How the pandemic created a ‘perfect storm’ for poverty in Portage County

Anne Face said she has seen more people in need of services than ever before in her 17 years with Family & Community Services.

 

“My food pantries and housing are swamped,” the associate director said. “The shelter – it doesn’t stay open for five minutes.”

 

FCS, a nonprofit organization based in Ravenna, offers more than 70 programs for impoverished and homeless individuals, including food pantries, a free clothing center, housing assistance and shelters.

 

“Everybody says, ‘I never thought I’d be here,’” Face said.

 

The poverty line is around a $13,000 federal salary for individuals, with a $4,720 increase for any additional household member. The 2021 census showed a national poverty rate of 11.6% while Ohio had a rate of 13.4% – relatively lower in comparison with Kent and Ravenna’s rates of poverty at 23.4% and 22.2%, respectively.

 

These are the highest percentages in Portage County.

 

The federal median household income for 2022 was about $76,000 while Ohio’s was around $67,000. At $36,000, Kent’s median income is much lower in comparison with both figures. Additionally, 61.6% of Kent’s population lives under the median income.

 

There are many contributing factors to this: Food costs, health care and unaffordable housing are a few of the main causes.

 

City of Kent community development director Bridget Susel said there’s a misconception that the percentage of low-income households is driven by college students. Rather, the largest population consists of “working families.”

 

“The students off campus, and even those on campus, do not equate to that percentage of the overall household count,” she said.

 

 

Every five years, the department is given a $300,000 block grant to create a plan to focus on various projects to improve the state of low-income families.

 

Susel noted the organizations in Kent that are geared toward helping those in need of resources, such as the Miller Community House, are helpful in aiding these individuals. One of the many projects listed in the five-year plan included a remodeling of the kitchen area in the house. 

 

FCS oversees the shelter, and executive director Mark Frisone said the nonprofit has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic – especially with finding volunteers.

 

“Everything costs more now, so most people could go get jobs and make $22 an hour at McDonald’s,” Frisone said. “But some people don’t want to do that.”

 

Face agreed and said the demand for services has increased while her staff also dwindled.

 

“People want remote jobs,” she said. “I can’t opt out when you’re serving a person who’s homeless… You can’t run a shelter remotely.”

 

Frisone said the FCS-operated Phyllis Zumkehr County Clothing Center that used to be open every weekday can only afford two to three days a week now.

 

“It was a perfect storm,” he said. “A perfect storm of problems that all came together at once, and I think that’s what we’re dealing with now.”

 

The executive director mentioned how the cutback on food stamps significantly affected child poverty in the area. “How often [did] I ever see a little kid come in and eat at the soup kitchen, not too often,” Frisone said. “They’re there every day now.”

 

After the pandemic, the government funding for additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits was cut back significantly. This had a detrimental impact on poverty in the entire state, said Susan Jagers, the director of the Ohio Poverty Law Center.

 

OPLC is a statewide agency that helps combat policy making that works against the needs of the population of impoverished people. The organization communicates with state lawmakers to ensure these individuals have access to housing, health care and other basic necessities.

 

“I think that there’s a misperception that many people in poverty [who] need food benefits, SNAP benefits for Medicaid health care coverage, are not working, and that’s just, you know, the data doesn’t play out that way,” she said. “Many families are working, juggling multiple jobs that don’t provide benefits, and they need some additional support to make sure that that happens.”

 

Last year, Ohio experienced a decrease in household income. Additionally, the housing boom after the pandemic increased housing prices sky high with a national rent cost 15% higher in 2022 than 2021. This led to a report that 67% of homeowners in Ohio spend half or more of their income on house-related payments.

 

“People are being pushed out of housing, which can cause kind of a snowball effect,” Jagers said.

 

Susel said while the numbers may seem startling to some, Kent’s community development department has worked on prioritizing these issues for decades.

 

“The one thing that I think is most important in a community is to ensure – the downtown is wonderful [and] the university’s great – where people live, where the kids ride their bikes, that’s what matters,” Susel said.

 

While the changes in life after the pandemic continue to be exposed through statistics, Frisone of FCS stressed the importance of compassion and empathy. He said the best part of his 31 years on the job is chatting with those who come to him in need of services.

 

“You’d like to think that [if it] were you in that horrible, tragic situation that you would respond differently,” he said while reflecting on the stories he has heard. “I don’t want to find out.”