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Region’s economy still suffering
By Bryan Grossman
Last week, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment experienced such an influx of online inquiries for unemployment benefits that the system crashed. Phone lines at the department were jammed as those trying to file for benefits sought answers as to whether they would receive checks in time to pay bills.
According to the Department of Labor, the state’s jobless rate is at 7.6 percent, still lower than the national average of 9.4 percent. But locally, the financial pinch on family income is sticking around, if not getting worse.
According to Judith Pettibone, director of the non-profit public assistance provider Tri-Lakes Cares, the demographic of families seeking help has changed.
“It’s the new family statistics that are the most daunting,” Pettibone said. “Every month we send out thank you notes to donors and every month I’ve written that we are breaking new records regarding new families needing help. That’s dubious record-breaking.”
Pettibone added that many of those families are middle-class where both breadwinners have lost their jobs.
“They never thought they would be in position to ask for help,” she said. “They were always the ones who donated.”
Earlier this year, as part of the federal stimulus package, states were given the option to provide an additional $25 per week through unemployment benefits. It turns out, however, that that small bump in income may have had a detrimental effect on many receiving unemployment assistance.
“Because income for those receiving unemployment compensation has been increased by $25, families have exceeded income limits for food stamps and so have lost their food stamp benefits,” Tri-Lakes Cares case manager Gloria Lanyon reported in a statement.
Economic Assistance Manager Arturo Serrano with El Paso County’s Department of Human Services deals in food stamps, which is actually more of an issued debit card these days. Arturo’s assessment of the county’s jobless climate matches Tri-Lakes Cares’.
According to statistics from the Department of Human Services, May 2008 saw around 13,400 food assistance cases in the county. In May of this year, that number has climbed to just below 20,000.
That translates, during the same time period, an increase from $3.6 million spent in May 2008 to $6.7 million in May 2009.
“In April, with the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the food assistance program, received a 13.6 [percent] allotment increase,” Serrano said. “That’s why [funds] went up from March to April by about $1 million.”
Serrano explained that funding is provided through federal dollars, not through the state.
He added, for an El Paso County family of four, gross income of $2,297 per month or below is needed to qualify for food assistance. That could be a mother and father with two children, or less traditional structures like a mom with three kids or an elderly person living with his or her children.
Some irony — due to the increase in demand for assistance, Serrano said his department has created and filled 11 near-fulltime positions to help with processing and to alleviate overtime.
Back in Monument, Tri-Lakes Cares is struggling with keeping food stockpiled for those in need. According to Pettibone, the organization welcomed 60 new families into the food assistance program in 2008, and that number has doubled during the same time this year.
“If you look at the curve, it peaked in January,” Pettibone said. She attributed the peak to a “holiday hangover,” where families already short on cash overspend thinking the crunch will be short term, hoping to pay their way out of debt quickly.
“Typically, food is flying out the door,” Pettibone said. “Financial assistance is a week’s worth of groceries; that helps preserve peoples’ income.”
She said, outside of donating food directly to Tri-Lakes Cares, there is a way the community can help the first weekend of each month.
Tri-Lakes Cares began a new program several months ago at the King Soopers on Baptist Road. The Buy It Forward program involves shopper purchasing prepackaged bags of five or six items missing from the organization’s pantry. Cost is $5-$7 and Tri-Lakes Cares volunteers will pick up the packages.
Aside from new food programs, Pettibone said she sees other silver linings. More job possibilities are coming to the Tri-Lakes area, including the arrival of Florida-based company PRC, which is adding 400 jobs to its Colorado Springs call center.
PRC, is a telecommunications, cable, satellite and transportation industries assistance company that other businesses hire to perform customer service work. The call center opened in February off of Woodmen Road in north Colorado Springs. Those jobs could pay up to $28,000 annually.
“I think immediately, ‘who do we have who can apply for those jobs?’” Pettibone said. “That’s a lot of jobs. We have people we see who may be perfectly qualified.”
Pettibone admits, even with 400 new jobs in the region, that will still leave plenty of people in need.
“Every month is a surprise,” she said. “Next month, with school starting, we will be moving into our school supply program. We have 103 children already signed up and it’s just July. We could have well over 200 kids. That seems pretty high to me considering we have six more weeks to sign kids up.”
To contact Tri-Lakes Cares for donation or assistance information, call 719-481-4864.
According to the Department of Labor, the state’s jobless rate is at 7.6 percent, still lower than the national average of 9.4 percent. But locally, the financial pinch on family income is sticking around, if not getting worse.
According to Judith Pettibone, director of the non-profit public assistance provider Tri-Lakes Cares, the demographic of families seeking help has changed.
“It’s the new family statistics that are the most daunting,” Pettibone said. “Every month we send out thank you notes to donors and every month I’ve written that we are breaking new records regarding new families needing help. That’s dubious record-breaking.”
Pettibone added that many of those families are middle-class where both breadwinners have lost their jobs.
“They never thought they would be in position to ask for help,” she said. “They were always the ones who donated.”
Earlier this year, as part of the federal stimulus package, states were given the option to provide an additional $25 per week through unemployment benefits. It turns out, however, that that small bump in income may have had a detrimental effect on many receiving unemployment assistance.
“Because income for those receiving unemployment compensation has been increased by $25, families have exceeded income limits for food stamps and so have lost their food stamp benefits,” Tri-Lakes Cares case manager Gloria Lanyon reported in a statement.
Economic Assistance Manager Arturo Serrano with El Paso County’s Department of Human Services deals in food stamps, which is actually more of an issued debit card these days. Arturo’s assessment of the county’s jobless climate matches Tri-Lakes Cares’.
According to statistics from the Department of Human Services, May 2008 saw around 13,400 food assistance cases in the county. In May of this year, that number has climbed to just below 20,000.
That translates, during the same time period, an increase from $3.6 million spent in May 2008 to $6.7 million in May 2009.
“In April, with the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the food assistance program, received a 13.6 [percent] allotment increase,” Serrano said. “That’s why [funds] went up from March to April by about $1 million.”
Serrano explained that funding is provided through federal dollars, not through the state.
He added, for an El Paso County family of four, gross income of $2,297 per month or below is needed to qualify for food assistance. That could be a mother and father with two children, or less traditional structures like a mom with three kids or an elderly person living with his or her children.
Some irony — due to the increase in demand for assistance, Serrano said his department has created and filled 11 near-fulltime positions to help with processing and to alleviate overtime.
Back in Monument, Tri-Lakes Cares is struggling with keeping food stockpiled for those in need. According to Pettibone, the organization welcomed 60 new families into the food assistance program in 2008, and that number has doubled during the same time this year.
“If you look at the curve, it peaked in January,” Pettibone said. She attributed the peak to a “holiday hangover,” where families already short on cash overspend thinking the crunch will be short term, hoping to pay their way out of debt quickly.
“Typically, food is flying out the door,” Pettibone said. “Financial assistance is a week’s worth of groceries; that helps preserve peoples’ income.”
She said, outside of donating food directly to Tri-Lakes Cares, there is a way the community can help the first weekend of each month.
Tri-Lakes Cares began a new program several months ago at the King Soopers on Baptist Road. The Buy It Forward program involves shopper purchasing prepackaged bags of five or six items missing from the organization’s pantry. Cost is $5-$7 and Tri-Lakes Cares volunteers will pick up the packages.
Aside from new food programs, Pettibone said she sees other silver linings. More job possibilities are coming to the Tri-Lakes area, including the arrival of Florida-based company PRC, which is adding 400 jobs to its Colorado Springs call center.
PRC, is a telecommunications, cable, satellite and transportation industries assistance company that other businesses hire to perform customer service work. The call center opened in February off of Woodmen Road in north Colorado Springs. Those jobs could pay up to $28,000 annually.
“I think immediately, ‘who do we have who can apply for those jobs?’” Pettibone said. “That’s a lot of jobs. We have people we see who may be perfectly qualified.”
Pettibone admits, even with 400 new jobs in the region, that will still leave plenty of people in need.
“Every month is a surprise,” she said. “Next month, with school starting, we will be moving into our school supply program. We have 103 children already signed up and it’s just July. We could have well over 200 kids. That seems pretty high to me considering we have six more weeks to sign kids up.”
To contact Tri-Lakes Cares for donation or assistance information, call 719-481-4864.
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