Though poverty advocates have been saying it for years, the inadequacy of the “poverty level” that we have in the US really hit home when coordination the 2008 Poverty Challenge.

Mayor Bloomberg in NYC found that this poverty level particularly didn’t reflect the standard of living for families in the Big Apple. Therefore, NYC has begun to use a new formula that is different than the federal formula for calculating poverty. This new formula found that an additional 400,000 people in NYC are living in poverty.

The New York Times published an editorial yesterday on this new poverty measure. The editorial is behind the link.

Poverty’s Real Measure

For some 40 years, the nation has used the same formula for calculating poverty, using the cost of food as a gauge and applying a single poverty threshold across the nation — from Boise to the Bronx. After a year of work, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York has presented a new formula for measuring poverty that creates a far more realistic view of life in the city. It should stand as an example to other cities — and, ultimately, the federal government.

Recasting the federal formula that has been in place since the 1960s, the Bloomberg administration found another 400,000 poor people in New York City and came up with a poverty rate of 23 percent, compared with about 19 percent. That result was tempered by fewer extremely poor people (those whose incomes are half of the poverty threshold), which may be explained by the reach of programs like temporary assistance to needy families.

But the city found that 32 percent of the elderly are poor — far higher than the 18 percent under the former measure. Out-of-pocket medical costs were a consistent big drain on the wallets of residents 65 or older.

No formula would be perfect, but Mr. Bloomberg’s employs common sense. It is absurd, for example, that the poverty threshold in New York City, one of the most expensive, has been the same as the least expensive: $20,444 for a family of four. The mayor raised New York’s poverty ceiling to a more believable $26,138.

Washington’s obsolete measure looks only at the cost of food relative to income. Mass production and other efficiencies have generally made food less costly, while housing, transportation and energy costs have risen. The mayor’s formula, taken from recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences, factors in those big-ticket items, as well as government assistance.

Mr. Bloomberg’s approach is rightly getting attention from other cities and Capitol Hill. The campaign of Senator Barack Obama has endorsed it. The next step, which should be taken quickly, is for the mayor to use what he has learned — and what we already knew — to get more help to New York’s many poor.

Todd and Linette Crelly have been a part of the Homeless Alliance FOOD Project almost a year now. They have been interested in knowing how best to serve the needs of folks who are coming to their Trading Post Community Care Center in Springville. Linette has come to a number of community meetings and shared her concern about the difficulty of service access for folks in the rural edges of Erie County, particularly homeless individuals and families who are reluctant to enter the city of Buffalo.

Recently, Todd and Linette were highlighted in the Buffalo News for their work of being a point of access for food and clothing in Springville.

Read the story here (pdf).

With our 100^th post we thought that it might be fitting to let our readers know that Devan DeCicco our Americorps/VISTA Education Coordinator who is the staff person most responsible for much of the content here on the blog was recently honored with the Sister Jean Frank Award by the Western New York Coalition for the Homeless.

The Sister Jeanne Frank Award was first conceived in 1995 and has been presented annually since then. It is given to an individual who exemplifies Sister Jeanne’s spirit in relating to the homeless and needy. The honor is presented to an individual who has demonstrated persistence, a strong sense of social justice and willingness to go many extra miles for the causes of the homeless.

Past recipients include: Mary Stengel, Pat Griffin, Kathy Johnson, Michael Burgess, Kathy Laughlin, Jack Gustaferro, Penny Selmonsky, Adrian Slocum, and Karen Carman, Katie McHugh Connolly, and Bill Graham

Sister Jeanne Frank, a member of the Roman Catholic order of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, was a powerful advocate for the poor of Buffalo and Erie County. She was the founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Room (originally operated out of Our Lady of Lourdes on Main Street) which continues to provide food and critical services to the poor and homeless. Sister Jeanne’s approach is summed up in her instruction to her volunteers: “Remember you are serving your equals. Don’t put a plate in front of them without putting yourself there as well.”

She was a founder of the Western New York Coalition for the Homeless, bringing together people from various organizations to work together to raise public awareness and improve the lives of homeless people.

She was both teacher and inspiration to many in our community who continue to serve and advocate for those who are homeless and in crisis.

Devan is certainly a worthy recipient of this award. Devan is responsible for the growth of the Homeless Alliance’s efforts to include our faith communities in homeless prevention efforts. Devan has also written a number of successful grant applications for both the Alliance and the Homeless Coalition. His passion for social justice and his commitment to those in most need among us is an inspiration to us all and he is a very deserving recipient of the Sister Jean Frank Award.

CNN did a short story on Homeless Veterans in Washington, D.C., highlighting that post traumatic stress disorder is a contributing factor to homelessness and almost 2,000 Iraq War veterans around the country are homeless (according to the US Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs).

See the video here.

The Buffalo News reports that Gov. Paterson is convening a number of Town Hall meetings throughout the state to discuss and take comments from the community about the state’s efforts to streamline applications for benefits, services, and tax credits for low-wage workers in New York.

Read the story here.

While it is great that the process of applying for public benefits is getting easier for low-wage workers - who have historically under-utilized the benefits and services available to them - it should be noted that these income enhancements are not the answer to low wage employment. Some economists have noted that if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the 1970’s, it would currently be over $18/hour. Therefore, the effort to increase access to mainstream benefits is important but so too is the effort to increase living wage jobs throughout our community and to make work pay.

The New York Times published an article today, featuring Flint, Michigan and an innovative approach to reducing student turnover during the school year. The state Department of Human Services is offering a $100/month subsidy to low-income families, allowing them to stay in their current unit and/or avoiding future moves.

“House-hopping” is common in low-income areas, such as Flint, Baltimore and Buffalo. Many times, families are evicted for non-payment of rent, utilities are shut off or they are trying to flee unsafe neighborhoods or living conditions. This directly affects school-aged children by disrupting their school year, impeding educational and social development and also slowing down the pace of the classroom as teachers struggle to keep new or transfer students afloat.

The program was first piloted in two of Flint’s schools in 2004 with several important features. 40 families of second-graders were selected to participate, with the students staying with the same teacher and classmates for two years in a row. The rent subsidy was paid directly to the landlord, who agreed to maintain housing code and not raise the rent. Finally, the families were linked with a family resource center, located at the schools, allowing for access to services without having to wait in long, often impersonal lines at the Department of Social Services. Although results are preliminary and require more longitudinal data, the pilot group of students scored significantly better on standardized test and moved less.

According to the most recent Annual Homelessness Profile for Buffalo and Erie County (data from October 2006-September 2007), 897 children ages 17 and under were living in the homeless housing system. Not only are hundreds of our students homeless but with so many of our children living in poverty, the constant moves and turnover in schools is a great detriment to success. We would do well to remember that homelessness and poverty disproportionately affect children and should strive to take measures, such as what is being done in Flint, to eliminate the threats posed by educational instability.

The Buffalo News reports today that the US unemployment rate for the month of May was 5.5%. This is higher than economists had anticipated and reflects an increase in payroll cuts for this season.

The increased cost of basic goods and the declining value of the minimum wage has eroded the standard of living for those who have jobs as it is. Some economists have noted that if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the 1970’s, it would currently be $18/hour. In New York State, the minimum wage is $7.15.

In such a job climate as this, where even middle-class individuals are having a difficult time finding and keeping employment, the argument that the homeless just need to get jobs simply doesn’t hold weight.

Al-Jazeera, an international news agency, recently did an investigative piece on Buffalo that highlighted poverty and economic development in the city. Local activists from the Coalition for Economic Justice, People United for Sustainable Housing, the Partnership for the Public Good, and Harvest House were all interviewed.

What is notable about this video is the coverage of the living wage struggle for city sanitation workers who were being paid $9/hour and classified as seasonal workers. Every year, they would be laid off for a week and on their lay-off notice would be given a date to report back for work. This was to circumvent Buffalo’s living wage law; if they were classified as permanent workers they would have to be paid a living wage - laying them off for a week kept them classified as seasonal workers and not covered by the living wage law. This coverage is noteworthy because it was not covered in-depth by local or regional media outlets, yet was given significant coverage by international media in this program.

Here is the video from YouTube:

Those who are homeless are often called lazy. It is not uncommon for the Homeless Alliance staff to hear comments like “why can’t they just find jobs?” when we talk about homelessness in the community. Too often, those who are disconnected from the experience of homelessness want to boil it down to the individual while also creating silver-bullet solutions (i.e., “get a job”). Yet, with a quarter of homeless individuals in Erie County reporting that they have a disability which precludes them from working, it is clear that employment is not the solution. We often think that the difference between “us” (those who have a home) and “them” (those who are homeless) is that “we” work and “they” don’t. It is interesting that few recognize that the difference is a home.

Moreover, there seems to be a double standard about work. Often, those who are poor or homeless just “need to get job”. When it comes to the poor, we put a high value on the need to work. Yet at that same time, we don’t reward work in this country, as the declining value of the minimum wage demonstrates. Some economists have noted that if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the 1970’s, then it would currently be about $18/hour.

Kevin Barbieux, author of a great blog from Nashville called The Homeless Guy, highlighted a comment from one of his readers in this post that really reflects the misconceptions about those who are homeless and “laziness”.

If you haven’t looked at The Homeless Guy blog before, take a minute to check it out, as it contains a lot of great discussions.

The comments made in this post also reflect on the difficulties of panhandling. Often, panhandlers are treated as criminals, threats, or as less than human. Of course, not all who are homeless panhandle and not all panhandlers are homeless.

One way that cities have helped alleviate the dehumanization and maltreatment associated with panhandling is through the creation of “street newspapers”. Vendors can buy - at a low price - a stack of street papers and sell them on the streets and keep the profit. This replaces asking for money and provides more opportunity for positive interaction on the street. The papers they sell contain issues that matter to homeless and low-income populations - articles, stories, poetry, art - etc.

A great example of a street paper is “streetvibes” from Cincinnati. Also, the North American Street Newspaper Association promotes the creation of street newspapers throughout cities in North America.

Recently, the New York Times reported that several large banks have revoked their backing of student loans to students attending community colleges, for-profit institutions and other less selective and competitive postsecondary institutions. Meanwhile, funding for students attending more selective, public and private, four-year institutions has remained intact and unchanged.

You may be asking yourself at this point, “Why is the Homeless Alliance blogging about this?” While you may be correct in assuming that this is not an issue related directly to homelessness, it does have implications for low-income folks.

Community colleges and for-profit institutions are often a route for low-income students who cannot afford attendance at more expensive institutions, and cutting tuition assistance to students accessing this form of postsecondary education seriously limits their options. In a time when it is widely believed that postsecondary credentials are a necessity to economic security and several research studies indicate that higher education is stratifying along class lines (ie. more affluent students are in attendance at the more prestigious institutions), a move to cut loans for students that may already be economically disadvantaged only serves to further exacerbate economic disparities between the haves and the have-nots.

Read the full story here.

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