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Over 300 Union County families have had their homes foreclosed in each of the last four years. 18% of local homeowners and apartment renters pay more than they can afford for their housing. Image courtesy www.DDees.com.
CLICK HERE to read the entire 58-page Needs Assessment.
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| November 28, 2011 |
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Affordable housing. Senior services. Transportation. Public information.
These are the most critical human service needs facing Union County residents, according to a report finalized this fall by the Community Research Partners.
The Columbus-based non-profit data collection agency was hired by local social service providers to conduct the first Community Needs Assessment for our area in decades.
“This assessment provides the platform for our community to more confidently move forward on programs and activities that bring improvements to Union County,” said Doug Hoy,
United Way’s Board President. “Much of this assessment confirms what we have believed are prevailing issues for residents throughout the county, and that confirmation is critically
important as United Way makes decisions on program funding, grant considerations and opportunities to lead change throughout our communities.”
The idea to conduct a communitywide
Needs Assessment grew out of United Way’s 5-year Strategic Plan established in 2008. United Way partnered with eight public and private entities to help fund the project, including
the Community Action Organization, Consolidated Care, Honda of America, the Housing Coalition of Union County, Memorial Hospital, the Mental Health & Recovery Board, the Union County
Foundation, and Union County Senior Services.
The face of Union County has changed dramatically, even over the last 10 years, with the population rising to 52,300 people
(compared to 40,000 in 2000). Projected growth rates have 64,000 living here by 2020 and 85,000 by 2030. Service providers agree it is important to get a handle on the true
scope of the issues facing local residents and the evolving demographics in our society.
“The point of this project was to find out what the real needs are, not what we
think they are,” said Rochelle Twining, Executive Director of the Community Action Organization. “We live in a data-driven society. In a time of dwindling resources,
we need data to help us use funds efficiently and where they’re most needed.”
“POVERTY” OR “SELF-SUFFICIENCY?”
HOW TO ACCURATELY DEFINE TRUE ECONOMIC NEED
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The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 15.3% of Ohioans live in poverty. That’s more than ever before. Locally, the numbers are a little better. Union County has a poverty rate of 6.2%, which is the sixth lowest of Ohio’s 88 counties. Marysville’s poverty rate is 7.5%. But there are pockets of deep poverty in Union County. In Richwood, one in five residents lives in poverty. In Unionville Center, that number is one in three. And 1,400 additional people fell into poverty in Union County during the Great Recession (2007-2009).
What exactly does it mean when we say someone lives in poverty? Poverty is defined by the federal government as a household of four getting by on an annual income of $22,350 or less. They arrive at that number by calculating the cost of food as one-third of that household’s budget. As we all know, there are other household expenses, some of them costing much more than food.
That’s why the researchers at the University of Washington have developed what’s known as the Self-Sufficiency Standard. This is the amount of income needed for a household to sustain itself without government or charitable assistance. It takes into account additional budgetary needs, such as housing, child care, transportation, healthcare, taxes, and other miscellaneous expenses.
According to a recent update, one person living alone in Ohio would need to earn $19,313 annually to be self-sufficient. A family of four in Union County would need $46,937, based on the cost of Fair Market Rent for a two-room apartment. Based on this figure, 8,639 people in Union County fall below self-sufficiency. That’s 17% of the population. That’s nearly triple the local poverty rate. And it’s a more realistic view of the number of people in Union County reaching out for help from the social service sector.
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1. LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
A root cause to so many other social service issues, the lack of affordable housing was cited as the top priority need in Union County. Too many local residents are paying more than they can afford for their housing costs.
Irrespective of income level, one in five mortgage holders and one in four renters pay 35% or more of their income on housing costs. Foreclosure filings have been on the rise for 14 straight years, including over 300 in the last four years (from 26 foreclosures in 1995 to 340 last year). Nearly half of all rental units (47%) cost $750 or more per month. It would take a person working a 40-hour week a wage of $14.87 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent of $773. There are only 634 low-income or government-assisted housing units Union County and there is no Metropolitan Housing Authority to provide financial assistance to our community.
 The result of that lack of affordable housing is a domino effect that spills to the social service sector. Because as more of a family’s budget goes to cover the cost of a roof and heat, there is less to go around for food, child care, transportation, health care, and other household needs. Last year, the food pantries serving Union County fulfilled enough requests to fill Progressive Field in Cleveland or Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (41,653). 15,800 of those requests were for children. Requests for utility assistance have increased recently and in 2009, over $600,000 in federal funds were expended to help make costs manageable for residents.
Not everyone has been able to maintain their housing situation. The Salvation Army has tracked 168 homeless individuals in our community this year.
On the official 2011 “Point in Time Count,” a single day in January on which a community’s homeless population is tabulated, there were 21 homeless people.
They were living in sheds, cars, camping, or in an emergency shelter. Another 71 people were classified as “precariously housed,” meaning they would be homeless in a week or two if
there were no financial intervention.
The Salvation Army, United Way’s top-funded partner, operates a Homeless Prevention Program to help keep families in their permanent housing situation. The program pays
the rent if they have an eviction notice or covers the bill if a utility has been shut off. They then work with the families to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,
providing case management and budget counseling for up to six months. They have a 100% success rate with the families they serve. Unfortunately, they ran out of funds for the year in September.
“We have wonderful providers who have been tackling these issues and are doing a really great job,” said Beth Fetzer-Rice, Director of Social Services for The Salvation Army, which operates a
Homeless Prevention Program in Union County. “But the need is outweighing the resources we have locally. We’ve not been able to keep pace.”
“It came as little surprise that affordable housing was one of the primary needs identified in the assessment, but what to me as most surprising was just how acute that need is in Union County,” said Hoy. “Just about every data point suggests to me that the need for affordable housing is no self-correcting trend. It’s got a firm foothold in Union County, and any reversal will be realized only by a concerted community effort.”
2. INCREASING NEED FOR SENIOR SERVICES
If population growth occurs as expected over the next decade, Union County’s population will grow by 22%. But the projected growth among the senior population is expected to explode to 37%. There are already increasing levels of social service demand from the existing senior population. More people are entering their senior years without pensions or sufficient retirement funds. People are living longer. And then there’s the enduring dilemma: costs are rising, and the fixed incomes of seniors are not.
Community Research Partners suggested planning now for expanded services and facilities and keep the public well aware of the rate of senior population growth to lessen “sticker shock” of unavoidable future levies.
3. LACK OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
If it feels like half of Union County is on Route 33 during your morning commute, it’s because it’s almost true! Incredibly, of the 22,600 Union County residents who have a job, two-thirds of them commute to work outside Union County. Half of those commuters drive to Franklin County for work every day.
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Local resident Margaret Stiles gets a lift from UCATS driver Bob Borden. UCATS fleet of 16 vehicles made nearly 26,000 one-way trips for elderly and disabled last year. But there is no public transportation service available for the general Union County population. In a commuter community where reliable transportation is a requirement for work, that is becoming an issue.
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But that’s not all. 72% of the 26,000 jobs being worked in Union County are held by people who live elsewhere. That’s why reliable transportation is important.
Still, there are 569 households in Union County with no available vehicle. Whether it’s the high cost of a car payment or they cannot afford repairs for one that’s broken down, these families are unlikely to find and hold down a job or gain access to services beyond walking distance.
The Union County Agency Transportation Service maintains a fleet of 16 vehicles to transport elderly and disabled residents to medical appointments, shopping, and work. But there is no widespread public transportation for the general public, and there is only one cab service in the county.
“UCATS is not all things to all people. It was not designed to be,” said Dick Douglass, Director of UCATS. “We need to think outside the box when it comes to a real solution.”
Community Research Partners suggested a shuttle system similar to UCATS but with broader eligibility. But maintaining a public transportation service is expensive, particularly in a rural county with low population density. Another possibility is to assist with the startup of a private cab or shuttle provider and institute a voucher system for clients of services.
4. LACK OF PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT COMMUNITY SERVICES
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CLICK HERE to read a Columbus Dispatch article about the need for increased Public Information of social service resources.
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Do you know whom you would call if you had an eviction notice? Do you know where the food pantry is and the hours it is open? A common problem Community Research Partners identified as a barrier preventing local residents from getting the help they need is a lack of knowing where to go or whom to call for services. In addition, while social service providers are most knowledgeable about the programs their own agency provides, they are sometimes unaware of what else is being done in the community that could potentially help the clients they serve.
Union County has no formal, comprehensive Information/Referral hotline. United Way does maintain an updated list of social service providers on its website, regardless of whether we fund it or not (available at http://www.unitedwayofunioncounty.org/GetHelp2011.pdf). We also help coordinate the annual No Wrong Door programs, which have trained more than 400 local social service workers on the network of available resources to help promote client referrals among area agencies.
While effective for professional staff, Community Research Partners notes that No Wrong Door has not been optimized as a reference system for clients. Effectively marketing services, particularly in the rural areas of the county is another challenge. Potential methods might include periodic fliers mailed to all county addresses or areas deemed underserved, billboards on major routes, or messages through local church officials.
NEXT STEPS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP
“This assessment represents a starting point,” Twining said. “We hope agencies can use it as a tool to gain additional support for people in our community who have needs.”
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CLICK HERE to read the entire 58-page Needs Assessment.
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In fact, The Salvation Army and Community Action already partnered to obtain federal grant money for our county based on data collected by this assessment. The reason our community was awarded funds was because we had empirical data to back up the application, whereas competing communities did not.
The information provided by the needs assessment will also be a factor for local funders, including United Way. We are also looking for community leaders, business partners, and concerned residents to help us address these issues. If you are interested in joining a committee to work on one of the four needs, please contact us at (937) 644-8381 or via e-mail at uwuc.shari@rrohio.com.
“This assessment identified four needs and four goals for us to work on,” Douglass said. “In three to five years, we do not want to do another needs assessment and find these issues coming up again.”
United Way works to bring neighbors and resources together to improve lives in Union County. More than just a fundraiser, United Way collaborates with local businesses, government, and non-profit organizations to solve pressing social service issues large and small.
Community Research Partners is a nonprofit research, evaluation, and data center based in Columbus that strengthens communities through data, information, and knowledge. Since 2000,
CRP has undertaken nearly 250 projects, on a wide array of topics, in central Ohio, statewide, and as part of national initiatives. CRP is the Ohio state partner for the national
Working Poor Families Project and is the convener of the Ohio Workforce Coalition. CRP is central Ohio’s data intermediary and a partner in the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood
Indicators Partnership. CRP is a partnership of the City of Columbus, United Way of Central Ohio, The Ohio State University, and the Franklin County Commissioners.
For more information, visit: http://www.communityresearchpartners.org
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