Basic Needs Are Increasing In Our Region

A Data Snapshot: December 2011

Food Insecurity

It is estimated that in Connecticut, one in seven households is struggling to put food on the table. There are more than 400,000 people in Connecticut at risk of hunger every year, with 127,000 children going to be hungry each night.

 A survey of Connecticut food pantry and soup kitchen clients by The CT Food Bank revealed that:

• 42% had to choose between paying for food or utilities
• 34% had to choose between food or paying rent
• 30% had to choose between food or medical care

A January 2010 press release from CT Department of Social Services reveals that over 295,600 Connecticut residents received federally-funded SNAP/Food Stamp benefits in November 2009, up 32% from one year ago and 58% from five years ago.

According to the Connecticut Food Policy Council, New Haven ranked 163 out of 169 towns in the category of overall food security, which measures availability, affordability, and accessibility of food in a community.

More than 80% of New Haven students qualify for free and reduced price meals, which means their families earns less than 185% of the poverty level (an annual income of $41,348 for a family of four). 31.7% of Hamden students, 36% of East Haven students, 16.7% of Milford students, and over 12% of North Branford students quality for free or reduced meals.

396,517 people in Connecticut received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-formerly known as food stamps- in October, which represents 11.2% of the state's population. The number of residents receiving the federally funded nutrition assistance was up 7.8% from October 2010.

20.5% (40,100) of all children in New Haven County are food insecure. 58% of these children are from households that are likely ineligible for federal nutrition programs (such as food stamps or free/reduced price school lunches) and must rely on charitable assistance to feed their families.  Overall, 52% of the food insecure people in New Haven County are not receiving assistance from federal nutiriton programs to help feed themselves and their families. 

Housing

The 2011 “Point-in-Time” homeless count — a statewide snapshot taken in one night in January — shows an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness across the board with chronic homelessness among adults without children rising 26 percent since 2009.

There has been a 37 percent increase in long-term homelessness in Connecticut and in New Haven, and chronic homelessness has jumped 12 percent. 

Last year, Connecticut’s emergency homeless shelters served approximately 11,700 people, including more than 1,500 children and over 1,300 homeless youth between the ages of 18-24. Almost  half  of  all  families  (46%)  and  40%  of  adults  without  children had never been homeless before.

 Almost 40,000 individuals are “doubled up” in Connecticut (staying with family or friends) for economic reasons.

On any given day, there are approximately 3,800 men, women and children staying in Connecticut emergency shelters and transitional housing programs.  A total of 11,675 adults and children stayed in Connecticut emergency shelters in 2010.

Connecticut has the fifth highest cost of living in the U.S. And almost 64,000 households in Connecticut are severely housing cost-burdened, paying more than 50% of their income on rent (CT HMIS).

On average CT families have a 4-year wait to receive a Section 8, T-Rap or Project Choice housing subsidy voucher. There are approximately 6,000 households on waitlists for these programs

Foreclosure rates in Connecticut went up 10% in 2010, with Connecticut ranking 22nd among all states for its foreclosure rate.  By the end of the year, the state saw one foreclosure for every 1,300 households, while the national rate was one in every 500.  

Families Living in Poverty

The federal poverty level measure grossly understates the level of hardship that families face in our region because of the high cost of living.  In fact, a family needs to earn at least 2.5 times the federal poverty level to be considered financially stable equivalent to an hourly wage of $21.96 or $46,000 annually which translates into the equivalent of almost three full-time minimum wage job (the median income for a housing in New Haven is $29,604 and the median income for a family is $35,950).

Approximately 20.5% of families and 24.4% of the population in New Haven live below the poverty line, including 32.2% of those under 28 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

A family also needs to earn at least 2.5 times the federal poverty level to afford a 2-bedroom apartment and maintain affordability standards (e.g., spending no more than 30% of income). 

Poverty is a real concern in suburban communities.  The number of individuals unders 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in Branford, Guilford and Madison increased by 23% from the 2000 to the 2005-2009 Census estimate (an increase of 6,318 poeple to 7,796). Per town, 8% of individuals in Madison, 10%  of individuals in Guilford and 15% of individuals in Branford were living under 200% of the FPL in 2005-2009.  

By comparison, 20% of individuals statewide were living under the FPL, with 21% of individuals from the inner ring (East Haven, Hamden, West Haven) and 58% in the lower income areas of New Haven (7 neighborhoods with about half the city's population: Dixwell, Dwigh, Fair Haven, Hill, Newhallville, West River and West Rock) have incomes under 200% of the poverty level.

Employment

New Haven's official unemployment rate is 12% entering into 2012, representing 22% of the region's 31,742 unemployed, a 0.4% decrease from last year, with the State of Connecticut experiencing an unemployment rate of 8.2% and 8.5% nationally. Other communities are experiencing an increase in unemployment: 6.9%; Hamden, 8.1%; West Haven, 9.8% and East Haven,9.3%. 

Our region's suburban communities are also experiencing a significant increase in unemployment rates. Communities that once averaged around 2% unemployment are now experiencing an unemployment rage over 6% North Haven 7.2%, Milford 7%, Wallingford 6.9%, North Branford 6.8%, Branford 6.6%, Westbrook 6.5%, Deep River 6.3%, Clinton 6.3%, Old Saybrook 6.2%)

Connecticut lost roughly 119,200 jobs over a 22-month period from March 2008 to January 2010. The state has added only 22,500 jobs, about 1,325 monthly, in the 17 months from January 2010 to June 2011. 

In 2010, nearly half (49.6%) of Connecticut's unemployed had been out of work for more than 26 weeks.

Unemployment in Connecticut is higher than at any time since 1977, and the number of jobs has fallen to the lowest point since 1998. 

The South Central CT region has an official unemployment rate of 7.9% (compared to 5.3% in January 2008).  If the rate is re-calculated to include those who are discouraged, marginally attached, or forced into part-time work from full-time work, the effective unemployment rate for the region is 14.4% (over 58,000 people).

New Havenhas lost 15,200 jobs since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008.  The peak job loss was 18,400 jobs in February of 2011. As a nation, the US has recovered 28% of the jobs lost.  CT has recovered 29.5% of the jobs lost.  New Haven has recovered only 15.8% of the jobs lost.

Economic Insecurity

Heating expenses for Connecticut’s 231,000 poorest families averaged $2,200 more last year than what they could afford, according to a recent Operation Fuel Report.  17% of respondents had their heat disconnected because of inability to pay.  30% chose not to fill medical prescriptions to pay their energy bills and 38% went without medical or dental care to cover energy costs. 

In a typical household, 6% of housing costs are directed for heat-related utility costs. Energy costs for families at 185% of the poverty level are closer to 12% of earnings. For those at the poverty level, it can take between one-third and one-half of their income to cover energy bills. 

Resources for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program, which uses federal and state funds to provide heating assistance to residents who meet income guidelines remain uncertain in Connecticut. 

In 2009, more than one in five households (22%) in Connecticut was asset-poor, meaning they do not have sufficient resources to survive at the poverty level for three months without any income.

Only 32% of lower-income working families (below 250% of the federal poverty level) in CT have more than $300 in savings, the amount that is needed to weather a single typical emergency.