Countywide homelessness, poverty services maxing out

Ventura County’s human services officials and their counterparts among local charities say they expect demand on their already strained resources to keep going up this winter.

People asking for help finding jobs, paying bills and keeping their families fed have steadily increased in number all year, but hit new peaks in September and October, several agencies report.

The slumping economy has sent a steadily increasing number of newly unemployed job hunters to the county’s six career centers, said Lauri Flack, the Human Services deputy director in charge of workforce programs.

“They’re seeing a lot of new faces, a lot of people who have been employed for a long time who are unemployed for the first time in many, many years,” said Flack.

She added that many have not applied for a job in so long, “it’s a whole new world” of learning to use computers for online job searches.

Her department is also seeing more requests from large retailers like Mervyn’s or Circuit City for its Rapid Response Team, which helps people cope with announced layoffs.
“Sometimes they just need to talk about what’s going on. We’re noticing an increasing level of anxiety among people,” said Flack.

Meanwhile, the number of single parents, especially single women with children, drawing welfare has jumped from 5,683 in September 2007 to 6,335 in September 2008, an 11 percent increase, Flack said.

That means somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,000 children are being supported with public assistance, noted Flack, a total that may grow still larger.

“Unless there is an economic stimulus package, we’re anticipating an increase in the spring” after people who are now living off savings start hunting as well, Flack said.

That situation could become even more complicated as people newly laid off from longtime jobs start applying for entry-level jobs normally sought by welfare clients, said Flack.

Curtis Updike, the Human Services deputy director who manages the county’s food stamp and Medi-Cal programs, says he is seeing the same trends described by Flack.

The food stamp program has seen a 25 percent jump in clients, 13,302 to 16,625, from September 2007 to September 2008, said Updike. Much of that increase came in July through September, when the number went up from 15,749 to 16,625.

Updike attributed the increase partly to a push by the federal government to increase access to the program.

Ventura County’s Medi-Cal applications haven’t had the same growth, staying more or less level at 102,000, but staff are staying alert for an increase in elderly applicants.

“We’re seeing people staying on the program longer,” said Updike. “One of the ramifications of that is, we don’t have the staff to do outreach,” Updike said. “We’re just trying to manage what’s coming in the door, and that’s been a real challenge.”

Flack and Updike said the increased workload for their own staff has forced them to be more flexible about deadlines, acknowledging it may take longer for applicants to get food stamps or Medi-Cal. They have emphasized to staff the need to be compassionate.

“We’ve asked our frontline staff what they’re seeing; it’s a lot of first-time folks who aren’t familiar with applying,” said Updike, “people who have lost their homes and found themselves in a position they never thought they’d be in, and I don’t think it feels good to be in our offices.”

At the nonprofit Community Action of Ventura County in Oxnard, which has already used up its funding for most forms of assistance it offers, staff say they are getting calls regularly from people having utilities turned off or being evicted from apartments.

“It’s almost doubled since the beginning of the year,” said Patty Magallon, one of Community Action’s coordinators, who said most of the increase has come from younger people.

“There’s always been a lot of single people, but now it’s a lot of couples, people who have lost their jobs or are working fewer hours,” said Magallon, who also volunteers at the winter shelter where many of those working poor will show up.

Shelter manager Tom McLaughlin said last year’s shelter had an average of 125 people per night during the 100 days it was open, significantly higher than any previous year.

“They still have income, but (rent) is something they can’t afford,” said McLaughlin, adding that he expects this year’s shelter will be filled to capacity and maybe beyond.

“I would expect that it will exceed capabilities. We might be able to squeeze in 175, that would be pretty bad,” said McLaughlin, noting his projection was based on the increase seen each year for the last seven years at the shelter.

McLaughlin noted there will be less money for the shelter to meet the greater demand, since California’s emergency funding has been yanked because of its own budget crisis.

Complicating things further is that coordinators were unable to arrange for the shelter to be in Oxnard this year, said McLaughlin and City of Oxnard Homeless Program Director Will Reed.

That means transporting people to the shelter — the bulk of clients come from Oxnard — to the National Guard armory in Ventura in buses that cost $300 a day, forcing the shelter to close after 70 days as opposed to the 94 it would be open otherwise.

Shelter managers are reminding people they need to show proof they have tested negative for tuberculosis, and are advising people to get tested now so there will be no wait when the shelter opens up on Dec. 15.

Ventura County Public Health clinics all offer tuberculosis testing, said Health Care for the Homeless Program Director Kate Mills, who said she is expecting increased demand for services as well as increases in the rate of bronchitis this winter.

“We are anticipating that during the winter months especially, people are going to be seeking more services more often,” said Mills, noting that local charities with which she coordinates health care services have all reported greater demand.

“The Salvation Army, Turning Point, Catholic Charities, all have seen increase in the number of people seeking various types of services,” said Mills.

Ojai Community Assistance Program Coordinator Jessica Murray corroborated Mills’ observation, noting that October was the program’s busiest month ever.

“We’ve had a big influx of day laborers, and people just need more food, because people are losing their jobs,” said Murray, adding that 280 families signed up for the program’s annual Thanksgiving dinner.

“I’ve got a ton of people doubling up in households with three or more families, because they just can’t afford rent,” said Murray, who said the program’s food pantry is lower than usual, although she hasn’t had to turn anyone away yet.

“We’ve cut back a lot here just because we want to make sure we don’t run out,” Murray continued. “We’re trying to be proactive, helping as many as we can and not give it all away at once.”