Working Poor

In contrast to the misconceptions some people may have about those receiving assistance from social service agencies, nearly all of the participants in CAC programs are best described as “working poor.” These are individuals or households with earned income, although that income is insufficient to meet their needs. Some face restrictions on their employment opportunities–such as poor health or limited education; others work for low wages in entry level positions that may not offer job security, benefits, or advancement opportunities.

According to Jobs Now, a “livable wage” (one that provides income sufficient for a modest standard of living) to support a family of four in 2003 is $20.24/hr (2 incomes at $10.12/hr) or $3,500.00/mo in greater Minnesota. The median income for a family of four in the Northfield area is $66,000.00 and the cost of living in Northfield is higher than in most rural communities.

For three decades the CAC has offered help. Agency programs consider the economic background of low income households and offer resources like food and clothing that relieve pressure on limited incomes. But other needs arise, too, especially for workers who lack health insurance. The CAC helps with applications for medical assistance or Minnesota Care, or provides referrals for free health care when necessary. Those with disabilities may obtain help with Social Security applications or with referrals for legal services or other supportive services that may improve their quality of life.

Transportation’especially in rural communities’can be a serious problem. People living “on the edge” often rely on old vehicles that regularly need repair or replacement. With limited (and expensive) public transportation in this area, getting to work, school, day care, or appointments becomes a major challenge. The CAC offers help through interest-free loans for gas or minor car repair, and through Community Action Auto Recycling (a donated vehicle program).

People who seek CAC assistance aren’t just looking for a handout; often they are struggling against odds that any of us would find daunting. CAC programs and services support participants who are already trying to improve their lives. Agency efforts merely amplify and supplement what they are trying to do for themselves.

Families

Family Snapshot

Once homeless and out of work, Jane is turning her life around with the help of the CAC. She is a single mom raising her two school-age children on a meager income. With chronic health problems that interfere with full time employment, and with concern for her children, Jane looks to CAC programs to help meet the needs of her family when problems inevitably arise.

Jane was homeless but working when she first approached the CAC for emergency shelter. Working with a staff social worker she found affordable permanent housing and obtained county assistance to move in. The CAC Sustaining Food Shelf helped feed her young family, and Jane continues to access this program when expenses mushroom. Other issues arise, too. This summer her children are at home while she works. Without transportation, their opportunities for recreational activities are limited. CAC staff arranged for transit and pool passes enabling the children to travel across town safely and providing a destination that promises fun, friends and healthy exercise.

As summer ends family needs change. Jane and her children will begin to prepare for the new school year. But a tight budget may preclude purchase of all the necessary school supplies. Operation Backpack helps Jane’s children get what they all need to be ready for school. When fall slides into winter and the holidays approach, Christmas Sharing will ensure that Jane’s children and may others won’t feel forgotten in the financial strain that the holidays and cold weather often bring.

Families like Jane’s are typical of those who benefit from CAC programs and services. The Community Action Center links these families with resources and assistance contributed by volunteers and donors in the Northfield area. Sadly, the lack of family resources affects children most keenly, especially when that lack stresses parents and interferes with their ability to nurture their children.

Children are the largest population in poverty today. Since they cannot fend for themselves economically, and are often in family situations like Jane’s with only one income to cover all expenses, children are the primary recipients of the special services that the CAC provides. Food, clothing, shelter, problem-solving, even a Christmas gift may dramatically improve their quality of life. The CAC and its supporters give children the opportunity to look forward to a better future by helping parents face and overcome difficulties now.

Single Adults

Personal crisis is not limited to those managing the financial strain of raising a family or those who have retired only to find that they are unable to get by on their nest egg. Due to a variety of complications, single adults old and young can find themselves in situations that cost them the security of food and shelter or the opportunity to get help for a disability that is hindering the quality of their lives.

It is true that the elderly make up the largest group of single adults assisted by the CAC, but this is not an exclusive definition of the term. Among the different types of adults participating in CAC programs are transients/homeless, who are often troubled with a disability that puts their life at risk. While this group often falls under the stereotypes of the destitute people social service agencies assist, they are still a small fraction of those who receive aid.

Also, couples without children–therefore not considered a family by agency definitions–may be caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, regardless of age. Due to sudden financial straits or health problems, these adults are just as susceptible to homelessness and hardships as families or the elderly.

And, in looking to make the transition into adulthood, many young people find themselves struggling to gain the financial independence they need. They sometimes make a few hasty decisions–such as dropping out of school–in order to cope with family conflict or personal crisis that overwhelms them. Without the emotional or financial support of family, they become rootless. Many of their problems may stem from lifestyle choices that increase the risk of hardships, but this age is highly susceptible to peer pressure–especially when suffering family conflict at home–and impulsive choices are made without forethought.

The CAC does what it can to provide these adults with the tools they need to make transitions in their life when they are ready to help themselves.

Disabled

While the CAC does offer services to the physically handicapped who are working to regain independence and greater opportunities in their lives, many of those who request help from the CAC are those suffering mental disabilities that impair not only the quality of their lives but sometimes their survival.

Even today, with the knowledge we have of the human brain and the diseases that afflict it, social stigma limits those who cannot function within the stress and activity that most of us regard as everyday life. And because of the negative, and often mistrustful, connotations still clinging to the notion of mental illness, those who are disabled lack the informal support and life-skills guidance to persevere through their illness and cope with their responsibilities.

Also, disabilities don’t merely affect those with the illness. Often those closest to them–and particularly children who are dependent upon them for their own well-being–are caught in the mire of the illness too. Friends and family of those with such disabilities carry increased stress, working to support not only the person suffering the illness but also their own state of mind.

But above this, one must remember that mental illness knows no social or economic class distinction. It is pervasive and impartial. However, when such disability is paired with low or no income, the risk increases that the person will not be able to receive proper treatment for their illness. This incites a vicious cycle that increases their chances of losing more financial security and eventually becoming homeless.

With the support of donations from local citizens and the networked efforts of social workers, psychologists, and other non-profit organizations, the CAC looks to offer second chances to those caught in this cycle–or to prevent such a cycle from beginning in the first place. We offer a crisis intervention program where those in need can contact someone during an emotional or family crisis that otherwise could not be solved without professional help. And once participants begin working with our social workers, they are referred to a mental health professional if the crisis is indeed a more serious condition requiring medication and therapy.

While the CAC can only do so much for those with disabilities, our hope is that the simple act of intervening in the situation–preferably before it escalates any further–can bring the illness under control and return to the person a sense of health and stability they might have otherwise believed to be beyond their reach.