Poverty rate climbs; volunteers look for change

By Libby James
North Forty News

In 2006, 20 percent of the Fort Collins community was struggling to exist with less income than the federal government said it takes to survive, an increase of 62 percent since 2000 (from 15,835 to 25,603).

In the rest of Larimer County, the poverty rate increased by 37 percent during the same years. Median household income is decreasing. Single-mother households are increasing in the city and county despite a declining national trend.

The reasons are complex, multi-faceted, difficult to pinpoint. Mary Atchison, United Way of Larimer County senior vice president for community investment, has no easy answers. She identifies personal choices, community issues and public policy as reasons for the increasing poverty, but even she isn't certain that's the whole story.

What she does know is that she, and a dedicated group of community volunteers, are 100 percent committed to creating change.

"Ours is a county blessed with resources," Atchison said. "We're looking at systemic change and new synergistic solutions to address poverty and to find ways to measure our success by creating a community health index."

To that end, Atchison began an effort last summer to recruit volunteers to gather information and then decide what to do. One hundred community members, representatives from business, government, nonprofit organizations, volunteers and low-income people started the process in October. They formed committees, researched a wide range of topics, sought out the experts, and in April Pathways Past Poverty presented its findings to two community forums and four focus groups.

In June the group will identify five top goals, and during the summer it will develop strategies to achieve them. By next spring, the implementation phase will get underway.

"Some goals may respond to a relatively quick fix while others will take a long time," Atchison said.

As projects are implemented, United Way will be heavily involved, from funding to providing staff and offering encouragement and support. The agency's allocation of funding will change to accommodate new initiatives.

Now numbering 160 people, the volunteers have hashed out issues that cover seven areas: solid foundations (child care, health care, housing and transportation), job training, diversity and inequity, strengthening youth and families, creating more and better jobs, education and financial stability.

Groundbreaking for the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope, which took place in April, dovetails nicely with the work of Pathways Past Poverty. Named in honor of a longtime advocate for the homeless in the community, the resource center will provide many services in one place for the homeless and near-homeless. It will be located in north Fort Collins at the corner of Blue Spruce and Conifer Street.

Twelve agencies will provide services and clients will be referred to other community resources as needed. United Way is serving as fiscal agent, in charge of building the facility and collaborating to provide services.

The center will become the first central place in Fort Collins where people can address the complex underlying causes of homelessness. Case managers will help to identify needed services and work with partner agencies to monitor progress and provide help as problems arise. Employment resources, financial counseling, legal assistance and parenting support will be available. Clients will have access to mail service, phones and computers to assist in job searches.

Housed in a cost-effective "green-built" facility, the center will open at the end of the year. Because it is an enterprise zone project, monetary and material donations will be eligible for a 25 percent Colorado state tax credit. More information is available at www.themurphycenter.org.