Getting By

All it takes is a walk down Kirkwood to see Bloomington’s problems with poverty and homelessness. Go down the main drag and you’ll usually encounter more than a few people asking for money. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Take a turn down Washington Street and you might find crowds of Bloomington’s poorest residents lining up by a soup kitchen, or by Martha’s House, a shelter where the homeless can spend the night. The city’s problem with poverty runs deep, and the jury is still out on what can be done about it. \nAccording to the US Census, Bloomington’s poverty rate is measured at about 34.7 percent of the total population, which puts it fifth in the nation of cities with populations between 65,000 and 249,999 people. That’s worse than Gary’s poverty rate. And while that statistic does include some students who earn less than $10,294 annually (the study’s definition of poverty), the figure is still indicative of a major problem – contrast Bloomington’s poverty rate with the national average of 12.3 percent, or Indiana’s average of 11.1 percent in 2004. There are many factors responsible for Bloomington’s problems with poverty and homelessness. Aside from factors common across the nation, such as drug addiction, mental illness and familial abuse, Bloomington has an additional set of problems. While most sources disagree that Bloomington is a sort of “mecca” for homeless people as many critics assert, there are some pull factors that might influence homeless people to choose Bloomington over nearby cities. Capt. Jerry Minger of the IUPD attributes some of the homeless population in Bloomington to the “open” environment that the University offers, such as showers in the HPER and public buildings that offer shelter. But Bloomington also has specific factors that push people into poverty: Factories and manufacturers are are on the move, leaving former employees to take jobs that pay less. This problem will be even worse in 2009, when a local General Electric plant will close, eliminating more than 900 jobs. Although the University provides many jobs for the community, many of those are service-sector jobs and thus do not pay what Joel Rekas, director of the Shalom Community Center, calls a “living wage.” “A good percentage of people [who come into the center] are employed,” Rekas said. Additionally, Rekas asserts that “there are people who work in services at IU who come in for free meals.” Wages do not always match the cost of living. But the problem can’t just be solved by raising the minimum wage, which sometimes has the effect of lowering the number of jobs. \n Still, low-paying jobs leave people extremely vulnerable to becoming homeless. \n “It doesn’t take but one missed paycheck ... so that a family can’t pay the rent,” said Erin Marshall, Development Coordinator for Stepping Stones, Inc., an organization that provides transitional housing for young people. What’s more, poverty can become a vicious cycle. Missing a paycheck might cause the financially vulnerable to lose their homes; and without a home, it’s harder to keep a job.\n Some who are homeless resort to panhandling. One such panhandler, who identifies himself as “old school Chuck,” said he earns, on average, $50 a day. That’s more than one would earn working 8 hours in a minimum-wage job, even before taxes. It gives him little incentive to work. Additionally, he gets disability payments from the government, and is able to rely on organizations like the Shalom Community Center for support. Despite these things, however, Chuck says that he’d get a job if he could find one. Like working people near the brink of experiencing homelessness, people begging and sleeping on the streets find it hard to take a first step toward employment and a better future.\n Hope exists in the services of two notable organizations, Martha’s House and the Shalom Community Center. Together, they provide basic services such as food, shelter and guidance for those experiencing homelessness. These services are a way for people to avoid falling into the poverty trap. According to Rekas, families who run out of food and money at the end of the month can turn to Shalom to help make ends meet.\n This is Shalom at its best – serving as a crutch for families. But at the more difficult task of getting people off the streets, many organizations struggle to succeed. To this end, Shalom works to pool resources such as food stamps and further education and job opportunities in an effort to help people get back on their feet. This doesn’t always work.\n One homeless man, who identified himself as “Robbie,” pointed out that Shalom helps primarily with how to interview, etc., but puts less emphasis on getting people jobs. Moreover, the Shalom Center can be vulnerable to abuse. “A lot of people at the shelters and soup kitchens are people who can help themselves but don’t want to,” Robbie said. \n According to its own statistics, Shalom provides 300 meals daily. That’s 78,000 meals a year (they serve breakfast and lunch, and only on the weekdays). Shalom also states that last year, it served 1,413 different patrons. That means the average person ate at Shalom 55 times last year, which is on the high side for an organization offering “temporary” assistance for people going through hard times. However, Shalom strives for a welcoming atmosphere. “The goal is to make things available in a low-barrier way,” said Rekas. That means being non-judgmental and accepting all who wish to use the facilities. \n Most centers strive to pair assistance with guidance, but have trouble finding the resources to do both. A great deal of support comes from volunteers, and the resources just don’t exist to provide anything beyond basic needs. This means that their ability to monitor and guide people suffers in the allocation of their resources, when compared to providing food or shelter. \n Without guidance, providing for basic resources doesn’t solve the problems of the poor, it just keeps them at bay. But at Martha’s House, for example, individuals must have a referral from the police station and can stay between 30 and 90 days only if they agree to follow a case plan designed to restore their independence. Shalom, after it builds trust with those who use its facilities, try to help them better their situations.\nHowever, recent changes by the state have made it harder for many living in poverty to get the help they need. Recent changes to the Family and Social Services Administration have implemented poorly designed privatization strategies that many welfare recipients say make it harder to talk to caseworkers. Because of their confusion on the new system, many have been refused benefits.\n But one thing is uniformly detrimental to curing the problem of poverty and homelessness: giving spare change to panhandlers. Cities including Evanston, Ill., where Northwestern University is located, have developed public-information campaigns designed to inform people that many panhandlers suffer from addictions and are not in a place to help themselves through money alone.The real solution is for them to utilize community resources, made available through the Shalom Center or Martha’s House, and get the guidance they need. \n There isn’t one simple way to cure homelessness. However, Bloomington already has so much in the way of resources that could be improved upon, which struggle daily to combat poverty and homelessness. These organizations, like the homeless, need everyone’s help if we expect to end the worst effects of poverty in our community.