Poverty rate rises to 14.3 percent, Census Bureau says

They come in hungry, homeless, often helpless, with nowhere else to go -- and they're arriving in greater numbers than ever.

The Shelter of Hope in downtown Cape Girardeau is the temporary home of eight displaced men. On Thursday, the homeless shelter was filled to capacity, as it was the day before and the day before that. The emergency dwelling, which serves men, has moved four families into volunteer homes.

"It's heartbreaking to see little kids there because they don't deserve this," said Chaplain Terry Wildman, director of the Broadway shelter.

The displaced are the desperate end of the spectrum of the poor whose numbers nationally hit record highs in 2009, according to the poverty figures released Thursday from the U.S. Census Bureau. And according to those who work on the front lines in the battle against poverty, the ranks of the poor are rising in Southeast Missouri.

The U.S. poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008, accounting for 43.6 million people, or one in seven Americans. A Census Bureau official said the data, drawn from a survey of about 100,000 households nationwide, does not break out state numbers, at least not to a high degree of accuracy, but more local poverty statistics are scheduled for release at the end of the month.

While the latest figures proved lower than initial projections of 15 percent, the rate is at its highest level since 1994. The culprit, experts say, is a crippling recession bleeding jobs.

Area social services providers -- from food pantries to public health care -- say they've seen the numbers of needy significantly climb.

Sister Lucille Zerr, pastoral minister at St. Mary's Cathedral, part of Catholic Social Ministries, said the organization's food pantry serves about 300 families a month, twice as many as when it opened in 2007. Among the monthly recipients are as many as 350 children and 170 older adults.

"A lot of people we're helping say their electric is being turned off and their water is being turned off. They need money for gas, for rent. They're being evicted," Zerr said.

Meanwhile, the number of uninsured in the United States rose to 50.7 million in 2009, up from 46.3 million people in 2008, according to the Census Bureau.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center's pediatric primary care clinic reports total visits of low-income patients seeking care is up by as many as 700 visits from the same time last year. And the federally funded Women, Infants and Children program, administered through the health center, is expected to add 100 or more clients this year from last year's total of 1,150.

"All of the local public health agencies are seeing, if not record, close to record numbers," said public health center director Charlotte Craig.

Missouri Department of Social Services records show 12,187 average monthly individual caseloads of food stamp recipients in fiscal year 2009 in Cape Girardeau County, compared to 9,912 in 2008. An average of 503 families in the county received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the state's welfare program, in 2009, up from 452 cases the previous year.

But as the number of needy grows, the resources of service agencies and charitable organizations are shrinking.

"Anytime people call here, they've usually gone to all the other agencies in town. Everybody is running short," Zerr said, adding she expects things to get worse before they get better.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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