Coping with Hard Times: Economy displacing families from their homes

May 25, 2009 01:41 am

— By Erica Clampitt
For The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON — Drive through some Anderson neighborhoods, and you’ll see houses with boarded-up windows and “Do not enter” signs.
That’s where the reeling economy and an unstable job market have hit many Anderson residents — in the very places where they live.
According to Abby Ramsey, court administrator for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, 98 foreclosures in April and 131 in May will bring the 2009 total to 504.
Last year, 1,205 homes went through foreclosure in Madison County — about 100 a month.
“There is a growing number of families facing homelessness,” said Beth McKenzie, housing rehabilitation administrator for the City of Anderson. “People who were once considered middle class are now in poverty.”
This trend has created a large group of working poor — those who are holding down a low-paying job or two but still can’t seem to make ends meet.
“People come into our office and they can’t pay their rent or utilities,” said Donna Davis, who works in the Anderson Township trustee’s office and serves on the City Council. Her council district, the second, is the poorest in the city of Anderson.
Davis’ work gives her the opportunity to meet many different people who are struggling. Not all of them are unemployed.
“Poverty is now the working poor not getting hours at work and only earning minimum wage,” said Davis. “It’s someone who made a living but got behind and can’t pay the bills.”
As the poor of the community face home foreclosures and job losses, they seek alternative living solutions. Some have resorted to living with family and friends.
“A lot of families have doubled up and let relatives move in,” Davis said. “There are a lot of adult children who are back in their parents’ house with their children.”
Some have worse situations, according to Davis.
“There is so much homelessness in this city that people are not aware of,” she said a few weeks ago. “I know a guy who has been sleeping in a truck since October. I’ve known of entire families living in their cars.
The man living in a truck just recently found living quarters with a friend, she noted last week.
“There are those who have, and those who have not. I don’t think people really realize how bad it is unless they’re confronted with it personally.”
Joy Plummer, executive director of Operation Love Ministries, also reports meeting homeless people who have resorted to desperate measures. She said she knows of someone who lived in a dog shelter for a while because it was the only place that could be found.
More commonly, however, people live in cars or move in with family members.
“Their first line of hope is that they can live with someone they know,” said Plummer. “If they have family in the area, many times they are also totally tapped out, so they turn to an organization.”
Through her ministry, Plummer tries to locate housing for the city’s homeless — whom she says are more numerous than many people think. Local shelters often are full, so individuals are forced to look elsewhere.
“If we find a place, we pay the bus ticket for them to get there,” Plummer said. “We don’t want anyone living on the street.”
Cindy Mummert, executive director of the Anderson Housing Authority, also tries to keep people from living on the streets. By providing both public housing and Section 8 housing, Mummert’s federally funded office tries to place everyone in a home. However, many times the needs of the community outweigh the available resources.
Presently, she said, approximately 400 people are on the waiting list for public housing and 400 are on the list for Section 8.
“The need is great, but the money is not there to service the need,” she said.
Mummert described the lack of funding as being a national problem. 
“It’s very difficult to send people away and tell them we have no money to help them,” Mummert said. “Families who are desperate and in need can’t understand that you can’t help them due to lack of funding. We’re running on bare bones here, trying to service as many families as we can.”
Deb King, deputy director of community development and long-range planning for the City of Anderson, also offers support for income-eligible families by providing housing opportunities and various kinds of assistance — financial and otherwise.
But while King doesn’t deny the homelessness problem, she sees hope in the prospect of a better economy and in collaboration.
“Madison County is no different than any other county,” she said. “As we wait for the market to shift, jobs will be created and people will buy and rent houses.
“We have a lot of things in common, and we need to come together for those goals. Everyone wants their own little piece of the pie, but a piece doesn’t make a whole. We have to shift that mindset because at the end of the day, it’s about the good of the community.”

Foreclosures in Madison County
2007: 1,005 homes
2008: 1,205 homes
2009: 504 homes through May (projected)

2009 monthly home foreclosure breakdown
Jan: 109
Feb: 56
March: 110
April: 98
May: 131
Source: Abby Ramsey, court administrator for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department

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