Making ends meet: Franklin County’s low-wage workers struggle
By Lauren Cappuccio, Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
But in reality, those working these jobs are supporting themselves and sometimes, supporting a family too.
Twenty-four percent of teens make
Almost 37 percent of low-wage workers, defined as making less than
Some families in
Susan, 41,
Susan works a part-time job at about
Her husband's pay could range from
"It's either feast or famine," she said. "We've always ridden the line of poverty."
She spends about
A self-described couponer, she said she has become resourceful in making ends meet.
"My father grew up in the Great Depression," she said. "I learned from him how to be frugal. He taught me how to use coupons at a young age."
She also takes advantage of free store cards that can mean money off food or items, and also barters with friends and neighbors for items she needs. For instance, she bought more detergent then she needed because of a good sale going on a couple weeks ago, and planned to give the detergent to a neighbor in return for fixing her car.
Susan also participates in being a product tester and doing online surveys, with many giving her family credit for websites like Amazon, where she can buy things that her children like.
"Sometimes it's hard," she said. "I get them what they need and some of what they want but I can't afford everything. The kids have had to learn to be patient."
The family has also cut their cable and now uses the internet movie and television provider
Susan and her husband both have GEDs, and she has taken some college courses but does not have a degree. She left school in high school after she was injured in accident and couldn't complete credits and then cared for her mother who was diagnosed with cancer.
Her eldest son just graduated from high school and is taking a year off to work before going to culinary school. Her youngest son is active in volunteering.
"I've told my kids that education is important," she said. "I want them to get a good education. Growing up, post-secondary education was not as important. There wasn't an emphasis on it."
Her father had eighth-grade education and her mother dropped out at 12th grade.
She said she would like to get a degree in social work if she went back to school.
"I've thought about going back," she said. "I can't afford to get student loans."
As the sole licensed driver in the family, she provides the transportation for her family and spends a good deal of time driving to appointments and work.
Susan is a member of the Circles program run by SCAAP, or
The group, which has around 12 active members, holds workshops that analyze poverty, he said, and discussions about what it looks like in its many forms.
Circles annually holds The Race Against Poverty, which brings in about 20 percent of the program's revenue, he said.
Raber said in his experience, most people don't want the "hassle of dealing with assistance" and would like to work and provide for themselves.
He said the issues brought up in Circles discussions include generational poverty, interpersonal relationships and identity.
"In meeting with someone from the middle class, they ask, what do you do? I would suspect that those from a lower class would ask, who they knew and what they know them from."
They also talk about hidden rules, or rules that those in different classes do not immediately see.
"We want to see people be successful in their world partly driven by middle class hidden rules," Raber said.
The definition of power or success is very different, he said, noting that in middle class society, power means a job position and in a lower class, it means presence, reputation and sometimes physical power.
The Circles group serves as a "springboard for goals" he said, and some common goals include moving out of the "projects," getting a Habitat house, getting healthy, going back to school and taking better care of kids.
"Because it's a longer term solution, we're seeking to try and use what we're learning," Raber said.
While a part of the Circles program, Susan said it has been helpful to learn about other experiences from people "from all walks of life."
"Poverty doesn't mean that you are lazy," she said. "Everybody is just a couple of missed paychecks away from being homeless."
She said she acknowledges that some conditions result from personal choices but others are systematic.
"You used to be rewarded on effort," she said. "People don't value people for who they are. They only care about that magic little paper."
"I struggle on a daily basis," she said. "I try to stay on budget and buy what's necessary instead of something I want."
"By the end of the month, we need to go to a food pantry," she said. "For us to have dinners and for me to make her lunches, food stamps don't cover everything."
Several years ago, she worked as a certified nursing assistant for a state hospital but after losing her third child, she was put on light duty. And after becoming pregnant with her now-4-year-old daughter, and unable to work, she depended on savings and compensation to survive.
"Her father and I broke up and I moved out of my mother's place," she said. "Everything happened at once."
After spending 3 1/2 weeks in a shelter, the family moved to the area with help from Maranatha Ministries. Through the program for individuals in need of transitional housing, she pays less than
Maranatha Ministries, founded in 1991, helps around 100 people a year in
"We encourage them to go and get skills while they are working and encourage them to look for programs to take classes with skills," she said.
The group's programs focus on analyzing spending plans and on ways to save money, ways to generate income and ways to help pay bills, she said. But even with both parents working multiple jobs, some families may not make enough.
"We refer them to other free programs," she said.
Maranatha Ministries also has a transitional program that helps homeless families for two years and they are required to save money.
An issue in
"Pay rates in this area are low compared to the rental rates," she said. "Sometimes they have to take an apartment that's too small for the family. Sometimes they have to work two jobs."
"I'd like to purchase my own home and be working as a health care administrator," she said.
This will put her
"I tell her all the time that God is there for us," she said. "It's really hard sometimes, but we have our faith."
"She is my top priority," she said. "I buy everything she needs. I sacrifice my needs and my wants for her."
Like Susan,
"Everybody needs help at some time or another," Susan said.
___
(c)2014 the Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pa.)
Visit the Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pa.) at www.publicopiniononline.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1684 |
Amistad America tries to chart a course out of choppy waters
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News