New economic data paints a disturbing picture of growing poverty. The recession started last year, but its impact has been far greater in 2009. With the jobless rate still climbing and many people unable to find work after months of searching, unemployment insurance benefits 1.5 million out-of-work Americans are expected to lose assistance by the end of this year. Unemployment in the eight Northern Kentucky counties averaged 6.0% in 2008, but rose to a rate of 10.9% by the end of July.
If the current recession follows past trends, unemployment and poverty will continue to rise long after the economic recovery. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that assuming an average unemployment rate of 9.3 percent for 2009, poverty will increase this year to 14.7 percent, and will hit children disproportionately hard.
For children, the consequences of poverty can be long-lasting, leading to poor nutrition, poor health, and poor prospects for success in school. In the short term, less money to spend means greater hardships for families and low retail sales for communities. Assistance like unemployment, energy assistance, and food stamps must continue to help Kentucky residents who have lost their jobs and need help paying for groceries, housing, health care and other basic needs.
The growing need is palpable. Food Stamp participation rates increased 13% from 2008 to 2009, with about 1 in 6 Kentuckians receiving food stamps by March 2009. At Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, our crisis assistance requests have risen by 25% since the recession hit, with more than 11,000 families receiving help with rent, food, energy, or other basic needs during the fiscal year that ended on June 30. It was the first time many of these families had requested financial assistance from our agency, indicating that the economy is reaching deeper into Northern Kentucky’s middle class population.
Well-targeted aid can reduce poverty and its painful consequences even during a recession. Among an array of tools Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission (NKCAC) uses against the recession and poverty are a series of workforce training programs aimed at disparate underprivileged populations. YouthBuild of Northern Kentucky, part of a nationwide program, provides educational and vocational training for 16-24 year old dropouts. Our Mature Workers Program provides job training and placement assistance for workers 55 years of age and older. And NKCAC’s newest initiative works in partnership with the Life Learning Center of Covington to provide job placement, counseling, and assistance for a broad spectrum of potential workers.
Without the combination of federal, state, local, and charitable responses more families would be suffering and our economy would be in far worse shape. To avoid choking off the recovery now and to build for the future, we must continue help for the unemployed and work as a region to prevent more layoffs and the resulting hardships.
Improving the long-term health of our economy must start with helping those who are hurting most. From what we have seen, the need is unlikely to diminish any time soon.
