 The national economic gloom is spreading to Inyo County, with more people out of work and becoming desperate for some assistance in keeping food on the table and their homes warm. The food pantry at Bishop’s Salvation Army is full thanks to the recent food drive by the Boy Scouts and a generous donation from Vons, but one volunteer said, “It’ll all be gone in a week or so.” Photo by Mike Bodine By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
2-21-2009 The grim nationwide economic downturn is manifesting in Inyo County, with more people and families leaving town in search of work and even more seeking help and public assistance to make ends meet.
Though many of the state funding cuts are in the initial stages, the impact is just now being felt. What’s more, it has been hard to apply solid numbers to how the economy is affecting working class Inyo County citizens – until now.
Inyo County departments and other local organizations that offer assistance, monetary or otherwise, are reporting huge increases in the numbers of residents asking for help.
The county’s Health and Human Service Department has recently compiled figures of how the economy is affecting public assistance programs.
HHS is reporting that since July 2008, there has been a 10 percent caseload increase in Food Stamp and Medi-Cal programs and a 58 percent increase in General Assistance programs. General Assistance provides cash aid to residents who need help and are not supported by other means.
“While the General Assistance caseload for 2008 is actually lower that the average over the last 10 years, if the trend over the last six months continues, there will be a significant impact to the caseload size,” Jean Turner Dickinson, HHS director, said in an e-mail this week.
The number of residents accessing the cash assistance program known as CalWORKS has remained “consistent,” according to HHS. However, these numbers are remaining stable as there is an equal number of new cases to residents who are discontinuing the program.
HHS reports that this may be the result of families moving out of town in search of work.
Jim Hall of Sierra Saddlery and Feed in Bishop, also the local U-Haul Truck Rental dealer, said Thursday that there has been “quite a bit more business” for U-Haul, especially this time of year.
He said that the story is the same for many of those moving;they lost a job or can’t find a job in the area or both.
The HHS report concludes by stating, “It is hard to know if this is just the beginning of the effects the county will experience as a result of the economic downturn.”
The Salvation Army in Bishop is also reporting a “significant increase” in the number of families looking for emergency assistance and cites not just a seasonal spike, but a rise directly related to the flailing economy.
“We’re seeing a lot more families coming in for emergency help, not just the folks we see every day, but entire families coming in that we’ve never seen before,” Salvation Army envoy Tiffany Lawler said Thursday.
Lawler said there are more residents losing their jobs and there are fewer jobs available – even “smaller jobs,” such as in the hospitality industry, are hard to find, she noted.
What is perhaps the saddest part to Lawler, is that many people who come in for help don’t know how to ask for it or what to ask for.
“Many of them come in wide-eyed and we can see that it’s hard for them to even form words of how to ask for help,” she said. “You can see and feel their pain.”
Lawler added that there are probably many more residents out in the community in need of help but who are unaware of what services are available. She said that for many needing help, it is an unprecedented experience and they do not know the “ins and outs” of how the Salvation Army works, or even where to go for help.
One thing people are looking for, and which some of them even have the money to buy but can’t find, Lawler explained, is firewood.
Lawler said that she and her family have taken wood from trees chopped down in their own yard and given it to “families that are freezing.”
The Salvation Army is opening a new thrift store soon, which, Lawler said, she hopes will be an added revenue stream to fund more emergency monetary assistance to those who need help paying the rent or utilities.
For more information on what the local Salvation Army has to offer and how to receive assistance, call the main office at 873-2124.
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