Do your grandparents live in poverty?

What does retirement look like to you? Are you relaxing on a beach in Florida? Maybe playing golf everyday?

Unfortunately for many older Americans this leisurely lifestyle is far from reality. Due to the recession and other factors, many retirees live day-to-day on limited means. This generation worked hard for their retirement, but now are faced with a harsh reality of living in poverty.

Despite the Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security programs, millions of senior citizens are forced to live "on the edge." They have little money to provide for food, utilities, medical care or other basic needs.

However, according to the Federal Poverty Guidelines, these people are not considered to be “poor.” They are not able to qualify for federal government assistance because "they make too much money."

Why is this the case? The federal government is still using a formula from the 1960s that does not include housing costs and ever-rising medical expenses. Premiums for Medicare insurance alone have increased considerably in the last few years.

This reality might hit close to home if you have grandparents on fixed incomes. So what can you do to help the situation? You can start by lobbying your representatives to urge changes in income guidelines for assistance programs. And of course, you can support organizations like CANI that helps people at a variety of income levels (from the poorest of the poor on up to those who are very near, but not quite at, economic self-sufficiency). I know I don’t want my grandma to have to scrape by to live. Do you?

Stand Up For Yourself and Be Counted!

If you haven’t done so already, it’s the perfect time to complete your Census form.

It’s just a questionnaire, what’s the big deal, you ask?

Well it is a big deal, in fact a HUGE deal.

The United States Census 2010 is important to CANI (and all Community Action Agencies) for a variety of reasons. First, it is this official count that is used as the key variable in a wide array of funding decisions for federal tax revenue. In fact, they tell me that $400 BILLION dollars worth of funding decisions are at least in part determined with Census data.

But there's more. In our efforts to engage the community and address the issues of poverty and economic stability, we need to be able to paint an accurate picture of our community. Where's the growth? What are the trends? What does our community look like? The Census helps to frame the picture and then CANI and other organizations add context.

Lastly, the Census puts people to work who might not otherwise be employed. In other words, they're hiring a LOT of people. Most of these will be temporary jobs but they pay pretty well, are very flexible, and might help create a cleaner, more impressive work history for someone to take with them to their next interview.

So what are you waiting for? Complete the application now!

Living in Poverty: Easier Said Than Done

Could your family survive on budget of about $1,800 a month?
Just the other day our executive director, Joe, and I were discussing how the families we serve are truly fighting an uphill battle. They work hard but can’t seem to make enough to get ahead.
According to the government (Department of Health and Human Services), a family of four making $22,050 would be classified as living in poverty in 2009.
This figure seems unreasonably low to me. In fact, the Institute for Working Families, a program of the Indiana Community Action Association (INCAA) has challenged this figure. According to the Institute, a family of four (two adults with one preschool aged and one school aged child) required a minimum of about $42,000 to sustain themselves in the Fort Wayne area in 2009.
That translates to monthly figures of: $667 for housing, $680 for food, $603 for childcare, $440 for transportation, $417 for healthcare, $409 for taxes and $281 for miscellaneous expenses.
When I look at my bare-bones budget, it comes to about $26,000 annually. And that’s just for myself. Think about the added expenses of three other people in a household!
Consider this as food for thought next time you think money’s tight!