As the holidays quickly approach, many families throughout the U.S. are thinking less about what will go under the tree and more about keeping a roof over their head, employment and if there will be food to eat.

The latest census data reported that nearly 1 in 2 Americans now find themselves living in poverty or low-income.  The U.S. Census Bureau also reported some 49 million individuals now find themselves living in poverty.

Much like the national landscape, Utah has more families living in poverty than ever before. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau reported more than 316,000 Utah residents lived in poverty, an increase of 19.8 percent from the previous year. Today, more than 359,000 Utah residents live in poverty and the numbers continue to rise each day.

As the poverty rates continue to rise, so does the need for help. Non-profits and other organizations that serve the low-income population are seeing a record number of people seeking assistance, while donations become increasingly more difficult to come by.

In a recent study done by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, researchers found 33 percent of non-profits have seen a reduction in donation income this past year, while 24 percent have stayed the same. The report also indicated that larger organizations were more likely to see growth than smaller ones.

Community Action Services and Food Bank (CASFB) in Provo serves as the primary food bank for Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties.  In addition to food assistance, the agency also provides several services to help low-income families meet their basic needs.                                                            

Since the downturn of the economy, the organization has seen the number of clients more than double, while funding sources and donations have decreased.

“Last month we served more than 2,300 households through our pantry in Provo,” explained   Myla Dutton, CASFB executive director. “It’s not just families that are struggling. Agencies such as ours, are trying to help more people with less resources.”

As resources become increasingly scarce, smaller organizations are looking for new ways to make the best use of what they have available. As a result, organizations are modifying or creating new programs that focus on meeting a basic need, while also providing long-term solutions to the issue of poverty. 

At CASFB a new program, known as the Circles Initiative, has been adopted to help more individuals help themselves.  The program, which is the first of its kind in the state of Utah, partners community volunteers with low-income individuals to help provide emotional support in addition to basic services. 

“Through our research, we have found that many people living in poverty lack many basic resources. Money isn’t the only one,” said Jane Carlile, coordinator of the Circles Initiative. “Emotional support plays a major role in one’s ability to overcome the barriers to poverty and Circles helps address this need.”

With a focus on solving the barriers to poverty, Circles helps families find ways to improve their situation for good. Early results indicate for every dollar invested into the program, $2 in welfare and food stamp subsidies were returned to the government and $4 to the community as new earned income.

 “These are the types of results our community needs to see,” Carlile said. “So many programs are focused on the symptoms of poverty such as homelessness and hunger, but there isn’t a real focus on the root causes of poverty and so the problem continues. Circles changes that.”

Volunteers in the program meet with participants on a weekly basis to understand and solve difficult challenges that prevent the participants from overcoming their barrier to poverty such as childcare, transportation, education and employment.

As the economy continues to struggle, many organizations will be faced with the challenge of being able to help the record number of individuals living in poverty that will be seeking assistance in the near future.

“Until the economy improves and donations start to increase, non-profits will need to implement new strategies or the poverty rate and the number of clients will continue to rise,” said Dutton. “As difficult as things are right now, this provides an opportunity for organizations to improve. We’re doing our best to take it full stride.”

To learn more about the Circles Initiative, or to make a donation, visit CommunityActionUC.org.

SAVING HOMES

Local Poverty Campaign Offers Class in Spanish

National poverty fighting campaign offers assistance to Provo’s Impoverished Spanish speakers

The Hispanic population of Utah County has risen dramatically over the last ten years. Because there is a high poverty rate among this group, a national poverty fighting campaign has chosen to offer their assistance in Spanish in an effort to better serve the community.

PROVO, Utah—Oct. 11, 2011—The Circles Initiative, a national poverty fighting campaign, is now offering its first class for local Spanish speakers.

Circles is a program designed to help individuals and families lift themselves out of poverty by developing two-way mentoring relationships.

“Circles is a program that connects people in powerful ways,” said Jane Carlile, Circles Coordinator. “It brings a common understanding and respect for each other and moves us all to becoming our best selves.”

Reports released by the 2010 census show that the Hispanic population in Utah has increased by 77.8 percent in the last 10 years. This is the largest growth among any race in the state.

Nearly 62,000 Utah County residents live in poverty. The poverty rate among Hispanics is double the poverty rate of Caucasians in Utah County. Census statistics show that although 10 percent of Utah County’s population is Hispanic, they account for 20 percent of Utah County’s overall poverty.

To help solve this problem, Provo’s Circles program managers have found and trained volunteers to teach Circles classes in Spanish and have recruited Spanish speaking individuals from the Boulder’s apartment complex to participate.

Class participants set personal goals working toward self-reliance. This is achieved through newly developed social networks that help them understand the hidden rules of other economic classes.

Understanding these hidden rules helps individuals further their education, sustain themselves and their families and eventually be able to contribute more to the community.

National statistics on the Circles program shows that for every $1 invested in the Circles program $2 are returned to the state in the form of cash assistance and food stamp subsidies. That dollar has been shown to generate $4 of new earned income in the community.

The program is continually in need of long-term volunteers to act as Allies for participants, committee members and instructors to teach desired skills to improve the lives of those enrolled in the class.

“The success of Circles really depends on the support and involvement of the community,” Carlile said. “It’s a community issue that needs a community solution. Circles is a critical part of that solution.”

Circles staff is currently seeking partnerships with companies around Provo that have an interest in improving the community. These partnerships could be as minimal as promotion by distributing Circles information at company entrances or providing funding to expand the program.

“Our current source of funding has required us to focus our efforts specifically on the Boulders,” Carlile said. “With more community support and participation we should be able to get the funding to help more people beyond the Boulder’s.”

The majority of the program’s current funding is through a grant from Provo City, which will not continue into 2012.

For more information on how you can get involved, contact Jane Carlile by calling

801-691-5287 or at jcarlile@CommunityActionUC.org.

As 2010 draws to a close, the Community Action Food Bank in Provo is in good shape.

“As long as the number of people we are helping stays the same, we have enough food to make it through to the next major food drive, which is in March,” said Jim Thomas, food bank director.

Year-end totals show that the community donated 3.9 million pounds of food in 2010, compared to 3.2 million in 2009.

“Like usual, food donated during the holidays accounted for a large portion of the overall donations,” said Thomas. “Over a million pounds of food came in during November and December alone this year.”

Even though donations are abundant and the holiday season is officially over, Thomas hopes people will continue to give. The Community Action Food Bank, which is the only food bank that serves Utah County, served an average of 104 families a day during 2010 and, while this number is about 15 percent lower than 2009, there is no indication that the number will return to where it was before the recession hit.

“In 2007, we were only serving about 70 families a day. We can safely attribute the increases that we have seen to the state of the economy,” Thomas stated. “Hopefully 2011 will be the year that things will turn around and so many families won’t need our help.”

Thomas also pointed out that even though things are hard, donations have continued to come through the food bank’s doors. “The fact that members of our community find a way to donate even when things are tight really speaks to the quality of the people who live in here,” he said. “We are so grateful to everyone who supports us.”

You can find out more about donating and volunteering by visiting www.CommunityActionUC.org or calling Eric Lafferty at (801)-691-5237.