Transcript EVIDENCE-BASED TARGETING

Right Under Our Eyes
Poverty, Hunger and Homelessness
in Affluent Westchester County
By Karl Bertrand, LMSW
How many people of Westchester’s
949,113 residents live in poverty?
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A) 5,694 (0.6%)
B) 19,241 (2.0%)
C) 50,368 (5.3%)
D) 77,827 (8.2%)
E) 125,471 (13.2%)
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Answer: D) 77,827 (8.2%)
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Source: Census 2010 Demographic Profile Data via American FactFinder.
How many hours/week at minimum wage do you
need to afford a 2-BR apartment in Westchester
without being “housing cost-burdened”?
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A) 54
B) 82
C) 112
D) 134
E) 168
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Answer: E) 168 (= 4.1 full-time jobs)
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Source: “Out of Reach 2011,” National Low Income Housing Coalition.
What is the “poverty line”?
Family Size
100%
130%
200%
1
$ 11,170
$ 14,856
$ 22,340
2
$ 15,130
$ 20,123
$ 30,260
3
$ 19,090
$ 25,390
$ 38, 180
4
$ 23,050
$ 30,657
$ 46,100
Source: “2012 Annual Federal Poverty Guidelines,” Families USA.
How many people in Westchester
receive public assistance?
Type of
Assistance
TANF (for families
# Households
# People
(estimated)
3,399
10,000
2,929
3,500
36,520
83,996
with children)
Safety Net (for
individuals & childless
couples)
Food Stamps
Source: Data on Households Served provided by Westchester County Dept. of Social Services, 1/31/12.
Doesn’t the government take
care of poor people?
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Onerous requirements (quarterly
recertifications, documentation, work, treatment,
etc.) and frequent sanctions
“Churning”: 71.8% of PA cases closed each
year in NYS outside NYC (Federation of
Protestant Welfare Agencies)
Errors: agency decisions reversed in 96.4% of
fair hearings (New York City Public Advocate)
Denying access
Don’t people on welfare get
enough money for rent?
Unit Size
WC Fair
Market Rent
2012
WC Average
Advertised Rent
(Q4, 2010)
WC Monthly
Welfare Rent
Allowance
0-BR
$1,183
$ 978
1-BR
$1,280
$1,260
2-BR
$1,424
$1,655
3-BR
$1,752
$1,850
$ 295
(1 person)
$314
(2 people)
$426
(3 people)
$479
(4 people)
Don’t people on welfare get
enough money for food?
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New York’s basic welfare grant ($291/month
for a family of 3) did not change from 1990 to
2009.
Since 1990 the cost of living in New York has
risen 63%.
NYS increased the basic grant by 10% in 2009
and 2010. Gov. Cuomo deferred the final 10%
increase set for 2011 and now wants to reduce
it to 5% in 2012.
Source: “Legislative and Budget Agenda 2011-2012,” Empire State Economic Security Campaign; “Cuomo Budget
Seeks Delay in Welfare Grant Hike,” Hunger Action Network of New York State.
Don’t Food Stamps give people
enough money for food?
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One in seven Americans now get Food Stamps.
That’s 45.7 million Americans.
The average Food Stamp benefit is $31.50 per
person per week (Jewish Council for Public
Affairs.)
This translates to $1.50 per meal.
64.4% of people in poverty in Westchester do
NOT receive food stamps (U.S. Census 2010
American Community Survey.)
How widespread is hunger in
Westchester?
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23 communities have emergency food programs
30 soup kitchens
68 food pantries
6,657,981 pounds of food for 5,548,318 meals
distributed last year by the Food Bank for Westchester
Emergency food requests in Westchester rose 30% in
2010, 15% more in 2011, and 9% more in 2012
Food Bank estimates 200,000 Westchester residents
are hungry or at risk of hunger.
What % of Westchester households
experience “food hardship”?
“Food Hardship” = not enough $ for food in last 12 months
Congressional
District
Communities Included
% Households with
Food Hardship
17th
Mt. Vernon, W.
Yonkers,
21.3%
18th
White Plains, New
Rochelle, Scarsdale,
Chappaqua, E.
Yonkers
Yorktown, Peekskill,
northern Westchester
8.8%
19th
12.7%
Source: “Food Hardship in America - 2010,” Food Research and Action Center, March 2011.
Does affluent Westchester have
homeless people?
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In August 1989 Yonkers alone had more homeless
persons than 51 upstate New York counties combined.
As of April 1990, 1.4% of all Yonkers households were
living in shelters, more than 3 times the proportion in
NYC.
The New York Times reported on 9/4/90 that
Westchester County was believed to have the highest
per capita rate of homelessness in the nation. (Source:
“Queries First, Aid Later For a County’s Homeless,”
The New York Times, Sept. 4, 1990.)
Rising Income Inequality in America
Source: “Trends in the Distribution of Household Income Between 1979 and 2007.” Congressional Budget Office, Oct. 2011.
What causes homelessness?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Poverty
Inadequate welfare rent allowances
Co-op/Condo conversions (Yonkers lost
10,000 rental units (20% of total) to
conversion in 5 years (1980-1985)
Deinstitutionalization
Drugs (e.g. crack epidemic in 1980s)
Divorce and failure to provide child support
What causes homelessness?
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
Less acceptance of domestic violence
Returning veterans with mental health or drug
problems
Declines in Federal housing subsidies
Aging out of foster care
Poor education and lack of job skills
The “pipeline to prison” and increasing
“disproportionate minority contact”
NYC’s Shelter Population 1983-2011
New York City is seeing record HIGH numbers of homeless people.
Westchester’s Shelter Population 1985-2011
Westchester reduced the number of homeless people here for 20 years.
Number of Total Homeless Persons in Westchester 1985-2011
4,800
4,553
4,472
1990
4,200
4,455
4,400
1989
4,600
2,788
2,400
2,674
2,914
2,600
2,680
3,335
3,088
2,800
3,042
3,144
3,666
3,085
2,200
2,000
1,105
1,035
800
1,173
1,000
1,216
1,200
1,451
1,400
1,270
1,736
1,600
1,866
1,800
1,333
# Total Persons
3,000
3,530
3,200
1995
3,654
3,400
3,555
3,600
1994
3,800
3,850
3,973
4,000
600
400
200
Year
Source: Westchester County Department of Social Services.
2011
2010
2009
2007
2008
2005
2006
2003
2004
2001
2002
1999
2000
1998
1997
1996
1992
1993
1991
1988
1986
1987
1985
0
How many Westchester residents are
homeless?
Jan. 1991 Dec. 2011 % Change
Families
996
307
 69%
Parents
1,168
386
 67%
Children
1,926
493
 74%
Single Adults
1,459
297
 80%
Total People
4,553
1,176
 74%
How did Westchester cut homelessness by
77% over the last 20 years (1991 to 2011)?
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Built or renovated over 2,000 affordable housing units
Got NYS approval to double the rent allowance for 908
formerly homeless households
Got ongoing HUD funding to pay FMR for 630 disabled
and formerly homeless households
Got county funding to increase rent for 60 households
Created mobile case management systems for 1,580
mentally ill and/or chemically dependent people
Cut length of stay by focusing on “rapid rehousing”
(e.g. Sharing Community in 2010-2011 cut ALOS 36%)
What can you do?
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Send letters, emails and phone calls
Get on the Hunger Action Network of NYS’ email list to
learn about issues surrounding poverty, hunger and
homelessness
Take the Food Stamp Challenge: live for one week on
$31.50 of food (see Jewish Council for Public Affairs
website)
Volunteer at a soup kitchen (Grace Church Community
Center in White Plains, Sharing Community in Yonkers
and HOPE in New Rochelle all welcome volunteers.)
Volunteer to tutor youth at a Westhab Family Center.
Check out these YouTube videos:

“Why I am an advocate for the hungry
and homeless” by Karl Bertrand
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“Beds, Not Chairs” by Karl Bertrand

“Rabbi Steve Gutow Takes the Food
Stamp Challenge” by Rabbi Steve Gutow
Karl Bertrand, L.M.S.W., President
Program Design and Development, LLC
47 Wayside Drive
White Plains, NY 10607
(914) 592-1272
[email protected]
www.programdesign.com