Published: May 10, 2008 07:43 pm         

Many slipping into poverty

Report places county on warning list

DANVILLE — As the economy continues to worsen, more and more people find themselves slipping into poverty.

According to Heartland Alliance’s Mid-America Institute on Poverty’s 2008 Report on Illinois Poverty, “We can eliminate the poverty that deprives people of their human rights.”

But in that report, Vermilion County’s poverty indicators reached a level that made this promise seem difficult to keep. And those figures were based on data that in some cases was up to three years old.

The county was placed on Heartland Alliance’s warning list this year. That means certain key indicators signaled an alarming trend. In 2007, the county was already on the organization’s state watch list. Even with somewhat outdated statistics, it’s apparent things are getting worse here, not better.

“These numbers should dispel the myth that poverty is a problem confined to big cities and rural communities,” Sid Mohn, president of Heartland Alliance, said. “Poverty crosses all boundaries.”

Numbers talk

The factors that reflect a county’s vulnerability to pronounced poverty include high school graduation rates, unemployment rates, teen birth rates and poverty rates.

Improvements in education, employment, health, housing and nutrition provide the pathways out of poverty. But with the state’s budget problems the worst in years, resources to make these improvements are at an all-time low. Maintaining the status quo has become a considerable challenge.

For the 2008 report issued in April, Vermilion County’s snapshot already provided a bleak picture:

-- A county high school graduation rate of 79.2 percent for the 2006-07 school year compared unfavorably to the state’s 85.9 percent for the same period.

-- Teen birth rates for 2005, the last year available, were at 16.2 percent in Vermilion County. The overall state rate was 9.7 percent.

-- Unemployment in Vermilion County for August 2007, the most recent statistics available at the time of the report, was at 7.1 percent. The state rate was 5.2 percent.

-- The poverty rate for the state in 2005, again the most recent year available for the 2008 report, was 12 percent. The county came in at a rate of 18 percent.

Poverty defined

The federal government used food costs as one basis for setting poverty guidelines. These guidelines are used to determine eligibility for federal assistance programs.

A single person is at the poverty threshold if he or she earns $10,400 in 2008. For a family of four, combined earnings of $21,200 put family members at that threshold.

As food costs continue to rise, so will the numbers who fall into one of the categories of poverty.

Those categories, according to Heartland, include:

-- Asset poverty: Households without sufficient net worth to subsist at the poverty level for three months.

-- Low-income or near poor: Living between 100-200 percent of the poverty threshold.

-- Deep or extreme poverty: Living below 50 percent of the federal poverty threshold.

State perspective

The creation of a Commission on the Elimination of Poverty Act in Illinois has been in the works this year. State Sen. Michael Frerichs for the 52nd District endorses such a group, which has as its goal eliminating poverty in Illinois, especially in downstate communities.

“People find this somewhat surprising,” Frerichs said. “They assume it’s not a downstate issue. They view (poverty) as a Chicago problem. But Heartland Alliance’s report makes it very clear that’s not the case.

“People blame the problem on an influx of people from Chicago or on the loss of major manufacturing,” he said. “But in fact it’s a chicken-and-the-egg situation with education and economic development.

“We have a willing, hungry and trained workforce in our area. What’s lacking is a big, systematic way of thinking by industries and agencies. We need more creativity.”

State Rep. Bill Black, representing District 104, also sees education as key to eliminating poverty.

“We were a heavy trade and industrial economy,” Black said. “Industry changed over the years, but people still didn’t need a high school diploma to get a good job with Hyster or G.E.

“That created a certain mindset that’s been passed down to younger generations, that school isn’t important,” he said. “But education is a way up and out.”

Black acknowledged college may not be the answer for everyone.

“That’s where Danville Area Community College fills such an important role,” he said. “People can get technical training there that will qualify them for good paying jobs.”

Black also commended Vermilion Advantage and its members for the Finish First program. That makes a high school diploma a prerequisite for employment.

“Illinois had 42,000 drop-outs from the high school graduating class of 2007,” he said. “If they stayed in school, their earnings could have been up by billions of dollars over the course of their lifetimes.”

City reponse

Danville officials address poverty on a case-by-case basis as problems come to their attention. They leave solving the underlying causes to the state and federal government.

John Heckler, Danville’s director of public development, said, “The city is limited in what it can do to help. It’s a terrible thing, and if we could help out, we’d love to.”

Heckler and Mayor Scott Eisenhauer both indicated the Community Development Block Grants are the only tool at their disposal to help low-income residents.

“They’re really for moderate to low-income residents,” Heckler said.

John Dreher, manager of the city’s community development division, oversees those community block grants. He said there’s less money available through federal funds than in the past.

“We used to do sidewalk replacement in certain neighborhoods,” Dreher said. “We had to discontinue it due to shrinking HUD funds.”

About one-third of the economic development grant money goes to stabilize, create and retain businesses and therefore jobs, according to Dreher. “Stabilization” is the guiding principle employed when it comes to other uses for the funds.

“We have nothing to keep people in their homes,” Dreher said. “We have nothing for renters. About 50 percent of our efforts go for seniors or others with moderate income.”

For people faced with an emergency situation, Human Relations Division Director Sandra Houston does whatever she can for those who contact her.

“My role is to try and handle the situation,” Houston said. “We have so many social service agencies here in Danville. I usually can find someone to help them.”

Among the contacts Houston relies on are medical, charitable, educational and religious organizations. East Central Illinois Community Action Agency is among them.

The agency provides services for those with low income that include Head Start, Educational Talent Search, Low Income Home Energy Assistance, Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance, Ameren Rate Relief and emergency assistance in the form of cash cards from different businesses.

FYI

East Central Illinois Community Action Agency will hold a Community Action Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Temple Plaza. Information about the agency’s history and the services it provides will be available, along with food and music.