CHAPTER 2: POVERTY

Durham County community members and service providers spoke of poverty as a serious issue in their community. They also spoke of the problems that often accompany poverty, such as drug use, domestic violence, health problems, and particularly crime. As will be described in the chapter on crime, the Partners Against Crime (P.A.C.) neighborhood organizations originally developed to address these multiple issues at one time.

Residents spoke of a large number of services, programs, and organizations that exist in Durham County to address the needs of its poorest residents. Some examples include church-run food pantries, church-supported emergency funds, and large private funding sources such as the Duke Endowment. Other groups such as the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, La Hacia Paz Familiar, and the Little River Community Center work to address the needs of the poor in the sections of Durham County that they primarily serve. For health needs, the Lincoln Community Health Center and Durham Health Network are examples of health providers who serve those who are considered particularly at-risk due to problems associated with poverty and low income.

The Department of Social Services (DSS) was cited often for the services it provides. In general, community members had few complaints about the DSS except perhaps for the long waits and confusing rules for obtaining government assistance. One community member felt that the department staff is "earnest, trying very hard, and with very limited resources." Another community member had the following suggestion for making the use of DSS services easier:

Folks don't know how to access the resources that are out there… Let's have a resource guide, like a guidebook, that tells you every source of help you can get, and what are the qualifications, briefly, and who do you contact.

Residents described a number of barriers that exist to moving out of poverty, such as language barriers for Hispanic residents, lack of transportation for rural residents, and lack of affordable childcare. Several residents explained that though they approved of programs to help them obtain employment, there were barriers built into the system that prevented them from attaining full economic independence. One single mother said, "I was getting help with daycare, I was paying $151 a month, they were saving me $350, I got a raise of $100, then they completely took away my daycare so I lost [$250]." Another community member complained that the benefits lost might be those that include basic needs, saying, "You might as well not get the raise. It is easier to have less money and not to get a raise because you need to eat but they take food stamps away." While these problems may be a reflection of national rather than local policy as to the use of federal funds, it allows for identification of barriers that need to be addressed if more Durham County residents are to become financially independent.

Homelessness was also discussed as an issue of concern for Durham County residents. They spoke of a number of mission houses and shelters, such as the Community Shelter for Hope, Phoenix House, and the Durham Rescue Mission. However, it was clear that community members wanted to see more of this kind of assistance. One community leader said, "You see a lot of that [homelessness]. You see them on 15-501 and a number of other busy intersections, begging. There's too much of that that's going on." Another community member suggested conversion of some downtown space to new missions or temporary quarters, saying, "I'd love to see some of these abandoned buildings downtown in some way claimed for something good - I think that would speak highly of our community to the larger community."

Finally, several community members and service providers explained that many homeless people also suffer from substance abuse and mental health problems. These represent a special group of community members in need: A huge percentage of those people have substance abuse problems… a very large percentage of those people have mental health histories, they have been released from mental institutions… have trouble taking their drugs… and they get into bad drug abuse, because they've used up all their friends and their family.

In conclusion, it was clear that issues related to poverty and homelessness were important to Durham County residents. While there are a number of innovative and helpful programs to assist those most in need, community members would like to see an expansion of those services that are more tailored to specific needs. These include drug abuse and mental health illness programs, childcare provisions, and the removal of barriers in the system that prohibits people from attaining economic independence. As this latter issue is largely related to national policy, perhaps Durham County residents can identify local ways to remove this barrier. One avenue might be through church-related organizations, which are clearly a powerful and generous source of assistance for many of Durham County's residents in need.

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