In our 5 county area we have in excess of 15,000 people living below poverty. The majority of these are single moms. With only one possible income, they are working against all odds to try get their family to a better life. Many of these moms have not had the opportunity to attain an extended education, thus limiting their opportunity to attain a better paying job. To complicate this problem even further they frequently are the 3rd or 4th generation family living in poverty. Because of this situation, they are often missing many of the skills and tools that they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, they often can’t even find their bootstraps. If we do not come alongside these families to help than we can expect that the situation will only get worse. For those of us who feel as though it is the job of family and friends to help, keep in mind that most have friends and families with no resources of their own to help. For those of us with the idea that it is the job of government to solve the problem, I want to tell you what a director of one of the agencies has said about the situation. He told us that the agencies can put out the fire, but they can never repair the family. It is our contention that until we repair the family, we will only see the problem continue to get worse.

Another group of people in the area that are at severe risk is that of the low income elderly. They are often plagued with health problems and not yet ready to give up their independence. They are often living in 25-30 year old mobile homes in desperate need of repair. Homes that are so bad that there is little justification to repair them, except, that is all they have. The homes frequently are cursed with; roof problems, that then cause floors and walls to literally rot away, and even more serious, the electrical systems begin to short out, sometimes causing fires. All of this happening at the end of their lives, a time when life should be more at peace, not worrying constantly about how their going to survive in their own homes.

The final group of people that we see in need of help is that of the disabled. They often are in that condition due to chronic health issues, which have also depleted their limited incomes as well. We may believe that insurance covers all of the necessities, but it doesn’t, even if they have adequate insurance, which in many cases they do not. That leaves them often living in homes that do not have adequate accessibility. To go to a home to visit and find a 67 year old man with one leg and an oxygen tank dragging himself through his own home will make it very evident that there must be a better answer.

All of these people have at least one thing in common. They are our neighbors, living where you and I can make a difference. They are also living in a community with very high cost of living, even in the rural areas. An area where the cost of housing is choking the life out of what little income they may have. An area where federally subsidized vouchers go unfilled because landlords are unwilling to take those vouchers, leaving families unable to access the help that the government has provided. Then some of the few landlords that do take the vouchers take advantage of the people by renting homes that are unhealthy places to live. The burden on the landlords that are doing a good job of providing and caring for the disadvantaged is great and the need is even greater.