As more adults struggle in hard times, kids feeling impact

Susie Gaffney thought her mothering days were over years ago, but the bright, loving faces of Journei and Ralpheal let her know there’s more to do.

Dental, daycare and doctor’s visits are part of the 59-year-old’s yearly routine as she raises her two grandchildren. The expenses don’t include the cost of clothing, food, school supplies and everyday requests for toys and treats.

The souring economy is a sobering reality amid her limited resources. She realizes that sometimes the children will have to do without.

“I’m being mommy again. It’s not easy raising children all over again at my age, but I try to do the best I can with what I can. You are thinking all this was back behind you, but God is able,” said Gaffney, who will turn 60 in May.

She said her two small grandchildren, Journei, 4, and Ralpheal, 2, are typical children who want dolls, trucks and other items that stand outside the bare necessities of life and present expenses she sometimes can’t afford.

“They get less toys. They get less of the going out as a little treat when they do something good. I have less things to work with,” said Gaffney, who is nonetheless pleased with the progress she has made with the children in their social and physical development.

“My grandma loves me,” said Journei, who sits lovingly on her as she gets Journei to tell her the street address and where she goes to church. “We go to church and the IHOP,” the 4-year-old said.

“I’m trying to teach them about the Bible and all that. When I’m getting Journei ready for school, I try to teach her as I go along to do this and do that, like making sure the water’s turned off tight and all. She’s coming along very well and doing a good job of it,” Gaffney said. “She’s just a baby, but she’s doing good.”

While sitting in her own plastic chair next to Gaffney’s larger rocking chair, Journei is well aware of the things her grandmother provides for her, especially the ice cream, games and skates. She said her grandmother also helps fix the pedals on her tricycle.

“It’s kind of a hard time. With the government, they give you something and end up taking it back. It don’t make sense. You know, I was out on unemployment and just because I got a penny over the budget, they want to take my Medicaid back,” Gaffney said.

“As a matter of fact, they did take it back. The kids still have their Medicaid, but I don’t have mine,” she added, noting that her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamp, benefits were also slashed in half.

“I’m a strong believer. I know things are going to get better. I’m just taking it day by day. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do the best I can with today,” she said.

Gaffney’s story is not unusual and is representative of the plight of many individuals raising children in a recessionary environment. Local officials say it is sometimes the children who suffer the most.

‘There are real problems’

“I know our neglect and abuse case load has gone up tremendously with the emotional stress it causes on the family. With the economy the way it is now, people are angry. They’ve lost their job and sometimes they take it out on the kids,” said Harold Williams, executive director of the Orangeburg County Department of Social Services.

Along with the 45 percent increase in investigations within the department’s Child Protective Services division, the department has also seen 1,400 new cases since September among applications for assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Williams said. The program helps low-income families buy the food they need for a nutritionally adequate diet.

Williams said the department has also seen since September an increase of nearly 130 new cases among its applications for assistance through the Family Independence Program. The program gives welfare recipients more than just a check, with services including child care, transportation and career counseling.

Williams said it is frustrating when individuals with an annual salary of $50,000 or even $30,000 are suddenly laid off and have to apply for food stamps.

“With unemployment (benefits), you can’t qualify for a lot of services here. It’s just a lot of stress on the families and the kids feel it,” Williams said.

“There are real problems. When food insecurity hits the families, it certainly hits the kids,” said Dr. John Ruoff, research director for South Carolina Fair Share, a state advocacy group. He said the state has seen its case load for SNAP assistance increase by 16 percent from March 2008 to February of this year. The case load for FI assistance grew by 15 percent during the same time period, with there being a 17 percent increase among children alone in those cases.

Dr. Sandra Stephens is a pediatrician and director of clinical services at the Family Health Center Inc., the state’s largest community health center. She said the economy has also impacted children’s health. She said she has seen a decline in health care visits among children, particularly those whose parents or guardians are on self-pay or private-pay insurance.

“With the economy the way it is, we’ve also seen parents have to decide on not getting a certain medication or going with maybe a cheaper, perhaps less effective, brand because of limitations on their funds. You’re going to see more … chronic illness such as allergies and asthma, which is a big problem in this area. More kids are having flare-ups but can’t afford to stay on maintenance medications needed every day to keep them stable,” Stephens said.

“We saw a big problem with the flu this past season. And a lot of this is that parents are having to choose not to treat the child. So they go sicker longer and more frequently,” she said.

Calvin Wright is executive director of the Orangeburg-Calhoun-Allendale-Bamberg Community Action Agency Inc. He said hunger has also become an issue among children who are going home from school with nothing to eat.

“They’re actually going hungry at home because of families being laid off. We definitely have to do something. We know parents are being forced to cut back. We’ve spent since January very close to a half million dollars in LIHEAP assistance,” he said of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

“We’re constantly getting calls from folk who are having difficulties with their utility bills. And we’re seeing people who have not previously had to apply for any assistance. We’re very sensitive to those kinds of dilemmas,” Wright said.

OCAB operates 12 Head Start centers serving more than 700 economically disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds, including those with disabilities, in the four-county area. Wright said the souring economy has some parents who normally had their children in private daycare centers inquiring about the program.

“It’s going to affect private daycare because parents can’t afford to pay that money,” Wright said. While each child in Head Start is provided with breakfast, lunch and a snack, he said he wonders “what happens between that lunch and the next day’s breakfast.”

“It speaks to the summer feeding program (which is administered through Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5) being stepped up. It’s going to be even worse in the summer when school’s out. We need to allocate more dollars for these youngsters during the summer months. We’re also seeing evictions,” said Wright, a dilemma being tackled through the agency’s Emergency Assistance Program.

For the first time in several years, the agency will also be implementing a Summer Youth Employment Program to provide low- to moderate-income youth ages 16 to 24 with meaningful summer jobs and training experiences. The program will be operated in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

“Those applications are being taken at the One Stop Job Service. The difference with these kids is that the money they make will actually support the household. It might in fact be the only income in some households,” said Wright, noting that the agency is also considering bringing back its weatherization program through which qualifying homes would be made more energy efficient.

‘It’s just tough

out there’

Agnes Glover is executive director of the Cooperative Church Ministries of Orangeburg. She said the clientele has changed to include those who would not have normally sought help at the charitable agency, which has been in existence since 1988.

“People are coming in with children now and are less patient. I can understand their anxiety. It’s just tough out there. We had people in March that have not been here. We had to give them new forms. They were either laid off or either the job … downsized. When you work six months and then you’re off six months, that’s no fun at all,” Glover said.

She said one woman who had been donating to the charitable agency found herself in line for assistance. “She said, ‘I used to always donate money … but I lost my job,’ said Glover, who stressed the organization’s operating funds have seen a decline. She said the funds provided through the agency’s partnership with the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities and its Project Good Neighbor program to provide utility assistance have, however, increased.

Jodi Bates is founder of Compassion In Action Outreach, an organization that partners with several churches to help fulfill its charitable mission. She said more people are coming through the doors.

“It’s still the same demographic. When we see more of the parents and grandparents coming in, there are children that are represented in that family. We deal with a lot of folks that are unemployed and are getting a greater increase of requests for electric bill or rent (assistance),” Bates said. She said the agency also has fielded requests for children’s school uniforms and shoes.

“You get a much clearer picture of what our state of affairs is. You see it in the faces of the kids. We did a prom dress drive and saw students in all sorts of demographics that weren’t your typical high school teenagers … looking for our help with prom dresses. Those are just added expenses that parents just can’t afford,” Bates said.

She said her agency has fortunately seen an influx of clothing and food donations from the community. She said the mission is open to anyone, including those who have fallen on hard times for the first time.

“Outreach ministries are not just for people that are destitute. People go through different seasons of their life. If you need help for a season, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Bates said.

First Baptist Church of Orangeburg is home to its own soup kitchen and Mission Action Center, which provides food and clothes to the needy.

“I have not seen a tremendous difference lately in the needs of children. We have no more than usual come through our mission center,” director Esther Thomson said. She said there is nonetheless a “great need” among individuals for rent and electric bill assistance.

“We have to refer them to CCMO or the Salvation Army. We just help them with what we have. We have been here 25 years. We feel like we’ve met many needs in different ways,” Thomson said.

Jon Hare is soup kitchen director. He said while most of the same faces are seen coming for a meal, there are many children filing through the doors, particularly when school is out of session.

“We have a good many infants and young mothers. They need all the help they can get. We also have a lot of seniors, the ones that really need a lot of help,” he said. “We want to try to make a difference. We’ve all been blessed. Whatever we can do, we’re going to try to do it.”

Dionne Gleaton, Times & Democrat staff writer, can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534.