginto poverty.
A key reason: a local economy that is more service-based with low-paying jobs.
Addto that a shortage of affordable housing and high home prices, expertssay, and more families from across the demographic scale are beingpushed to the brink.
While the county remains better off thanthe state average on most indicators of poverty and well-being, manytrend lines show it is moving in the wrong direction. Consider thesedramatic changes between 2000 and 2007:
• Nearly one in threestudents now qualifies for free and reduced-cost meals in countyschools, so educators consider them impoverished. That۪s up 17 percentin the past seven years.
• The number of adults and childrenenrolled in public health insurance, Medi-Cal or Healthy Familiesincreased by 46 percent to 33,500 from 22,891, according to the stateDepartment of Health Services statistics.
•While home prices have been going up, the county۪s median income has fallen each year after
Forimmigrant family, San Simeon motel room is home peaking in 2004 at$54,442. In 2007, it was $50,698 and there are no signs of it turningaround soon, according to UCSB economic forecasters.
• Thenumber of families receiving traditional welfare cash assistanceremained virtually unchanged, but the number receiving food stampsdoubled to 2,895 from 1,407. Food stamps are considered a preventivemeasure to help keep families off cash assistance. Their rise indicates
Poverty in San Luis Obispo County cannot be entirely attributedto new immigrants from Mexico or Central America, Watkins said. About18 percent of the county۪s population is Hispanic. That۪s far less thanthe state average or that of any neighboring county.
About 7 percent of families in the county live in poverty compared with 10 percent across the state.
CoastalCalifornia used to have more opportunities for young families, but overthe years the economy has relied increasingly on tourism, retail andother services to create jobs, which do not pay enough more familiesare hovering just above the line to qualify for full welfare.
“Thesqueeze on low-income, working families has definitely gotten tighter,”said Lee Collins, director of San Luis Obispo County Department ofSocial Services.
From his vantage point as the head of thecounty۪s welfare and assistance programs, Collins said the situationseems to be worsening.
Meanwhile, governments at all levels aretrimming their budgets as the state and nation۪s economies slow downand the possibility of a recession looms.
The cuts mean largerholes in the safety-net programs, such as Medi-Cal and welfare, at atime when more families may need a boost to keep food on the table atthe end of the month, Collins said.
“The resources to battlepoverty are dependent on a strong economy,” Collins said. “Theconundrum of our funding is when the need increases, the resources tomeet those increased needs fall apart.”
Admittedly, poverty isa complex problem with sources and solutions beyond a county۪sboundaries, said Julian Crocker, county schools superintendent. But itcannot be ignored, he said, because so many social illssuch as pooracademic performance, crime or health disparities are rooted inpoverty.
“There۪s an attitude that the poor have always beenwith us and that۪s just something you have to live with,” Crocker said.”I don۪t believe that, and most people working in public educationdon۪t believe that.
“From generation to generation, education has been the stepping stone to a better quality of life.”
By Sarah Arnquist
TRIBUNE PHOTOS BY DAVID MIDDLECAMP Erminia lives with her son, 10, and daughter, 7, in a San Simeon motel room that serves as living area, bedroom, kitchen and dining room. Above, she uses a camp stove to make chiles rellenos for dinner. Click any image to enlarge. RESOURCE INFORMATION
San Luis Obispo Hotline (805) 549-8989 www.slohotline.orgSan Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services (805)781-1600 www.slocounty.ca.gov/dssEconomic Opportunity Commission (805) 544-4355 www.ecoslo.org Food Bank Coalition (805) 238-4664 www.slofoodbank.org Area Agency on Aging, Senior Connection (805) 541-0384 www.centralcoastseniors.org
The county۪s poverty rate is better than the state overall, but other trend lines paint a grimmer picture.
Calif. 10.8% | SLO Co. 7.0%
An increasing number of middle-class families in San Luis Obispo County are just an unexpected medical problem or lost job away from falling into poverty.
A key reason: a local economy that is more service-based with low-paying jobs.
Add to that a shortage of affordable housing and high home prices, experts say, and more families from across the demographic scale are being pushed to the brink.
While the county remains better off than the state average on most indicators of poverty and well-being, many trend lines show it is moving in the wrong direction. Consider these dramatic changes between 2000 and 2007:
• Nearly one in three students now qualifies for free and reduced-cost meals in county schools, so educators consider them impoverished. That۪s up 17 percent in the past seven years.
• The number of adults and children enrolled in public health insurance, Medi-Cal or Healthy Families increased by 46 percent to 33,500 from 22,891, according to the state Department of Health Services statistics.
•While home prices have been going up, the county۪s median income has fallen each year after
For immigrant family, San Simeon motel room is home peaking in 2004 at $54,442. In 2007, it was $50,698 and there are no signs of it turning around soon, according to UCSB economic forecasters.
• The number of families receiving traditional welfare cash assistance remained virtually unchanged, but the number receiving food stamps doubled to 2,895 from 1,407. Food stamps are considered a preventive measure to help keep families off cash assistance. Their rise indicates
Poverty in San Luis Obispo County cannot be entirely attributed to new immigrants from Mexico or Central America, Watkins said. About 18 percent of the county۪s population is Hispanic. That۪s far less than the state average or that of any neighboring county.
About 7 percent of families in the county live in poverty compared with 10 percent across the state.
Coastal California used to have more opportunities for young families, but over the years the economy has relied increasingly on tourism, retail and other services to create jobs, which do not pay enough more families are hovering just above the line to qualify for full welfare.
“The squeeze on low-income, working families has definitely gotten tighter,” said Lee Collins, director of San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services.
From his vantage point as the head of the county۪s welfare and assistance programs, Collins said the situation seems to be worsening.
Meanwhile, governments at all levels are trimming their budgets as the state and nation۪s economies slow down and the possibility of a recession looms.
The cuts mean larger holes in the safety-net programs, such as Medi-Cal and welfare, at a time when more families may need a boost to keep food on the table at the end of the month, Collins said.
“The resources to battle poverty are dependent on a strong economy,” Collins said. “The conundrum of our funding is when the need increases, the resources to meet those increased needs fall apart.”
Admittedly, poverty is a complex problem with sources and solutions beyond a county۪s boundaries, said Julian Crocker, county schools superintendent. But it cannot be ignored, he said, because so many social illssuch as poor academic performance, crime or health disparities are rooted in poverty.
“There۪s an attitude that the poor have always been with us and that۪s just something you have to live with,” Crocker said. “I don۪t believe that, and most people working in public education don۪t believe that.
“From generation to generation, education has been the stepping stone to a better quality of life.”