DAILY NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: Poverty on the Palouse

poverty

on the palouse

A special section of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News

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first-time visitor to Pullman and Moscow might see two relatively prosperous towns, buffered from the recession by steady payrolls at the two universities, a small but growing technology sector and a retail base buoyed by the annual influx of students. But just a few miles (and in some cases, just a few blocks) from the classKenton Bird rooms and labs of the University of Idaho and Washington State University, a parallel community exists: slum-like housing, families struggling to get by on minimum-wage jobs, a safety net stretched thin.

More than three years ago, Stephen Bonnar, executive director of Sojourners’ Alliance, told the Moscow City Council that homelessness was growing and his group was hard-pressed to keep up with the demand for shelter. His appeal prompted the first Poverty on the Palouse forum, called by then-Mayor Nancy Chaney in December 2010.

During the next two years, representatives of churches, social-service agencies and nonprofit organizations sought to document the problem and seek solutions. Among the tangible results: a health clinic on Moscow’s Main Street serving low-income families and others, and Family Promise — a coalition of faith communities providing short-term shelter to the homeless.

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2 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

Meanwhile, the Moscow League of Women Voters chose poverty as the focus of a year-long study by its members. The LWV worked with the Poverty on the Palouse Advisory Panel to develop a Poverty Report, concluded in December 2012.

In its report, the authors declared: “Poverty is sometimes invisible in Latah County. As such, needs may be overlooked by those who might otherwise help.” Statistics and personal experiences tell a similar story in Whitman County, and it’s heartening to see the Pullman League of Women Voters beginning its own study.

Inspired by LWV’s example, journalism students at the University of Idaho tackled poverty in the region as topics for in-depth reporting proj-

ects in the fall of 2012. Challenged by Moscow-Pullman Daily News managing editor Lee Rozen to show the human dimensions of poverty, they dug into reports, interviewed service providers and clients, and connected developments on the Palouse with national trends. Their work, along with the reporting of Daily News staff writers, appears in this section.

The students found the stories to be compelling, heart-rending and often inspiring. They learned that raising awareness of a problem is the first step to finding solutions. I hope readers of the Daily News come to the same conclusion.

Kenton Bird, director of the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media, is a former reporter and editor for this newspaper.

what’s inside 3 - Fighting for stability, Moscow mom works to overcome painful past 5 - Community Health Association of Spokane provides health care to those in need 6 - Landi family refuses to be discouraged by financial problems through the years 8 - Living with poor sight has its challenges, but Lennox Allen is tired of doing “pretty well” 11 - When students don’t have a home, counselors and teachers can help them 12 - How the Hope Center deals with disenfranchising effects of poverty 14 - Stephen Bonnar overcame poverty; now he helps others in need 16 - After years of unemployment, financial stress, the Boswells cling strong to faith 20 - Low-income students raising families hold on until future arrives 22 - Local schools combat food insecurity for students 23 - Two Moscow schools help feed hungry students on weekend with donation-dependent BackPack Program 24 - Free summer lunches topped 7,900 meals in 2013 25 - Program at farmers market accepts SNAP 26 - Those in need of nourishment seek support through food bank 27 - Directory: A list of help and services on the Palouse

single mother

Fighting for stability, Moscow mom works to overcome her painful past

by meredith metsker

i

Daily News staff writer

n many ways, Rebecca Rucker is like any other mother.

She loads the dishwasher, does the laundry, goes to work and frets about her 14-year-old son’s impending entrance into adolescence.

“I can’t wait until one day he goes to sleep and wakes up 6 feet tall. It’s going to happen,” Rucker said of her son.

Unlike many other families in Moscow and Pullman, Rucker, 43, is a single mother living in poverty and struggling to make a better life for her and her son, who has bipolar disorder and suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Even with her new job as housekeeper for a sorority house at the University of Idaho, she still feels like she’s clawing her way out of the bottom of the barrel.

When she and her son moved to Moscow from Southern California about four years ago, the two found refuge within Sojourners’ Alliance, a transitional housing shelter that provided them with a 600-square-foot living space for two years while they adapted to their new home. In the summer of 2012, Rucker qualified for Section 8 subsidized housing. She and the boy moved to a small two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on the north side of town where, with rental assistance, her monthly rent bill was $181. With no job and her only income coming from the government, Rucker and her son lived on $700 a month.

After the move, the chronic foot pain that plagued her since childhood became too much to bear and Rucker had surgery on both feet in March, covered by Medicaid.

During the several months she was recovering, Rucker befriended a local housekeeper who expressed interest in becoming partners in their own cleaning business. But when Rucker was ready to get back on her feet, the woman had moved on to another job, though she did put Rucker in touch with people at the Disability Action Center who paid her $120 a month to clean there.

“It gave me a start,” she said.

Rucker started her own home and commercial cleaning busi-

geoff crimmins | photo

Rebecca Rucker gets into her 1989 Dodge Caravan on Jan. 23 outside of Moscow Middle School. ness, Busy Bee By Becca, which is still operating, and made fliers and business cards. She contacted a friend at St. Vincent de Paul in August and said she was ready to work more hours. One week later, she got the job at the sorority house after interviewing the day before. Turns out that when the house mother at the sorority needed a housekeeper, she had called her pastor who called a friend at St. Vincent de Paul, who called Rucker.

Three weeks in, the house mother asked Rucker to fill out an official application, which made her heart sink. Back in California, during her darker days of drug addiction, Rucker had been convicted of a felony, though it was recently expunged. If an application asks if she’s a felon, Rucker can check no.

But if it asks if she’s been convicted of a felony, which most applications do, she must check yes.

Rucker, who’s been sober for 11 years and two months, thought she would surely lose the job she calls

a blessing, but she was given the chance she needed to prove herself.

Now Rucker sets her own schedule, works 30 hours a week and grosses about $1,400 a month, though she only takes home $1,100 after taxes. She loves the work and being around the young women who

{

The building just abounds with hope. And it’s just awesome to be a part of.” rebecca rucker, on being a sorority housekeeper

live in the sorority house. A maternal woman at heart who shines at being needed, Rucker said she will always drop her work to help any one of the young women she now refers to as “my girls.”

“The building just abounds with hope. And it’s just awesome to be a part of. So I do what I can to help my girls,” she said.

The sorority job provides no medical benefits, so she’s still on Medicaid, although in a year she will have to buy insurance through the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange. That’s a scary concept for her as her medications are extremely expensive.

While the new job brought more money, flexible hours so she can still spend time with her teenage son before and after school, and a personal parking space behind the sorority house, it also brought challenges. As soon as she became employed, Rucker lost $200 of monthly food stamps, a little more than $300 in monthly rental assistance and will soon lose her son’s monthly $700 Social Security check.

While more of the money coming in now is her own income, rather than government assistance, Rucker is see single mother, page 4

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 3

single mother from page 3

essentially back at square one.

“I find it very discouraging that I could take one step forward and five steps back. I don’t understand why people who are trying to work from the ground up have such an almost impossible time doing so, because they stick you. You can’t go anywhere. You can’t advance,” Rucker said, visibly frustrated.

Now instead of $180 for monthly rent, Rucker pays $515. Her 1989 model van, donated to her by a friend she met through Sojourners’ who said he believed in her, has a faulty heater and a head gasket that could go bad at any time, not that she can afford to replace it.

Instead, she always lets the van — which goes about 105 miles per each $40 fill-up — warm up for 15 minutes, drives slowly and avoids hills.

“My prayer is that it lasts me long enough to get me through tax time, and then I can buy something in a little better of shape,” she said.

Electricity usually costs around $70 a month and the cable bill is $85 — which includes one home phone and cable TV, mostly for

“Then there’s things like toilet paper,” she added.

Money became even tighter re-

{

I don’t understand why people who are trying to work from the ground up have such an almost impossible time doing so, because they stick you. You can’t go anywhere.

You can’t advance.” rebecca rucker

cently because Rucker didn’t have work while the sorority girls were gone on their three-week Christmas break. Faced with the reality of not being able to pay January rent, Rucker took out a $300 pay day loan with 22 percent interest in December.

“I would rather shoot myself in the foot than do this,” she said.

What Rucker calls the one light at the end of the tunnel, though, is the Family Self-Sufficiency Program through Section 8 housing that puts the $300 difference between what she used to pay in rent and what she currently pays in an account for her. If she keeps her job for five years, Rucker said she will eventually be given access to that money.

A lifetime of challenges

geoff crimmins | photo

Rebecca Rucker picks up her son, left, from school on Jan. 23 outside Moscow Middle School.

her son’s benefit. Gas costs around $80 a month while $50 goes to car insurance. Rucker still has a small storage unit in California where she keeps many of her most valued possessions, including precious baby photos of her two oldest daughters, that costs $95 a month. Food for her and her always-growing teenage son costs around $300 a month.

4 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

While Rucker lives paycheck to paycheck and struggles to provide for her and her son, she’s overcome a lifetime of challenges to get to the better place she’s in today.

Rucker was born into a family that viewed her as “an accident.”

Her parents partied, drank and did drugs with little care or consideration for Rucker or her baby sister.

Throughout her childhood, Rucker was molested, raped and beaten on a number of occasions by multiple people. She was kicked out of her house at 15, at which point she also dropped out of high school and got her GED. For 20 years while living in Oregon and Southern California, Rucker was addicted to methamphetamine, a highly-addictive and destructive drug that destroyed her teeth, her health and her relation-

ships with everyone around her.

Her oldest two daughters, whom she gave birth to in her early 20s, were eventually removed from her care by either her mother or Social Services. Rucker’s mother officially adopted both of them.

Her relationship with her son was also tumultuous at first. Social Services took him away from her at the hospital after she tested positive for weed, and she wasn’t able to take him home until he was three-and-a-half months old, after she had gotten clean.

“I’ve lost everything and everyone to drugs more than once. Although, I guess I didn’t really lose it. I gave it away because I knew the consequences. That’s reality. I loved my kids more than anything in the world, but I couldn’t give up drugs for them. And that really messed me up,” Rucker said.

As her baby boy grew into a toddler, Rucker got back into weed and dope and her friends began stashing their supplies in her couch.

When her boy was 3 years old, Social Services took him away for the second time and Rucker was arrested and later convicted of felony possession of illegal substances and misdemeanor child endangerment.

She saw the loss of her third child as a sign from God. She prayed for a third chance at being a good mother to her son. Rucker’s mother had no interest in adopting the boy. She already had her hands full with Rucker’s daughters, and the boy was an angry, bipolar 3-year-old. So for the first time in Rucker’s life, her mother helped her. She bailed her out of jail after 12 days and Rucker began the difficult journey to sobriety.

Now after being sober for more than a decade, Rucker still keeps in contact with her daughters, though she doesn’t know them very well.

Despite the distance and ever-present tension between her and her first two children, Rucker is still incredibly proud of both of them and how they’ve beaten the odds.

Her oldest daughter, now 20, is a student at the University of California Riverside.

“She’s going to be our little cycle breaker. She’s a miracle,” Rucker said, smiling through a few tears.

And her son is doing better in school in Moscow, both socially and academically, Rucker said. The two of them still have their issues, but they survive and support each other.

For now, Rucker said she will just continue to fight her way out of poverty, one day at a time.

Meredith Metsker can be reached at (208) 8834628, or by email to mmetsker@dnews.com.

uninsured?

-OR? d e r u s n i under

Community Health Association of Spokane provides health care to those in need by alycia rock

for the Daily News

When James lost his health care job in Seattle as the recession hit in 2008, he had no idea how he would continue to receive treatment for depression and anxiety. Without a job, his health insurance disappeared.

He and his wife, who had also lost her job, decided things might be better in Moscow, where she grew up.

But, James said, “None of the jobs I’ve had in the region since then have provided insurance. …

And the costs are crippling.”

He was forced to give up the treatment he had been receiving for 15 years.

“When you suffer from a chronic physical or mental health issue, the expenses can be enormous,” James said.

Then this past summer, the staff of the Community Health Association of Spokane’s Latah Community Health office literally saved his life, he said. And the care he received was more than he could have hoped for.

“When people are dismissive of your condition, or refuse to acknowledge what other physicians have done for you in the past — it goes into a spiral,” James said.

“But at CHAS … they’ve been doing a fantastic job.”

Since the Moscow CHAS clinic opened in June, it has seen almost 500 patients, said Kelley Charvet, communications manager. The clinic’s mission is to provide medical care for the underinsured, as well as those without insurance.

Of these 500, about 65 percent fall into the uninsured category.

About 25 percent rely on state Medicaid or Medicare, and the remaining 10 percent use private insurance, she estimated.

These numbers follow predictions made at the May 2013 Poverty on the Palouse forum, which identified the need for health care for low-income families.

“Everybody is welcome regardless of their ability to pay,” Charvet said. “Anybody can walk through the doors of a CHAS clinic.”

CHAS operates on a sliding scale.

Charges are based on the patient’s income, and uninsured patients are

geoff crimmins | photo

Dr. Lois Niska, left, talks with Patient Services Coordinator Cassandra Heimgartner at the Community Health Association of Spokane’s Latah Community Health office on Jan. 29 in Moscow. billed at a flat rate. The clinic will bill insurance companies for patients with private insurance.

The Moscow CHAS clinic employs eight, including Lois Niska, a physician who serves as the lead care provider. Other professionals on staff are David Keene, a licensed social worker, and Cassandra Heimgartner, who meets with all patients on their first visit to help them find health care resources.

In addition, CHAS offers a 24hour, seven day a week on-call system. Patients who are established with the clinic can call a provider for advice on after-hours care.

“We’re small, but we’re really a team and that’s our goal — to make sure we’re reaching out to patients and making sure we can help them,” said staff member Amy Isbelle.

In November, CHAS learned that a $650,000 grant application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was successful. The grant will allow the Moscow clinic to hire a physician’s assistant or an advanced registered nurse practitioner early this year.

The grant also expands access by allowing the clinic to charge patients less than the cost of some services, Charvet told the Daily News in 2013. This grant also makes the Moscow CHAS clinic a federally qualified health center.

B.J. Swanson, chairwoman of Gritman Medical Center’s board, said the hospital is renting space to CHAS at 719 S. Main St. (across from the hospital) at a reduced rate.

“We’re very pleased they’re there,” she said.

One benefit to the hospital is to reduce the number of patients who seek care at Gritman’s emergency room because they don’t have a family doctor. Gritman can refer patients to CHAS for follow-ups and consistent care.

Swanson said she’s heard nothing but positive things about the clinic.

“Some (patients), they expect to go in and be hassled,” Swanson said. “But they make it very easy for the patient to be accepted and cared for.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Isbelle said. “It’s not about money or numbers — it’s about serving our patients.”

Alycia Rock is a senior journalism major at University of Idaho.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 5

generations

Landi family refuses to be discouraged by financial problems through the years

by shanon quinn

t

Daily News staff writer

imes are tough for the Landi family.

Buddy Landi, 39, a married Moscow father of two — soon to be three — hasn’t worked since late 2010, after he tripped over a torn rubber kitchen mat that led to three knee surgeries.

The accident left him unable to do his duties at the Pullman Denny’s, which has since closed.

The pain in his knee is still a medical issue. And now, he is a stayat-home dad receiving $750 a month from the state’s Workman’s Compensation fund. Meanwhile, his wife, Leah, had her hours cut at the Best Western Plus University Inn due to the slow season and her advancing pregnancy.

The couple expects their second daughter, Brittany Ann Madison Landi, to join them along with Jordan, 11, and Caitlyn, 5, in their two bedroom flat any day now.

Leah is five days past due and said the baby “will be getting an eviction notice very soon.”

But Landi is no stranger to tough times.

Born Dec. 2, 1974, in Toms River, N.J., to a laborer and a homemaker, Landi was the second of seven children.

The family never lived in an “owned home” but occupied a series of rentals along the East Coast.

“We were the kind of family that skipped around and went where the work was,” he said. “My father was a construction worker. Whenever work dried up we went somewhere else.”

Sitting back in a faded leather chair, Landi leaned his cane against his knees and fiddled with a Rubik’s cube as he spoke. Black hair, aggressively graying at the temples, fell in curls to his shoulders.

Landi said his childhood was stressful. Apart from financial problems, Landi, his mother, brothers and sister were often at the mercy of his father’s violent temper, a reaction to alcohol.

“My father was abusive,” he said.

“You have that kind of person who can drink and be happy. He wasn’t like that. Maybe he was unhappy with his own life.”

Landi said he doesn’t recall dreaming about what he wanted to be when he grew up.

“When you’re in a family with so much going on, it’s hard to think of what you’re going to be when you

geoff crimmins | photo

Leah Landi proofreads workman’s compensation paperwork Jan. 28 for her husband, Buddy (front), at their home in Moscow. grow up. Honestly, my dream was to be anywhere but home.”

He didn’t find solace in education either, and left school without finishing the eighth grade.

After leaving home at 17, he lived with his grandmother and worked for a homeowners association in Reno, Nev., as a groundskeeper. He moved back to the family home, then in Florida, after finding it impossible to tolerate his grandmother’s alcoholism. Back in Florida, Landi worked a series of restaurant jobs and met Leah in a chat room called Peltalk in 2005.

The two corresponded for about two years before Landi made the move to Idaho in 2007 and moved in with Leah, her son, Jordan, and her mother in Deary. The couple married in late 2007.

They welcomed daughter, Caitlyn, to the family Sept. 25, 2008.

“She was kind of a surprise,” Landi said of Caitlyn. “I was excited, of course, just like with the one we’re having now, excited and nervous at the same time.”

In 2009, Landi moved his young family to Hawthorne Village, the complex where they live now, off

6 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

Styner Avenue in south Moscow.

Landi said he likes the complex because it is child friendly, offering an after-school program, special events and school supplies for lowincome families.

But quarters are a bit tight in the modestly furnished two-bedroom apartment, and are likely to become more so when the baby comes, but a larger place is not an option. In fact, the family is having trouble paying rent as it is.

When Landi’s case was handed to a new caseworker at Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, his monthly check was lost in the shuffle. Desperate, they went to FastBucks in Pullman and borrowed $400 to pay rent.

“Those places seem like they’ll help people, but they really don’t,” Landi said of pay day loan establishments. “But desperate people take desperate measures.”

Leah is currently paying $88 per paycheck until the debt is paid off, but her paydays are often the day after the due dates, which leads to telephone calls and form letters from the business, Landi said.

The annual percentage rate for

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Honestly, my dream was to be anywhere but home.” buddy landi

loans from FastBucks is 547.5, according to employees at the Moscow branch.

Stress is a fact of life right now, and one that doesn’t help Landi’s medical problems.

Along with the pain in his right knee, which doctors now say will require knee replacement surgery, Landi has been diagnosed with hypertension and depression. He also suffers from insomnia.

Although workman’s compensation covers medical costs related to his knee injury, he pays unrelated expenses out-of-pocket, including his psychiatrist and prescription medication costs.

Landi said he rarely tells anyone about his depression, and said he’s lost friends because of it. In combi-

geoff crimmins | photo

Buddy Landi pours coffee for himself and his wife, Leah. Landi has used a cane since a knee surgery in 2011.

nation with the family’s financial problems and his physical disability, he said he thinks sharing information about mental health issues scares people off.

“Sometimes I feel discriminated against,” he said.

He takes five prescription medications to relieve his symptoms, including a pain killer.

“I’ve got bone-on-bone going on in my knee,” he said.

Although he has taken the medication for nearly three years now, Landi said he has never had to raise his dose due to a developed tolerance. When he feels the medication not working as well, he cuts the dose in half for a week, and when he raises it again, it works.

“The key factor I fear is addiction,” he said. “That word is scary.

There’s way too many people who have that addiction because they abuse their medicine.”

But to Landi, the most frightening thing about his situation right now is how to keep his family from drowning in debt. His prescription medications alone cost about $60 per month, he said. Plus, the gasoline expenses for driving himself, Leah and the kids to doctors appointments, work and school in the old white 1990 Thunderbird add up quickly.

“Lately, Leah and I are going to see the doctor every week,” he said.

They trek to Lewiston to see his knee surgeon and Pullman for Leah’s obstetrician.

The recent cut to food stamps didn’t help matters either.

The family of four received about $600 per month from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program until November, when the 2009 stimulus expired, dropping the amount to $259 monthly.

Landi said his family is making do by only buying things they absolutely need, and making a careful grocery list based on recipe ingre-

dients. They habitually make one meal last two days. Even so, they are forced to supplement by visiting food banks.

Landi said he visits the Trinity Moscow Food Pantry nearly every Tuesday, making certain to arrive before 4 p.m., so he can get in and out more quickly.

“We’re worried about so many things, not having the necessities, provisions for the baby, clothes for school, because of all these extra bills that keep coming up. It would be easy if we didn’t have something always coming up.”

At this point, Landi said the family’s combined income of about $900 isn’t enough to cover even their regular expenses, like rent, car insurance, prescriptions, telephone bills, gas, and license tabs.

The family expects the amount to drop soon, as Leah’s pregnancy will soon force her to stop working entirely.

Landi said he wouldn’t be so concerned with all of it if it weren’t for his children.

“I’ve lived in poverty my whole life. I’ll do without, just to give to my kids. I’ll give up my food for my kids,” he said. “That’s what parents do: let their tummies growl for the sake of their children.”

Although things seem hard right now, Buddy Landi hasn’t given up hope. He said he looks forward to each new year, convinced that it will be an improvement upon the last.

Landi said that although he doesn’t recall having a dream in his own childhood, he has one for his children now.

“When we were kids, we never had any encouragement, we were always discouraged. I hope that my struggles benefit my kids. I encourage them to follow their dreams and the money will come later.”

Shanon Quinn can be reached at (208) 883-4632 or by email at briefs@dnews.com.

geoff crimmins | photo

geoff crimmins | photo

Buddy Landi takes his daily dose of six prescription medications Jan. 28 at his home in Moscow.

Leah Landi examines workman’s compensation paperwork for her husband, Buddy.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 7

disabilities

Living with poor sight has its challenges, and Lennox Allen is tired of doing ‘pretty well’ by judy sobeloff

for the Daily News

dean hare | photo

On Dec. 19, Lennox Allen talks about his stay at Sojourners’ Alliance in Moscow. Allen has a low-vision disability. Sojourners’ helps people transition from homelessness back into traditional housing.

geoff crimmins | photo

Allen walks from the transit bus stop to the Disability Action Center, where he volunteers three afternoons every week.

8 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

Allen checks his cellphone while volunteering at the Disability Action Center on Jan. 22 in Moscow. Allen has a visual impairment, but can see his phone if he holds it close to his face.

geoff crimmins | photo

Lennox Allen is a 43-year-old African-American Moscow resident who was born with a low-vision disability “with a long Latin name,” ectopia pupillae.

Essentially, the pupils in his eyes are seriously off center.

Allen said he “can see colors and shapes and certain types of print just fine. Anything outside of 3 feet, I’m really messed up, for lack of a better term. I have to wait for the bus to get literally in front of me to know if it’s the right bus to catch.”

For the most part, he said, he does “pretty well.”

Allen attends a low-vision support group offered twice a week at Gritman. He volunteers at the Disability Action Center answering the phone and routing calls, and also volunteers with the Idaho Literacy Council when he can.

He’s done “pretty well” most of his adult life, but he’s finding that’s not good enough anymore.

One big motivation for becoming more self-sufficient, Allen said, is that “my girlfriend and I, we talk about getting married. I want to have enough money to put toward that.”

He said for years he has listened to family members advising him, “ ‘Don’t even bother trying to work, just sit back and collect the money.’

Instead of using my mind and thinking for myself, I listened to them. But now that I have someone in my life, I want to change all that — get a job, bring in some money, do what I want to do.

Be able to show her that I can provide for her.”

But that’s not easy.

Allen recently found out that his birth defect potentially could be corrected by surgery. Still, he’s ambivalent about the prospect of surgery, both because of the risks involved and the cost. He’s pretty sure the doctor has said that it is not necessary to correct his condition unless he develops cataracts.

While Allen said he believes the obstacle to surgery is medical rather than financial, he also said if Medicaid were “willing to support the bill for all of it, then I’d think: ‘Let’s do this.’ ” While Allen receives Social Security Disability Income and said Medicaid is “very sufficient” for his

Allen talks about the clothing that residents at Sojourners’ Alliance can wear if they need them.

dean hare | photo

overall health needs, concerns about costs are all too real for him.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Allen moved to Clarkston about five years ago to live with his girlfriend, but ended up having to come up to Sojourners’ Alliance in Moscow after a conflict with one of her relatives. After a year at Sojourners’, a transitional housing facility for homeless adults and families, Allen moved into a hastily arranged roommate situation which proved untenable when he started to feel unsafe. He felt lucky to be able to move back to Sojourners’ in August after living briefly in a Moscow hotel and then “a trailer park for a good part of last year.”

Now, Allen has arranged to move to Independence Hill Apartments on West A Street, which he describes as a complex for low-income people with developmental disabilities.

He has not seen his girlfriend, who works as a home health nurse in Clarkston, since moving to Sojourners’, but he hopes he will be able to following his upcoming move to Independence Hill.

“I talk to her and text her every day” Allen said. “I keep her up to date so she knows (what’s happening) and doesn’t get worried.”

Allen finds dealing with poverty “humbling.” He said he reflects daily on where he’s from and how he can get back into a better situation.

“Most people don’t think about what steps or channels they need to go through to get from poverty to well off,” he said.

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Allen said his father worked as a bricklayer and did various odd jobs, and his mother cleaned offices before staying home to be with him and his siblings. He said “as far as I could tell growing up, if there was financial stress, (my parents) weren’t showing it.”

So, he has goals for himself, some more concrete than others.

Any day now, he expects to begin the residential vocational-rehabilitation program run by the Idaho Commission for the Blind in Boise.

He flew to Boise to tour the facility

in mid-December.

This 11-week residential program offers “training on everything from everyday living skills and some job skills,” as well as orientation and mobility training. Allen has a fold-up cane which he uses for nighttime travel, but otherwise gets around without one.

He said the Boise program will train him “how to answer the phone, dial the phone without looking at it, knowing what buttons to push, typing on a computer or typewriter without being able to see it.”

He said he will use a computer that will “let me hear what I’m typing.

It’ll read what’s on a webpage for me.” Additionally, he expects to “go through a workshop, like a wood shop deal you’d do back in high school.”

He hopes training will somehow lead to a job.

Allen, who smiles easily, describes himself as “a people person, very friendly and outgoing.” He’d like to find a customer service job, perhaps one that involves using typing skills. “I want to be flexible.

I want to be out in the flow, helping people find various things, or out and about, like at a Wal-Mart, or answering questions.”

Earlier in his life, he said, if he had completed college, “I would’ve wanted to pursue something in the way of computer science or just computers in general.”

So, in the meantime, Allen deals with his limited budget. While he buys some of his food from grocery stores or convenience stores, “most of the time I go to the food banks and get whatever is donated.”

“Right now I’m putting myself on a limited budget,” he said.

His goal now that he is out of Sojourners’, he said, is to “establish an apartment, work on getting a job. Once I get the job I’m hoping to set more money aside.”

He said he does fairly well in terms of managing his money.

SSDI is, he said, “enough to get me by to do what I need to do in terms of food, clothes, my personal things in my daily life. If every once in a blue moon I want to

Help fight poverty on the Palouse.

Donate online at:

www.moscowlatahuw.org Donate by mail at:

PO BOX 8211 • Moscow, ID 83843

Proud to Support Our Local Communities!

WE HAVE FUN TO SPARE! 780 SE Bishop Blvd, Pullman ✦ (509) 334-7101

see disabilities, page 10

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 9

Allen gets off of a transit bus on the way to his volunteer position at the Disability Action Center.

disabilities from page 9

treat myself to a meal out or a movie or a CD, it’s enough to do that, as long as I’m aware of how much I have and how much I’m spending.”

Allen finds challenges in getting around in Moscow, and that’s related to finding a job.

“Even though you have a small town, there are only two buses that both go in the same direction,” he said. “There should be at least three, and more frequency.”

The buses run from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

“It would be nice to extend that a little while, at least until maybe 10 or 11 at night,” Allen said. “Especially for someone in my situation, if I can’t walk to where I need to be, catching a bus to come back, that would be the biggest hindrance.”

After completing the ICB program, Allen said, “hopefully I can come back here (to Moscow) with the necessary skills and apply for a job,” returning to the apartment at the Independence Hill complex as planned.

Allen has not held a paying job since high school, when he was last in a vocational rehabilitation training program.

After Allen graduated from high school, he said he tried the local community college but didn’t feel ready and stayed for only one semester.

After the ICB program, he said, “If I feel that I’m ready to step back into it (college), I would jump at the chance to do that. I would take it upon myself. I know this would be the biggest stepping-stone of my life.”

He can imagine himself being able to hold down a job and also return to school — “ready to pursue what was out of my grasp all this time” — but, if he had to choose, a job would come first.

Still, he said, “Every time I try and make an attempt at wanting to work, some (employers) didn’t want to take a chance on that because of my vision.”

Mark Leper, director of Disability Action Center Northwest, where Allen volunteers, said people with disabilities “are the most underpaid and unemployed group in America.”

Leper said while the Americans with Disabilities Act “guarantees nondiscrimination,” in reality it

10 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

{

I can prove to people that despite you having a disability, you are able to still get out there and do what everybody else does. You may do it slower, you may do it differently, but you still get out there and do what you can and you try.” lennox allen

has not made a dent in the employment of people with a disability.

Allen acknowledges there are limitations on earnings that may potentially affect his ability to continue collecting his SSDI once he gets a job, though he is not specifically aware of the details.

Social Security, Leper said, has

geoff crimmins | photo

“disincentives that significantly impact people’s ability to get a job.

Unless they can get past a certain point and get benefits, they can’t afford to take that chance. After a nine-month trial work period, you lose your Social Security.”

Leper said this results in people “artificially limiting their hours or being afraid to accept employment because of what may happen.”

“That’s reality, and I’m about to step into it,” Allen said.

He said he hopes sharing his story will inspire others.

“Instead of looking at what I can’t do, I go the opposite route,” he said. “I like to try and prove people wrong. I can prove to people that despite you having a disability, you are able to still get out there and do what everybody else does. You may do it slower, you may do it differently, but you still get out there and do what you can and you try. I may need to tell people I’m not able to do this — but before I say that I need to get out there and at least try.”

He said he finds having his disability “rewarding, the best of both worlds. I get to bring a little bit of the sighted to the blind, and a little bit of the blind to the sighted.”

Judy Sobeloff is a Moscow freelance writer.

homelessness by elena harrington for the Daily News

Students struggling with poverty often are unprepared when they get to school because they lack fixed, reliable housing, say local school officials.

The number of Moscow students affected by poverty has increased by 10 percent since 2008.

Idaho was recently listed eighth on a list of the “Top 10 Worst States for Student Homelessness,” based on data from Kim Mikolajczyk the U.S. Department of Education. This creates challenges for educators.

The Moscow School District draws on a variety of resources to help homeless students succeed.

Sarah Hanchey, the Moscow School District’s curriculum director, oversees several federally funded programs as the district’s liaison for homeless students.

Homelessness is legally determined by three criteria: fixed residence, regular residence and adequate residence. If any of these factors are not present, the student is considered homeless, Hanchey said.

“Living in a home without electricity may be a fixed residence, but not an adequate one,” Hanchey said. “Staying in different motels would not be a regular residence.”

School counselors are trained to identify whether a student is homeless and determine if the student needs additional support.

Administrators work to acquaint families in need with available community resources, Hanchey said.

The district tries to help students struggling with homelessness handle school effectively regardless of their family’s housing status, she said.

Kim Mikolajczyk, McDonald Elementary School counselor, said many students are dealing with heightened anxiety, but students who deal with poverty often have different sources of worry than other students.

“Kids dealing with poverty often have a lack of a platform of stability underneath them,” Mikolajczyk said.

Moscow High School Counselor Diana Hicke said, “Our staff bends over backwards to reach out to students they think might be

struggling.”

When a student is struggling outside of school, schoolwork often suffers. Hicke said students struggling to make ends meet often find it difficult to perform academically.

Hicke has a list of community resources she shares with students and families who are experiencing poverty to point them toward the correct resources.

Students dealing with instability at home due to poverty often find solace in the classroom, and in school-related activities, Hicke said, adding many students regularly attend class despite stressful situations at home that could have led to absenteeism.

“Students are pretty resilient, because of the support they are receiving,” Hanchey said.

“One program is a free afterschool study hall,” said Moscow Middle School Counselor Natalie Stone. “I pushed for that program to get started and for that program to have food available, because a lot of times the kids who need that academic support are going to avoid it because they’re hungry.”

{

When a child doesn’t have a home, counselors, teachers can help students who struggle with poverty But what is considered homeless?

For a student to be considered as having a home, a residence must be: 

Fixed: Physical and immobile



Regular: Stably occupied by the same tenants

 Adequate: Supplied with electricity, heat, water and other necessities

Top 10: Worst states for student homelessness

Kids dealing with poverty often have a lack of a platform of stability underneath them.” kim mikolajczyk, McDonald Elementary School counselor

If the program provides free food along with the academic support, students will have a place to go after school, Stone said. In addition to academic help, participants can build relationships with other students after school.

Scholarships for school clubs and sports enable students without financial means to participate.

For example, Parks and Recreation offers “a phenomenal scholarship program for sports,” Mikolajczyk said.

Children dealing with poverty can succeed academically and developmentally, school officials say.

“A lot of students in poverty are very resilient,” Hicke said.

Elena Harrington completed a journalism degree from the University of Idaho in December. She lives in Boise.

10. Oklahoma 9. Missouri 8. Idaho 7. Vermont 6. South Dakota 5. Wyoming 4. Michigan 3. North Carolina 2. Maine 1. North Dakota

* Data from the Department of Education demonstrates which states had the fastestgrowing poverty issues in 2011-2012.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 11

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Qualification is based on income.

For more information or to receive an application packet please contact Ginger at 509-334-9147 or gingerh@cacwhitman.com. Information is also available at www.whitmanhomeowner.org

12 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

not a hand-out

’ p u d n a a ‘h

How the Hope Center deals with disenfranchising effects of poverty by chloe rambo & kevin bingaman for the Daily News

The Hope Center on Pullman Road in Moscow looks like an ordinary thrift store. A former car dealership, the white-brick building between Zip’s and Tri-State offers the usual array of secondhand merchandise. But the retail store is only part of the center’s mission.

Hope stands for “Helping Others Pursue Excellence.” Its goal is to empower unemployed residents of the Palouse by breaking down barriers that keep them from getting or keeping jobs.

“Sometimes the barriers are relational or social barriers, sometimes it’s poverty, sometimes it’s felonies … as well as (offering) recovering addicts stability,” said DeDe McReynolds, front-end manager of the Moscow Hope Center thrift store. “That’s kind of our niche that we’re going for.”

Fifteen years ago, a group of churches in the Moscow area created a charitable foundation to address community needs. That idea became the Hope Center in Moscow.

“There is definitely poverty in our area,” said Scott Crenshaw, a member of Hope Center’s board of directors. “I see it in the many rundown trailer courts and apartment complexes in our area. I can see it in the faces of people shopping and using vouchers for goods. I see the decrepit cars they drive and their tattered clothes. Often, they have a distant look in their eyes as well.”

Over the years, Hope Center has changed its approach to combating poverty and helping people get back on their feet. It formerly offered cash assistance to help people pay bills and meet other needs, but manager Steve Otto said direct aid created a pattern of dependence.

“We noticed a pattern of the same people coming all the time,” Otto said. “It made us look at the charity we were doing.”

The center’s approach changed after the board read the 2009 book “When Helping Hurts: How to

Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself ” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

The book’s message is that people in poverty feel disenfranchised and lack spiritual well-being.

“Poverty isn’t because you don’t have a car, or two cars, or as nice of a house as (some) do,” McReynolds said. “It’s how people view you, your ability to be a voice that’s heard and make a difference in the world.”

McReynolds said the Hope Center now wants to offer a “hand up” to assist community members in need back to their feet, rather than a charity “hand-out.” By teaching job skills and providing opportunities for spiritual and relationship counseling, the Hope Center works to heal hurts and hang-ups in the lives of participants.

The Hope Center offers free budget counseling, targeted at those who are learning financial strategies to get out of debt. The classes are free for interested individuals, but required for them to be a part of the Hope Center’s program.

McReynolds said participants need to have a high school or GED diploma. The Hope Center brings tutors into the store to help participants gain their degree, and along with it comes increased self-esteem.

The Hope at Work program began in January 2013. Since then, about a dozen people have participated, with a few who were “self-eliminated” — disqualified for tardiness or failing a drug test, Otto said.

“We’re on to something,” Otto said. “We’re doing things that other charity organizations can’t do. We’re teaching job skills, and basically we looked at a bunch of different employers’ job packets and looked at what they were working for, and we’re training people for that.”

One of the participants, Kyle (not his real name), said Hope Center’s new program was just what he needed to get back on his feet.

“I’m a recovering addict, so I’ve been in and out of jobs and on the streets for the past four years. I

{

There is definitely poverty in our area. I see it in the many rundown trailer courts and apartment complexes in our area. I can see it in the faces of people shopping and using vouchers for goods.

I see the decrepit cars they drive and their tattered clothes. Often they have a distant look in their eyes as well.”

geoff crimmins | photo

Steve Otto sorts and prices donations at the Hope Center in Moscow on Jan. 28. Sales from the thrift store support the center’s programs.

scott crenshaw, member of Hope Center’s board of directors

heard about the Hope Center and knew they were setting up a new program, the Hope at Work program, so I applied and have been here since the first of the year.”

Kyle learned about the program when he had contact with Otto when he was in prison eight years ago. When he decided to make major changes in his life, Otto and others from Hope Center were there to help.

“When I started here, I didn’t have a driver’s license. I didn’t have a car. Now I have a driver’s license, and I have a vehicle. Hope Center is a real forgiving environment.”

Hope at Work participants are required to attend Celebrate Recovery, a faith-based weekly meeting that helps people deal with issues such as addiction, divorce and grief.

“Basically we’ve shifted from working with a whole lot of people giving Band-Aids, to working with a smaller amount of people for a longer length of time,” Otto said.

McReynolds has worked at the Hope Center for two years. She

started out pricing and placing items donated to the store and was promoted to a managerial position a year later.

While teaching numerous volunteers the ropes each week, she improved her own job-training skills. Working with volunteers has helped McReynolds realize her skills and made her a stronger employee — something the Hope at Work program works to cultivate in its participants.

“We’re building stability in people’s lives, and we’re building a community, too,” McReynolds said.

“Nobody gets to fix you, you just get to talk, and we make it a community — that’s what it’s all about.”

More information on the Hope Center’s services and programs can be found at its website, at hopecentermoscow.com. The Hope Center is at 1212 W. Pullman Road.

Chloe Rambo is a senior journalism major at the University of Idaho. She is the Argonaut’s legislative correspondent in Boise this semester.

Kevin Bingaman completed a journalism degree from the University of Idaho in December. He lives in Moscow.

geoff crimmins | photo

Steve Otto holds brochures for several center programs.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 13

determination +

hard work

by erik fink

for the Daily News

Stephen Bonnar lived in a tire.

His roommates had borrowed a tire from an earth mover where they worked, “and that was my bedroom,” Bonnar said.

Bonnar, executive director of Sojourners’ Alliance in Moscow, recalled the sequence of events that brought him from homelessness to a leadership role in serving the homeless population of the Palouse.

Born in San Francisco, Bonnar didn’t realize he was poor until his parents divorced. He was then raised by his aunt, grandmother and mother.

“Growing up, I had no understanding that this was out of the ordinary,” Bonnar said.

His mother remarried, and Bonnar began living more of a middle-class lifestyle. His mother and stepfather could only afford to send him to college for a semester,

Stephen Bonnar overcame poverty; now he helps others in need

16 of us living there.” an opportunity Bonnar took at the There was not enough floor University of Idaho. space for everyone to sleep inside, But after turning to drugs and Bonnar said, so each night four to alcohol, Bonnar found himself six people had to sleep on the front homeless and alone. That was the lawn. It was at this point, he got point in his life where friends ofhis life together fered him shelfor a few years, ter in the form graduating from of a tire. The the University of situation didn’t Idaho in 1981 with bother him, a degree in recrebecause it was ation. what he had to Bonnar found do to survive, he a temporary job said. working at a Boy Bonnar returned to school, stephen bonnar, Scout camp in California and stayed followed by soujourners’ alliance until the snow another spell of came. Knowing his homelessness in family didn’t want Boise. He stayed him, Bonnar decided to keep movwith a friend he had made years ing. Eventually his car broke down ago, who had an apartment big in Coeur d’Alene, where he met up enough for two. with an old friend and moved into a “There was a kitchen, two little three-bedroom apartment for $100 bedrooms and a little living room,” Bonnar said. “There were also 14 to a month.

{

The people I work with here have all been homeless, so we all know what that’s like.”

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• Many victims are faced with the choice of homelessness and poverty for themselves and their children or staying in (or returning to) an abusive relationship.

• Transitioning to permanent housing takes longer for families than homeless individuals.

• Domestic violence victims often times have poor credit and employment histories and have suffered from landlord discrimination, all risk factors for poverty and homelessness.

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14 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

geoff crimmins | file photo

Executive Director Stephen Bonnar, left, plays cribbage Nov. 5, 2010, with residents Randy Morris, center, and Scott Heimgartner at the Sojourners’ Alliance Men’s House in Moscow.

“That’s where I began learning to appreciate the basics of having a roof over your head and food in your belly,” Bonnar said. “I learned to be grateful for the basics.”

Bonnar attributes the change in his life to a process of self-reform, through which he decided to make amends for his past. Taking the first steps to his current career, Bonnar worked at a crisis hotline in Coeur d’Alene. During the next year, he spent 3,000 hours helping others.

From a string of jobs resulting from the crisis line experience, Bonnar moved into substance abuse therapy, working in this field from 1985 to 1991. His specialty was helping felons and people struggling with anger management.

After returning to graduate school in counseling and human resources, Bonnar left the therapy business. In 2001, he became director of the Palouse Regional Crisis Hotline, answering more than 200 calls in five years from people who threatened or attempted suicide.

“That crisis line actually saved my life in ’78 when I attempted suicide,” Bonnar said. “So it’s kind of an interesting full circle going back to this place that really was the beginning of my beginning to look at who I was.”

In 2006, Bonnar was hired at Sojourners’ Alliance, which

provides transitional housing to homeless families, eventually becoming executive director. Under his management, Sojourners’ Alliance staff began having weekly dinners with the residents to create a better sense of family and community.

Because Bonnar knew how difficult it was to live in poverty, he wanted to turn the despair of many residents to hope. All of this would not be possible, Bonnar said, without the help of his staff.

Case manager Mary Walsh works alongside Bonnar. She values his ability to think outside the box.

“He is always willing to explore new possibilities of problem solving, like selling programs at the football games, or finding out new ways to sell hot dogs, or painting ideas to get these guys job experience and cash in their pockets,” Walsh said.

Bonnar takes care of his employees and shepherds them through the challenges of their work.

“The people I work with here have all been homeless, so we all know what that’s like,” he said.

Through his own life story, Bonnar has found the strength and the inspiration to help others in their search for normal lives.

Erik Fink is a senior journalism major at the University of Idaho.

dean hare | photo

This homemade sign inside the Sojourners’ Alliance office, as seen Dec. 19, highlights why they exist and serve people transitioning from homelessness back into regular housing.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 15

working

After years of unemployment, financial stress, the Boswells cling strong to faith

by lindsey treffry

t

Daily News staff writer

hree years ago, Amanda and Chuck Boswell moved from Virginia to Washington.

It was their last resort after months of unemployment. Savings had run out, unemployment benefits stopped, their house payments dwindled to foreclosure, and Amanda had just found out she was pregnant with her fourth child.

“We spent a week praying, and decided to move the family across the country,” said Amanda, 35, whose family had suffered two bouts of unemployment in Virgina.

Chuck, 42, finally got a job offer from Moscow Building Supply to be a weekend manager, working stock inventory, customer service and cash handling. Amanda, who hopes to one day earn a degree in psychology with a specialization in Christian counseling and religion, got work as a breastfeeding peer counselor through the Whitman County office of the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

She runs her own business as a birth, postpartum and bereavement doula.

Their income was up to $40,000, almost $9,000 above the poverty line.

But Chuck has since been cut from the hardware store, and the last three years haven’t been smooth sailing.

“We reached out to resources in the area,” Amanda said. “We signed up for WIC, and we did food stamps and got the kids and I on Medicaid.”

While Amanda’s position was finally boosted to 30 hours per week, it was eliminated from the USDA budget Dec. 31.

“We’re job searching, my husband and I are,” Amanda said.

“Our biggest thing has been our faith in God and just trusting what story he has for our life.”

The six Boswells have moved four times in the last three years, to Palouse, Viola, Moscow and Pullman.

Amanda said housing in Moscow and Pullman is quite expensive,

16 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

dean hare | photo

Attending church at Real Life on the Palouse in Pullman is an important part of the week for the Boswell family (left to right) — Amanda, Jorja, 2, Josiah, 4, Dakota, 9, Chuck and Mackenzie, 13.

dean hare | photo

Amanda Boswell holds a book at the Whitman County office of the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children on Dec. 20 in Pullman. Her position has since been cut.

{

A lot of it is just figuring out how to make the income we have stretch to cover those basic needs, other needs and occasionally something extra … Just making sure to have that house you live in and food you eat, heat, a phone in case you have emergencies and gas.” amanda boswell

dean hare | photo

Amanda Boswell, left, and her daughter, Mackenzie, 13, look around the lobby before church service in Pullman.

especially when trying to find a large enough home to fit four children and pets. Housing on the outskirts of town, or in smaller outlying cities, tends to be more feasible, she said.

Chuck is studying to earn a religion degree online, and owns his own yard work business, which he began a month after parting with Moscow Building Supply. He gathered tools through the years, and brought some from Virginia, to supply his business. Sometimes, he rents tools on a job-by-job basis.

Beyond work, the couple homeschools their four children at their Pullman home.

“He works his hours around my hours, so one of us is always with our kids,” Amanda said, adding the two have luckily avoided day care costs, except for paying for a babysitter once in a while.

The Boswell children range from 2 to 12 years old, and Amanda said home schooling does come with a price tag.

“We’re using the K-12 program for two subjects for our kids, and then we’re using curriculums we already have for the other subjects,” she said. “There is cost in any classes you want to take, especially extracurricular activities and purchasing curriculum.”

Amanda said they chose to homeschool their children 11 years ago for their unique learning needs, control over what they learn, a greater flexibility in diversity of learning and to focus on the Bible.

Amanda said both home schooling and public school have expenses unique to themselves, so while home schooling may seem more expensive, it does not have to be.

The struggle to pay for an average life beyond education has ebbed and flowed through the years, Amanda said.

“A lot of it is just figuring out how to make the income we have stretch to cover those basic needs, other needs and occasionally something extra,” Amanda said. “We want to do something fun with the family. Some months it’s been trying to figure out how we can take care of each of those items. And sometimes it’s deciding, OK, well, we might have to let this bill wait for next month to pay it. … Just making sure to have that house you live in and food you eat, heat, a phone in case you have emergencies and gas.”

Amanda and Chuck have had to cancel appointments, such as trips to the doctor, because their budget couldn’t budge for the gas money to get there. A couple of times, see working, page 18

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 17

working from page 17

{

Over the last three-and-a-half years, we’ve reached out to numerous different resources in the area at different times. We were never flat-out turned down by anybody. But each resource has their own limitations on how much assistance they can give and what they can get assistance for. At the time, it can be a struggle with that and accepting it.” amanda boswell

Amanda has had to call into work and cancel.

Food stamps have covered the family’s food for the most part, even though the amount decreased by $150 when they moved from Idaho to Washington. The family has collected food from food banks, but some of it they couldn’t eat.

Some of their children have dairy and gluten allergies, while Amanda is allergic to onions and garlic.

“At the food banks, all the food’s greatly appreciated, but I know, for us recently, we could only use half of the items that we got, because the others had items in it that we have an allergy or intolerance to,” Amanda said. “Then of course that increases your food bills, having to buy the substitutes for those.”

Amanda said food banks allow some choice for specific food items, but having to look at each label can take quite a bit of time, and with the large number of people in line, there’s a rush to collect. They give

any food they don’t use to other families in need or back into food bank collection boxes.

Another financial loss in crossing the Idaho-Washington border, was the qualification for state medical.

“I ended up having an ER visit in September. We didn’t have insurance, and so now we’re trying to work with the hospital, and filling out all their paperwork and get all the information for their financial assistance program,” Amanda said.

“That’s not something we have in our back pocket that we can pay.”

While the children have been fully covered through Medicaid, Amanda and Chuck only recently were covered by the Affordable Care Act, Amanda said, but the couple’s care is now free.

“Over the last three-and-a-half years, we’ve reached out to numerous different resources in the area at different times,” she said. “We were never flat-out turned down

by anybody. But each resource has their own limitations on how much assistance they can give and what they can get assistance for. At the time, it can be a struggle with that and accepting it.”

Several resources have set limits on what they can help with — gas cards, grocery gift cards, utility bills, rent — and how much they are allowed to give to a family per occurrence, per year or per lifetime, Amanda said.

“It is understandable, because there is a lot of people that are struggling at this time,” she said.

The Latah and Whitman County Community Action Centers, the Hope Center and the Palouse Care Parent Resource Center were a few resources Amanda said helped the Boswells through tough times, as well as their church, Real Life on the Palouse.

Jeff Guyett, executive director of the Whitman County Community Action Center, said there are many

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18 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

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families on the Palouse with varying financial circumstances.

“But as far as access, our energy assistance program, to help people keep heat on during the winter months, that’s really critical and high access,” Guyett said. “Our food bank — everybody in the community knows about the food bank — and that’s another one, especially during the winter. We provide affordable housing, we provide rent support to keep people in housing, and we do transitional housing. All of those, to the person involved in the circumstance, it’s critical.”

Amanda said the center helped the Boswells during Christmastime last year. Guyett said the center makes gift baskets and supports The Giving Tree program in conjunction with Pullman Child Welfare. They also distribute coats for Pullman Child Welfare.

But Amanda said services such as these aren’t available to those who don’t ask.

“If you don’t tell somebody that you’re struggling, how will they know?” Amanda said. “A lot of people nowadays tend to set up this facade that everything’s fine, I’m great. But at home, or inside them, they’re struggling themselves.”

Guyett said the best thing to do when in need is to call and make

an appointment, or even visit the front desk — at least at the action centers.

“If we don’t have the answer or don’t have the resource, we can usually get them pointed in the right direction,” he said.

Amanda said she has friends who have struggled financially, just like her family, but they’ve resisted help, fearing how others will look at them.

“It’s difficult when you’re just going through it, but it doesn’t make you weak,” she said. “We all have seasons in our lives, where we’re struggling with something. It may not be finances, but it may be something else.”

Amanda said her faith in God has helped her through that struggle, and her views have changed since the family’s first bout with unemployment.

“I’m just being real with people, that my life’s not perfect,” she said.

“It never will be … God provided for our family our other two unemployment times, and so we have faith that he’s going to do that.

How? I’m not sure. But we’re doing our part in looking for jobs that can provide for our family.”

Lindsey Treffry can be reached at (208) 8834640 or by email to ltreffry@dnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyTreffry.

dean hare | photo

Amanda Boswell, right, guides her son, Josiah, 4, left, and daughter, Jorja, 2, through the lobby before church service.

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Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 19

Jesse, right, and Cassie Kysar sit with their children, Chet, 3, and Dixie, 10 months, at their home Dec. 12 in Pullman.

the holding pattern by bill mckee

{

I have to take out full loans, and then we budget out five months after the loans come in. That money goes toward tuition and books, and the rest toward rent and utilities. We’re not left with much after that.” jesse kysar

j

Daily News staff writer

esse Kysar and Laureas Tate probably aren’t what most people think of as typical college students.

Kysar, a physics and material sciences major at Washington State University, takes a full load of classes, does a little tutoring through the university to make some extra cash on the side, and when he gets home at night, he’s greeted by a wife and two young children.

Kysar, 27, hopes to continue his studies in physics after he graduates in May, but will have to be accepted into a master’s degree or doctoral program to do so. If that doesn’t happen, he plans to get a job in the field of material sciences.

Whether he continues his education or winds up in the workforce next year, when he does get a job, he’s pretty certain the pay will be worth all the effort.

A starting job in either field pays well, Kysar said. Regardless of where he goes with his degree, he feels certain he’ll have little trouble covering family expenses or paying off student loans.

Until then, however, getting by

20 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

dean hare | photo

Low-income students raising families, hold on until the future arrives

primarily on those loans, while still covering the cost of school, he admits, can be a drag.

Between two scholarships, a Pell Grant, a Washington State Need Grant and his school loans, he and his wife, Cassie, can cover most of their costs, but he’ll be at least $40,000 in debt when he graduates.

To make things a little easier in the meantime, they get a little help putting food on the table with food stamps and the local food bank.

They also get help with rent from Pullman Community Action Center’s Section 8 Housing Program, which uses funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide assistance to families, who in turn pay — at most — 30 percent of their income toward rent and utilities. The program allows the Kysars to live in a nice, spacious apartment with much more room than they would have otherwise.

They use the additional money he makes, working about 10 hours a week as a tutor through the university, on things like diapers, gas and the occasional trip to the movies. While they were lucky enough to have been on their parents’ medical plans until recently — with the Affordable Care Act, they switched to get insurance through the state — they have no family close by to help out if anything sudden arises.

When one of their cars breaks down — Jesse only paid $300 for his vehicle, making it a likely eventuality — or they have any other sort of emergency, they’ll have to rely on credit.

“Mainly the frustrating part is having to get by on my loans,” Jesse said. “I have to take out full loans, and then we budget out five months after the loans come in.

That money goes toward tuition and books, and the rest toward rent and utilities. We’re not left with much after that.”

For Cassie, it means living on a very strict budget and staying at home with their two toddlers, Chet and Dixie.

An amateur photographer, Cassie said she’d like to work toward making that into a career, but will likely have to put her plans on hold until their children are old enough for preschool — she doesn’t want to get a job just to make enough to pay for day care.

She’s looked into state-funded programs to help out with day care, but found she and Jesse would both have to be working full-time jobs to qualify, and though both universities offer child care services, both price them competitively with others in the area.

“Child care is definitely a gap in services,” said Amy Robbins, Family Development Program manager with the Pullman Community Action

Center. “It’s a need that some students definitely have to struggle with.”

Robbins said of the 5,000 or so people her organization touches throughout the year, about a quarter are students.

Students living in poverty while raising children face the same sort of issues that others living in poverty do, while, of course, also dealing with academic concerns.

Laureas Tate has figured out a way around being held back from having a job due to the cost of child care while she goes to school.

A senior in sociology at the University of Idaho, Tate takes classes online and at night, which also allows her to work full time as a nanny — a job that provides her with the ability to work, while at the same time being able to look after her own 18-month-old daughter.

Laureas’s husband, Christopher, graduated just months ago with a degree in geography. He was planning to continue his education with the help of the McNair Scholarship program, which helped to prepare and send promising first generation, low-income students for their doctorates, but the program at UI lost its funding. He is instead now looking for work in his field, which he said should come with a pretty decent starting salary.

They currently save money by living in a mobile home they own outside of Moscow. For the most part they only use programs like food stamps and food banks when they really need it.

“They’re for people who need it more than us,” Laureas said.

With scholarships that have come and gone, two collegiate careers and a child, they expect to have about $70,000 in combined student loans and other debt to pay off by the time Laureas is done with school.

They find themselves in a similar place to the Kysars — they budget as tightly as they can and live frugally. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, neither Laureas or Christopher had any medical insurance, and the only debt they have other than student loans is from previous medical bills.

Each has their own vehicle, though only Christopher can drive his 20-year-old Jeep, with its temperamental clutch, and a motorcycle that he drives on the nicer days.

Like the Kysars, they live across

the state from their closest relatives, and if they have any unexpected issues they’ll likely have to rely on credit.

In general, they’re just holding on until they’re both done with school and can begin their careers.

As students they have to worry about making it to classes and passing tests. As parents they have to worry about raising their children with minimal income.

It’s an issue that faces more people than most realize, said Erin McIlrath of the Center for Civic Engagement at WSU. “Poverty is often a hidden issue, one that often goes unseen within the community,” she said.

While students raising children in poverty is not an especially common situation, it’s more common than most people would expect.

When students come in and say they’re having trouble making ends meet with their limited resources, McIlrath said they talk to them to figure out what their needs are, then try to connect them with resources both at the university and in the community.

“There are lots of resources all over the Palouse, so we do what we can to help them connect with them,” she said.

UI Dean of Students Bruce Pitman said the same thing is done on the Idaho side. Each school offers some different options, but the most important thing they can do is help students connect with resources and agencies within the community.

Both schools have housing available for families. While Pitman said it might not be cheaper than living off-campus, the on-campus housing may provide some options that off-campus living doesn’t.

“There’s the possibility of parents being able to watch each other’s kids instead of paying for child care,” Pitman offered as one example.

When it comes to the difficulties people, students and families in poverty face, there’s no cookie-cutter way to deal with them, Robbins said.

Students, though, at least have a light at the end of the tunnel, she said.

“Many of the people we work with are stuck in a cycle of poverty.

Our hope is that these students get degrees, become self-sufficient, and get nice, well-paying jobs.”

Bill McKee can be reached at (208) 883-4627, or by email to wmckee@dnews.com.

dean hare | photo

Cassie Kysar watches as Chet grabs Cheerios she had put out for Dixie.

dean hare | photo

Jesse Kysar cuts sweet potatoes to bake as fries.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 21

geoff crimmins | file photo

satisfied stomachs

s l o o h c s smarter

by emily vaartstra

O

for the Daily News

n a Monday morning, Moscow School District students are lined up for a much anticipated breakfast.

For some, it will be their first full meal since lunch the previous Friday.

Each school day, teachers, faculty members and cafeteria workers in Moscow witness the growing issue of hunger and food insecurity among students.

Mimi Pengilly, the school district’s nutrition director, sees a peak in participation at Monday breakfasts, which are served from the time the school opens till the first bell rings.

“It’s a heart-breaking situation,” Pengilly said. “Certainly you see many instances that show that some of our students aren’t eating as well on weekends.”

Edward Norman, principal of Russell Elementary School also notices the higher number of kids eating breakfast on Mondays.

“In other schools, you might not see the numbers of kids that actually would eat breakfast,” Norman said.

Russell has a higher number of children from disadvantaged families who eat breakfast at the school.

Norman estimates between 30 and 40 percent of Russell students eat breakfast at school, which parallels

the school’s free and reduced-price lunch eligibility at about 58 percent.

Jessica Shawley, a physical education and health teacher at Moscow Middle School, said teachers see students struggling to stay focused in school. She finds herself asking students if they were able to eat anything for breakfast. Often, the answer is no, or they didn’t have dinner the night before, she said.

“It makes a huge impact in their morning,” she said. “A lot of times with some of my kids, I’ll keep granola bars on hand.”

As of Nov. 1, about one-third of K-12 students in the Moscow School District qualified for free and reduced meals. According to past trends, those numbers are likely to increase as the school year progresses.

Pengilly receives all free and reduced-price lunch applications and tracks the number of students in the program every month. Anyone who qualifies for a free or reduced lunch also qualifies for breakfast. For both programs, the USDA sets a national standard based on household size and income (see accompanying table).

The number of families who qualify for the free and reduced-price program has increased each year, Pengilly said. According to Pengilly’s records, in June 2008, 26 percent of students in the district were on free and reduced meal plans. In June 2010, it was 29 percent; June 2012, 33 percent; and June 2013, 35 percent — around 775 students out of an enrollment of more than 2,215.

“You see kids that your heart goes out to them because they seem

22 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

Local schools combat food insecurity for students

Reduced-price lunch income guidelines hou 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

ze

d si

ol seh

Free lunch income guidelines

an

thly mon

21,257 28,694 36,131 43,568 51,005 58,442 65,879 73,316

1,772 2,392 3,011 3,631 4,251 4,871 5,490 6,110

l nua

old

eh ous

h 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

size

ual

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14,937 20,163 25,389 30,615 35,841 41,067 46,293 51,519

thly mon 1,245 1,681 2,116 2,552 2,987 3,423 3,858 4,294

Statistics are according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and are effective July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014.

hungry, and I don’t know how, without this program, that people would be expected to learn in school,” she said. “It’s hard to pay attention to your teacher when your stomach is talking to you.”

The school lunch program also helps provide other educational programs such as tutors and reading and math assistance.

“It’s a good thing for those kids from those schools with a high poverty rate — they are given these little other benefits that might help them overcome their circumstances at home,” Pengilly said.

Shawley said the physical education teachers aim to give students the skills they need to lead a healthy lifestyle. “(We are) giving (students) the tools we can to help them make good choices — healthy choices — trying to teach them about nutrition

and then hopefully they are making those good decisions at lunch, at breakfast,” Shawley said.

As a teacher, Shawley said she can see the influence of the free and reduced-price breakfast program on students’ ability to learn. She said she hears from students who enjoy the various breakfast options.

While participation in the free and reduced program is confidential, Pengilly said the cafeteria staff can tell which students qualify because they see the children who are really hungry and those who are always asking for more.

“I can see it, and they’ll just stand right in front of me — with their eyes — and I can tell they’re hungry still,” said a Moscow staff cook, who asked that her name not be published.

Emily Vaartstra is a senior journalism major at the University of Idaho.

back pack lunch

Two Moscow schools help feed hungry students on weekends with donation-dependent BackPack Program The bag of food put in a student’s backpack contains food for the student to eat during the weekend. Eleven students at Russell Elementary School in Moscow participate in the program.

geoff crimmins photo

Food items in the backpacks: n One

can of ravioli with beef

n One package of macaroni and cheese (microwaveable) n One shelf-stable carton of 1 percent white milk

geoff crimmins | photo

n One carton of skim chocolate milk

School psychologist Monica Lyons puts food for the weekend in a student’s backpack at Russell Elementary School in Moscow on Jan. 31. by emily vaartstra for the Daily News

The Feeding America organization’s BackPack Program helps provide food for students to take home during the weekend when they do not have access to daily meals and nutritious snacks.

Two Moscow elementary schools, West Park and Russell, offer the program, said Mimi Pengilly, Moscow schools nutrition director.

The program is funded by the Idaho Food Bank in Lewiston, which provides the food.

Craig Cain, who primarily works with the Boise branch of the Idaho Food Bank, said volunteers put the backpacks together, sorting the food items from bulk containers and placing 13 different products into the packs. The 13 nutrition-conscious items are intended to provide a child healthy meals Friday night,

Saturday and Sunday, when school food services are not available.

Cari Miller, branch manager at the North Central Idaho Food Bank in Lewiston, said the BackPack Program is completely funded through donations. She said each backpack costs $6.20. There are about 200 backpacks in circulation for students in Lewiston and Moscow.

The food for the backpacks is delivered to the schools monthly, and school guidance counselors work with Pengilly to determine which students are the best candidates to receive backpacks.

Russell School Principal Edward Norman said his school’s counselor works closely with some of the families who are in need of the BackPack program.

The counselor loads the boxes and food products into the backpacks and then sends them with

children on their way out of school on Friday, Norman said. The students bring the backpacks back on the following Monday.

Through the BackPack Program, “we are able to make sure that those kids have a good meal or two in a day, which really does help them with their academics,” Norman said.

“It is part of what we do for kids and it’s something that we can say we are making a difference.”

Local food banks are another source of food for families during the week and the weekend.

“I recommend the food banks here in Moscow to numerous families who call me with requests for help,” Pengilly said. “Certainly, we’re fortunate. We’ve got a couple of really good food banks here and they really fill a need.”

Emily Vaartstra a senior journalism major at the University of Idaho.

n One pack of Honey-Nut Scooters cereal n One

pack of instant oatmeal

n One

fruit drink

n

One mandarin orange cup

n One

pineapple tidbits cup

n One

container of rice with chicken and vegetable bits n One

chewy trail mix bar

n One

can of beef chili with beans

n One

pack of goldfish grahams

These items are expected to provide two days of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 23

Providing shelter for homeless on the Palouse since 1991.

Sojourners’ Alliance Bringing the Pieces Together Sojourners’ Alliance 627 N Van Buren St • Moscow ID 83843 (208) 883-3438 • sojournersalliance.org geoff crimmins | file photo

Julie King and her daughter Cadence, 4, eat lunch outside West Park Elementary School in Moscow last summer.

Free summer lunches topped 7,900 meals in 2013

WWW.CHAS.ORG

208.848.8300

24 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

In the summer when school is out, the USDA helps school districts with a significant number of low-income students provide nutritious meals. The Summer Food Program is free for all children between the ages of 1 and 18. Costs are covered through grants, donations and voluntary services.

In Moscow, the Summer Food Program has had two successful years, said Mimi Pengilly, the district’s nutrition director. In 2013, the district served 7,907 meals to children — an average of 165 per day. In addition, just less than 400 meals were served to adults, both volunteers and adults who paid for meals.

Before 2012, Pengilly said, “we had never had a Summer Food Program in our community, and in fact most of the communities that do a Summer Food Program have a much higher” rate of free and reduced price meals than the 35 percent of stu-

dents who receive them in Moscow during the school year.

In spring 2012, Pengilly received phone calls from two parents who didn’t how they would feed their families during summertime. She applied for the summer program through the USDA as soon as she realized the growing need in Moscow.

When summer came, food was cooked at West Park Elementary and the meals were offered in Ghormley Park. In 2013, a second site was made available at the Eggan Youth Center.

Moscow residents volunteered and dedicated a total of 318 hours to serve food to the children.

“The help of the volunteers really made this doable for us,” she said. “Almost every day we had plenty of volunteers — we had a real committed group. It was amazing.”

—Emily Vaartstra, for the Daily News

organic benefits

Program at farmers market accepts SNAP for local produce

A barricade blocks Main Street between Third and Fifth streets for the Moscow Farmers Market on June 16, 2012. by becky davis

for the Daily News

With his Australian border collie in tow, Ryan Lazo enthusiastically took his $25 of wooden SNAP tokens to produce vendors at the Moscow Winter Market on a brisk, 30-degree morning.

Lazo, 25, started receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in August after he moved to Pullman from Durango, Colo. Using his SNAP benefits for the freshest and cheapest produce he can find at the market and the Moscow Co-op, he endorses a healthy lifestyle while on a budget.

“I love the farmers market here because when you get the opportunity to talk to the person that grew your food, it’s a different connection,” Lazo said.

When federal SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, were cut, Lazo’s benefits decreased to $189 per month. Before the end of October, he spent $20 to $30 every week at the Moscow Farmers Market to buy locally or regionally grown produce.

“A lot of times, people who are on food stamps don’t eat that well because they eat cheaper food, and a lot of people don’t realize that you can eat very well for little money,” Lazo said. “That’s how I see it — eating less but better quality things.”

Backyard Harvest, a nonprofit organization that provides fresh produce to low income families, accepts SNAP benefits from May to October at three different markets, including the Moscow Farmers Market, the Pullman Farmers Market and the Tuesday Growers Market at the Moscow Food Co-op. On eight Saturdays these benefits can be used at the Winter Market at the 1912 Center.

With support from the city of Moscow and the Co-op, the “Shop the Market” program allows families with food-stamp benefits to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, meat, eggs and other items from vendors.

SNAP benefits can be used for any food that is not ready-to-eat or fully prepared.

At the markets, SNAP benefit participants first go to the Backyard Harvest booth and request an amount to be deducted from their electronic benefit transfer card. In return, they receive $1 and $5 wooden tokens, which can be used at any vendor at the market. Meanwhile Backyard Harvest runs the benefit card through a U.S. Department of Agriculture issued swipe machine and collects tokens from vendors in exchange for cash at the end of the market.

Kathleen Burns, director of the Moscow Arts Commission, said she started working in 2008 with Backyard Harvest’s founder, Amy Gray,

and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to become the first farmers market in Idaho to accept SNAP. The program then grew to include markets in Boise and Kuna, Burns said.

“It helps create the farmers market to be a community event for everyone,” Burns said. “SNAP has been a gateway to introducing people to the market.”

With help from a $24,520 grant in 2009 from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation, Backyard Harvest offers a match program where participants buy at least $5 in tokens and are given another $5 for free.

Ashleigh Stedman, an intern for Backyard Harvest, said the $5 bonus makes it easier for participants to buy fresh produce and healthy food.

“The SNAP program allows more people to spend money in the farmers market, and this is a benefit to the vendors, as well,” said Dan Schaaf, program manager at Backyard Harvest.

Marci Miller, who sells organic produce for Deep Roots at the market, said because the tokens are in dollar amounts only, she always rounds down to give customers extra produce.

“It is great as a producer, because it’s one for one. There’s no loss of money and we just go and exchange the tokens with Backyard Harvest

geoff crimmins | photo

for cash at the end of every market,” Miller said.

Deep Roots accepts SNAP tokens for vegetable and herb plants it sells in the spring, Miller said.

“They know that this produce is more nutrient-dense than going and buying a boxed product,” she said.

Britt Heisel, coordinator of the Moscow Food Co-op Tuesday Growers Market, said “What’s great about having the SNAP available at the market, regardless of nutritional value, is that it opens up the market to a group of people that felt excluded prior to that.”

Although Backyard Harvest advertises through local radio stations and food banks, one of the challenges the program faces is informing SNAP participants they can use their benefits at places other than the grocery store.

Backyard Harvest’s mid-season report showed 287 transactions at the 26 Saturday markets between May and October.

According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, 2,875 Latah County residents participated in SNAP in October 2013. On average, Backyard Harvest sees about 15 participants at the market, depending on the weather, Stedman said.

Becky Davis completed a journalism degree from the University of Idaho in December. She lives in Boise.

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 25

banking on food

{

Those in need of nourishment seek support through Trinity Moscow Food Pantry

I just don’t want to fill up my kids with junk. I use as many fresh fruits and vegetables as I can.” tanya ams, food pantry patron by shanon quinn

Daily News staff writer

The foyer of Trinity Baptist Church in Moscow is likely to be crowded after 4 p.m. Tuesdays.

On other days, similar scenes play out in foyers and halls all across the Palouse, packed with hope, patience, more than a little desperation and — certainly — hunger. This is the story of one of those on one afternoon.

Zach Purdy stands near the hallway lined with occupied chairs that leads to the food pantry. He calls numbers with a bright smile that is often returned to him by the recipients who make their way down the hall. Purdy has volunteered at the pantry since it opened in 2011.

“I attend the church,” he said, “so when they asked for volunteers to help out at the food pantry, I signed up.”

Most of the recipients were here last week. They will be back next week and the week after. Some have been here every Tuesday for years.

This is the waiting room for the Trinity Moscow Food Pantry.

“Four twenty one,” Purdy called, a strong, clear voice in the relative quiet of the granite floored room.

Someone shuffled and stood, followed by others, and carried a wire milk crate down the narrow hallway.

Food Pantry recipients who arrive at the church before 4 p.m. receive a raffle ticket which may enable them to get through the line more quickly.

With the number of people typically waiting, any chance of getting ahead is gladly taken.

The pantry is a “choice” food bank, meaning recipients are able to choose what foods they want, rather than being handed a box of things they may or may not like. This eliminates waste, said Director Bev Bafus. But it also increases the wait time.

Once their number is called, recipients make their way down the hallway with boxes or bags through a cafeteria-like line where they choose a few items from each of the tall, labeled shelves.

geoff crimmins | photo

Mary Baumgartner, left, grabs a can of food requested by a client Feb. 4 at the Trinity Moscow Food Pantry. The Food Pantry has been in operation since May 2011.

The Trinity Moscow Food Pantry has been in operation since May 2011, Bafus said. It sees an increase of anywhere between 15 and 30 families per month.

Mindy Mozingo, a 27-year-old working mother of two toddlers, ages 3 and 4, said she only comes to the food bank when she really needs to, but times are hard lately.

She is just above the income limit for receiving food stamps, she said. Plus her children eat up what money is left after rent and other bills — especially electricity.

“My kids are at that age where they’re growing and growing. They need new shoes, new snow pants, new everything, all the time,” Mozingo said.

Her friend and neighbor Tanya Ams, who accompanied her to the pantry, said she is grateful for the help she receives there.

“It’s helpful to have a place we can come to, sometimes several times a month, to get what we need,” she said.

Ams said she could probably afford food for the month on food

26 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

stamps if she only bought junk food, but since the healthier the food is, the more it costs, she finds herself exhausting the funds before the month is up.

“I just don’t want to fill up my kids with junk. I use as many fresh fruits and vegetables as I can,” she said.

Ams, 33, has three children in her home, ages 6, 13 and 14.

The two women, although struggling themselves, have found ways to help each other through rides, since Tanya’s car recently broke down, and babysitting.

The first week of the month is usually less crowded, since people received food stamp benefits at that time, but after the decrease in food stamp amounts, many people are finding more month at the end of their money.

“You should have seen it here last week,” Bafus said. “It was standing room only.”

In December, the most recent month where total figures are available, Bafus said the pantry served more than 1,600 people and 500

families.

Although the food donations come from any number of places –– residents and businesses –– Bafus said Wal-Mart is the pantry’s biggest donor.

“We get over 2,000 pounds of food per week from them,” Bafus said.

The second largest donor amount comes from the Idaho Food Bank, then other grocery stores, food drives and private donations.

Bafus said the pantry typically runs out of food every week.

Recipients may choose fresh fruit or vegetable items from tables set between the double exit doors, such as a bag of oranges, a bunch of bananas and occasionally a container of peppery arugula.

Those wishing to donate to the Trinity Moscow Food Pantry may drop off food items 8 a.m.-noon at Trinity Baptist Church, at 711 Fairview St., or during business hours at Cafe Artista.

Shanon Quinn can be reached at (208) 883-4632 or by email at briefs@dnews.com.

directory This list has been borrowed from and is an edited version of a Community Resource Guide compiled and maintained by Gritman Medical Center’s Social Services Office. The Gritman Junior Volunteers helped in its initial development.

Contact Gritman Social Services, (208) 8826360, with questions, concerns and updates or to get a copy of the full version of the guide.

GENERAL Idaho CareLine, 211 or (877) 211-9274; provides resources and information throughout Idaho

CRISIS SERVICES Suicide Suicide Prevention Hotline, (800) 273-TALK National Hotline, (800) SUICIDE Moscow Hotline, (208) 882-0562 Seniors Adult Protection — Area Agency on Aging, 124 New Sixth St., Lewiston, (800) 877-3206, (208) 743-5580 Adult Protective Services, Colfax, (800) 459-0421, (509) 323-9400 Children Child Protection, Idaho — Department

A list of help and services on the Palouse

of Health and Welfare, after hours crisis or consultations, (855) 552-5437, (208) 882-0670 Child Protection, Washington — Department of Social and Health Services, Colfax, (800) 642-5179 Safe Haven, Idaho Careline, (800) 926-2588, infants can be left at hospitals, clinics, physicians office, ambulance, emergency response, or police departments within 30 days of delivery. www.idahochild.org Domestic Violence Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse, (208) 883-HELP; Pullman, (509) 332-0552; Moscow, (208) 882-2490 National Domestic Violence Hotline, (800) 799-SAFE Domestic Violence Hotline, (800) 562-6025 YWCA — Lewiston, (208) 743-1535; 24hour crisis service, (800) 669-3176, (208) 746-9655 Idaho Region II Behavioral Health Crisis Line, (208) 882-0562 Law Enforcement Moscow Police, 118 E. Fourth St., (208) 882-2677 Pullman Police, (509) 334-0802 Latah County Sheriff, Moscow, (208) 882-2216; Crime Victim Information, (208) 883-2246 Whitman County Sheriff, Colfax, (509) 397-6266; Crime Victims Assistance,

(509) 397-6250 Washington State Patrol, 840 W. Fairview St., Colfax, (800) 283-7804, (509) 397-3600 Idaho State Police District 2, (208) 791-5151, www.isp.idaho.gov

PHYSICIANS OFFICES CHAS Clinic, 719 S. Main St., Moscow, (208) 848-8300 Kendrick Family Care, 610 E. Main St., Kendrick, (208) 289-3841 Moscow Family Medicine, 623 S. Main St., No. 1, Moscow, (208) 882-2011 Moscow Medical, 213 N. Main St., Moscow, (208) 882-7565 Moscow Pullman OB/GYN, 623 S. Main St., No. 5, Moscow, (208) 883-0813; 1205 SE Professional Mall Blvd., No. 102, Pullman, (509) 332-7511 Palouse Medical, 825 SE Bishop Blvd., No. 200, Pullman, (509) 332-2517 Palouse Pediatrics, 1420 S. Blaine St., No. 5, Moscow, (208) 882-2247; 1205 SE Professional Mall Blvd., No. 104, Pullman, (509) 332-2605 Potlatch Family Care, 225 Sixth St., Potlatch, (208) 875-2380 Pullman Family Medicine, 915 NE Valley Road, Pullman, (509) 332-3548 Total Health Physician Group, 619 S. Washington St., No. 203, Moscow, (208) 892-1346 Troy Clinic, 412 S. Main St., Troy, (208) 835-5550

FREE AND SLIDING SCALE CLINICS Benewah Clinic, 1115 B St., Plummer, (208) 686-1931; medical, dental, counseling, sliding scale CHAS Clinic, 719 S. Main St., Moscow, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, sliding scale CHAS Clinic, 338 Sixth St., No. 101, Lewiston, (866) 729-8258 (208) 848-8300; Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and sliding scale Snake River Clinic, 215 10th St., Lewiston, (208) 743-5899; basic health care, referrals, non-narcotic drugs, prescription refills and laboratory work for patients without insurance only. Care for free or small fees. No appointments. Patients seen by number after 5 p.m. Line forms at 3:30 p.m.

PUBLIC HEALTH Whitman County, 310 N. Main, Colfax, (509) 397-6280; 1205 SE Professional Mall Blvd., No. 203, Pullman, (509) 332-6752 Idaho Regional Health, (208) 799-4400; North Central Health District, 333 E. Palouse River Drive, Moscow, (208) 882-7506; 215 10th St., Lewiston, (208) 799-3100

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES Idaho University of Idaho Center on

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 27

Disabilities, (208) 885-6000 Comprehensive Advocacy Inc., 428 W. Third St., Moscow, (866) 262-3462 Developmental Disabilities Program, Department of Health and Welfare, 1350 Troy HIghway, Moscow, (208) 883-4529, (800) 393-4337 Disability Action Center, 505 N. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-0523 Idaho Assistive Technology, 129 W. Third St., Moscow, (800) 432-8324 Inclusions North, 111 E. Second St., No. 1, Moscow, (208) 883-8041 Milestones, 611 S. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-8262 Opportunities Unlimited, 119 E. Fourth St., Moscow, (208) 883-5587 Scott Community Care, 200 S. Almon St., Moscow, (208) 882-3504 SL Start, 1630 23rd Ave., No. 501, Lewiston, (208) 798-8771 Social Security, 1617 19th Ave., Lewiston, (800) 772-1213, www.ssa.gov Special Olympics, (800) 915-6510 University of Idaho Disability Support Services, UI Commons, Room 306, P.O. Box 442537, Moscow, (208) 885-6307 Vocational Rehabilitation, 609 S. Washington St., No. 201, Moscow, (208) 882-8550 Washington Community and Residential Experience Support, (509) 397-3403 Families Together of the Palouse, (866) 326-4864, www.familiestogether.org Palouse Industries, 1235 SE Professional Mall Blvd., Pullman, (509) 332-6561, www. palouseindustries.org Palouse Area Therapeutic Horsemanship, (509) 335-7347 People First of Washington, 932½ Sixth St., Clarkston, (509) 758-1123 State Division of Developmental Disabilities, (509) 397-5053 Vocational Rehabilitation, 1256 SE Bishop Blvd, Suite J, Pullman, (509) 3384762 Washington State University Disability Resource Center, (509) 335-1566, students only

HOME CARE ASSISTANCE Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, (208) 799-4430 Addus Health Care, (877) 566-8300, 1034 Main St., Lewiston, (208) 746-8881 Aging With Grace, 818 N. Jefferson St., Moscow, (208) 882-1951 Alternative Nursing Services, 828 S. Washington St., Moscow, (800) 930-3050, (208) 882-0616 Care Connection Home Care LLC, 225 E. Palouse River Drive, Moscow, (208) 892-3774 Choice Care Services, 119 E. Fourth St., Moscow, (208) 883-5587; by Opportunities Unlimited Compassionate Care, 150 126th St., Suite B, Orofino, (866) 919-2273; (208) 4763714 Disability Action Center, 505 N. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-0523 Griswold Home Care, 613 Bryden Ave., No. 147, Lewiston, (800) 474-7965, (208) 816-8228 Home Care Services, 549 Fifth St., Suite E, Clarkston, (509) 758-1458 Idaho Partners In Care, 820 Elm St., St. Maries, (800) 576-1825, (208) 245-4576 Seubert’s Quality Home Care, 325 W. Third St., Moscow, (800) 597-6620,

(208) 883-1114

AGING SERVICES

Washington DSHS Community Services Office, 418 S. Main St., No. 1, Colfax, (509) 397-5050 Addus Health Care, 116½ S. Main St., Colfax, (509) 397-4750 Alternative Nursing Services, 828 S. Washington St., Moscow, (800) 930-3050, (208) 882-0616 Chesterfield Services Inc., 209 N. Main St., Colfax, (866) 433-8895, (509) 397-3328 Family Home Care, 1610 NE Eastgate Blvd., No. 850, Pullman, (509) 473-4949, (509) 496-1945 Havenwood Caregiver Services, 303 E. Wellesley Ave., Spokane, (509) 535-1546 Home Care Services, 549 Fifth St. Suite E, Clarkston, (509) 758-1458 ResCare HomeCare, 744 Fifth St., Suite B, Clarkston, (509) 758-2055

Idaho Area Agency on Aging, 124 New Sixth St., Lewiston, (800) 877-3206, (208) 7435580; adult protection, ombudsman.

Carelink, (208) 877-1999, similar to Lifeline Circles of Caring Adult Day Health, (208) 883-6483, provides day services for adults that are at risk because of dementia or disabilities Lifeline, (800) 242-1306, (208) 8826560, call Good Samaritan for referrals Idaho Senior Legal Hotline, (866) 345-0106, serves those calling on behalf of seniors age 60-plus. Must meet federal poverty guideline. For free legal advice on all but criminal issues Project ACCESS, (208) 883-6483, provides transportation services, support groups Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, 1424 Main St., Lewiston, (208) 746-7787, matches seniors who want to volunteer to community organizations.

HOME HEALTH/HOSPICE Auburn Crest Hospice, (208) 743-2222 Gentiva Home Health and Hospice, 1610 NE Eastgate Blvd., No. 850, Pullman, (509) 334-6016, (509) 332-2236; 106 S. Mill St., Colfax, (509) 397-4641 St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Hospice, 1250 Idaho St, Lewiston, (208) 799-5538 Tri-State Home Health and Hospice, 1372 Bridge St., Clarkston, (509) 758-2568

ASSISTED LIVING Bishop Place, 815 SE Klemgard St., Pullman, (509) 334-9488 Clark House, 1401 N. Polk St., Moscow, (208) 882-3438 Good Samaritan Village, 640 N. Eisenhower St., Moscow, (208) 882-6560, www.good-sam.com Whitman Senior Living Community, 1285 SW Center St., Pullman, (509) 3322629, www.whitmanslc.com

SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES Aspen Park Healthcare, 420 Rowe St., Moscow, (208) 882-4576 Avalon Care Center, 1310 NW Deanne St., Pullman, (509) 332-1566 Good Samaritan Village, 640 N. Eisenhower St., Moscow, (208) 882-6560, www.good-sam.com

ADULT FAMILY HOMES Arcadia Drive Adult Family Home, 1500 NW Arcadia Drive, Pullman, (509) 332-1230 Care Haven, P.O. Box 9721, Moscow, (208) 596-8908 Cityview, 525 SW City View St., Pullman, (509) 334-5786 Considerate Care, 730 SE Carol Star Drive, Pullman, (509) 339-6146; 330 E. Cannon St., Palouse, (509) 878-1405 DreamWorks, Colfax, (509) 397-9049 Glen Haven, 352 Johnson Road, Pullman, (509) 332-7472 Glen Haven II, 217 Lancer Lane, Pullman, (509) 334-7022 Nelson’s Corner, Colfax, (509) 397-3403 Paul’s Place, Colfax, (509) 397-3433 Precious Elders, 320 NW Terre View Drive, Pullman, (509) 339-6200 Whispering Hills Adult Family Home, 1090 SW Latour Peak St., Pullman, (509) 338-4439

28 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

Washington Aging and Long Term Care, 744 Fifth St., Suite C, Clarkston, (509) 758-2355, www. altcwashington.com Council on Aging, 210 S. Main St., P.O. Box 107, Colfax, (509) 397-4611, provides respite care, information and assistance, and care management Elder Care Locator Line, (800) 6771116, www.eldercare.gov Community Council on Aging, 210 S. Main St., Colfax, (509) 397-4305, volunteer organization that provides for the needs of seniors Pullman Senior Center, City Hall, (509) 332-1933, open Monday through Friday Palouse Industries, 1235 SE Professional Mall Blvd., Pullman, (509) 332-6561, provides some yard work for seniors

SENIOR MEAL SITES Plymouth Congregational Church, 321 S. Main St., P.O. Box 225, Colfax, (509) 3973011, Wednesdays at noon Deary Fire Hall, 403 Main St., Deary, (208) 877-1515, Tuesdays at noon Elk City VFW, 50 American River Road, Elk City, (208) 842-2393, Mondays at noon Kendrick Senior Citizens Center, 104 Sixth St., Kendrick, (208) 289-5031, Wednesdays and Fridays at noon Lewiston Community Center/Senior Nutrition Program, 1424 Main St., Lewiston, (208) 743-6983, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at noon Moscow Senior/Community Center, 412 E. Third St., 1912 Center, Moscow, (208) 8821562, Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon Orchards United Methodist Church, 1213 Burrell Ave., Lewiston, (208) 743-9201, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at noon Palouse Federated Church, 635 N. Bridge St., Palouse, (509) 878-1509, Wednesdays at noon Potlatch Senior Center, 645 Pine St., Potlatch, (208) 875-1071, Tuesdays and Fridays at noon Pullman Senior Center, City Hall, 325 SE Paradise St., Pullman, (509) 332-1933, Mondays and Fridays at 11:45 a.m.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COAST Transportation, (800) 873-9996, (509) 397-2935, volunteer drivers, donations accepted Community Action Partnership, 428 W.

Third St., No. 4, Moscow, (208) 882-3535 Department of Health and Welfare, 1350 Troy Highway, Moscow, (208) 882-2433 Department of Social and Health Services, 418 S. Main St., Colfax, (800) 654-8130, (509) 397-4326 Gritman Financial Counseling, 700 S. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-2223, for assistance with making arrangements for medical bills Idaho Medicaid Transportation Unit, American Medical Response, (877) 503-1261, call to arrange Medicaid nonemergency transport to physician appointments with 24 hours notice Latah County Social Services, P.O. Box 9124, Moscow, (208) 883-7209 Sojourners’ Alliance, 627 N. Van Buren St., Moscow, (208) 883-3438 St. Vincent DePaul Society, (208) 883-3284 United Way of Moscow-Latah County, 110 S. Jackson St., Moscow, (208) 882-3474

FOOD BANKS Idaho Adventist Community Services, 405 Main St., Deary, (208) 877-7414, Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Genesee Food Bank, (208) 285-1195, Genesee residents call Vicki Luedke for appointment. USDA low income guidelines and emergency assistance for special situations Genesee Food Center, 216 W. Chestnut St., Genesee, (208) 285-1323 Lewiston Food Bank, 124 New Sixth St., Lewiston, (208) 746-3351, Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Moscow Food Bank, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 618 E. First St., Moscow, (208) 882-4813, Tuesday-Friday 2-4 p.m.

Potlatch Food Bank, 251 Kennedy Ford Road, Potlatch, (208) 875-0735, call Sally Anderson for appointment Sojourners’ Alliance Troy Food Bank, 102 Sixth St., Troy, (208) 835-3000, Wednesdays 4-6 p.m.

Trinity Baptist Church, 711 Fairview Drive, Moscow, (208) 882-2015, Tuesdays 4-7 p.m.

Washington Asotin County Food Bank Associates Inc., 1546 Maple St., Clarkston, (509) 7587085, open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, one service per person every three months Colfax Food Bank, Colfax, (509) 3972205, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday Pullman Food Bank, 350 Fairmont Road, (509) 334-9147; 108 NW Stadium Way, (509) 338-0801; Monday and Thursday 9-11 a.m., Wednesday 4-6 p.m.

HOUSING ASSISTANCE Asotin County Housing Authority, 1212 Fair St., Clarkston, (509) 758-5751; Section 8, (509) 758-8514 Community Action Partnership, 428 W. Third St., Moscow, (208) 882-3535; 124 New Sixth St., Lewiston, (208) 743-5580 Idaho Housing and Finance Association, Section 8, 215 10th St., No. 101, Lewiston, (208) 743-0251 Latah County Sheriff’s Office, Latah County Courthouse, corner of South Van Buren and East Fifth streets, (208) 882-2216, go after 5 p.m. and they may be able to provide one night at a hotel Palouse Habitat for Humanity, 822 Elm St., Moscow, (208) 883-8502 Sojourners’ Alliance, 627 N. Van Buren St., Moscow, (208) 883-3438

YWCA, 300 Main St., Lewiston, (208) 743-1535; 24 hour crisis services, (800) 669-3176, or (208) 746-9655

MEDICATION COST ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS NeedyMeds, www.needymeds.com Medicare and Medicaid services, (800) 633-2273 Partnership for Prescription Assistance, (888) 477-2669, www.pparx.org Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, (800) 762-4636, www.phrma.org RxHope, (908) 850-8004, www.RxHope. com RxAssist, www.rxassist.org Rx Outreach Assistance Program, rxoutreach.org Together Rx Access, www. togetherrxaccess.com

DRUG AND ALCOHOL COUNSELING Substance abuse treatment facilities, findtreatment.samhsa.gov/list_search.htm, locate facilities anywhere in US Alcoholics Anonymous, www.area92aa. org or www.aa.org, for locations and times of meetings ALANON, (888)-4AL-ANON; Idaho, (208) 289-0997, www.al-anon-idaho.org; Washington, www.wa-al-anon.org Narcotics Anonymous, na.org/?ID=homecontent-fm, for meeting locations Idaho Alcoholics Anonymous, Moscow, (208) 882-1597 Alcohol-Drug Treatment and Referral, (800) 454-8966 Alliance Family Services Inc., 212 Rodeo Drive, No. 410, Moscow, (208) 882-5960; www.alliancefamilyservices.com Business Psychology Associates, (800) 922-3406, provides a 15 minute assessment over the phone and refers the client to the nearest, most appropriate agency, funding the client’s care through the agency the client chooses Narcotics Anonymous, (208) 746-7632 Weeks & Vietri Counseling and Community Service, 818 S. Washington St., Moscow, (888) 875-2784, (208) 882-8514 Washington Directory of Certified Chemical Dependency Services, www.dshs.wa.gov/ dbhr/dadirectory.shtml Washington Recovery Help Line, (866) 789-1511, www.waRecoveryHelpLine. org Alcoholics Anonymous, Clarkston, (509) 758-2821 Intensive Inpatient Program For Youth, (509) 334-0718 Palouse Recovery Center, 1240 SE Bishop Blvd., Suite P, Pullman, (509) 3340718 Palouse River Counseling Center, 340 NE Maple St., Pullman, (509) 334-1133 Weeks & Vietri Counseling and Community Service, 818 S. Washington St., Moscow, (888) 875-2784, (208) 882-8514

COUNSELING AGENCIES Idaho Alliance Family Services Inc., 212 Rodeo Drive, No. 410, Moscow, (208) 882-5960; www.alliancefamilyservices.com Aspire Counseling Services, 200 S.

Almon St., No. 204, Moscow, (208) 310-4578 Bridge Bible Fellowship, 960 W. Palouse River Drive, Moscow, (208) 882-0674 Community Christian Ministries, 516 S. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-0997 Consumer Credit Counseling, (800) 556-0127 Counseling Center of the Palouse, 814 S. Washington St., Moscow, (208) 883-0619 Department of Health and Welfare, 1350 State Highway 8, No. 2, Moscow, (208) 882-0562 Educational and Psychological Services, 2301 W. A St., Suite C, Moscow, (208) 883-1144; 629 Sixth St., Clarkston, (509) 758-9698 Fraley & Associates PLLC, 3320 State Highway 8, Moscow, (509) 710-8171; 504 Main St., No. 422, Lewiston, www. fraleyandassociates.com Healthy Balance, (208) 883-8745 Integrative Mindworks, 803 S. Jefferson St., No. 3, Moscow, (208) 882-8159 Kitzrow, Martha, 106 E. Third St., No. 6, Moscow, (208) 883-1842 Masom Counseling and Consulting, 106 E Third St., No. 2B, Moscow, (208) 882-1289 Nekich, Jamie, Ph.D., 814 S. Washington St., Moscow, (208) 885-5057 Paradise Creek Counseling, 619 S. Washington St., No. 301, Moscow, (208) 596-2542 Scott Community Care, 200 S. Almon St., Moscow, (208) 882-3504; 119 New Sixth St., Lewiston, (208) 746-9946 University of Idaho Student Counseling and Testing Center, Mary E. Forney Hall, No. 306, 1210 Blake Ave., Moscow, (208) 885-6716 Weeks & Vietri Counseling and Community Service, 818 S. Washington St., Moscow, (888) 875-2784, (208) 882-8514 Wellhouse Counseling Services, (208) 882-8340, Moscow and Pullman locations Yama, Mark, Ph.D., P.O. Box 3033, Moscow, (208) 885-7376, (208) 882-2182 Washington Bobo, Lori, 340 NE Maple St., Pullman, (509) 334-1133 Brown, Catherine, 1345 NE Terre View Drive, Pullman, (509) 334-4500 Funabiki, Dean, Ph.D. & Associates, 1205 SE Professional Mall Blvd., No.113, Pullman, (509) 334-0677 Langfield Psychological Services, 1240 SE Bishop Blvd., Pullman, (509) 334-0782 Lawhead, Bonita, 1240 SE Bishop Blvd., Pullman, (509) 334-0782 McCoy, Len, 1260 SE Bishop Blvd, Suite B, Pullman, (509) 338-9100 Palouse Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, 825 SE Bishop Blvd., No. 401, Pullman, (509) 339-2394 Palouse River Counseling Center, 340 NE Maple St., Pullman, (866) 871-6385, (509) 334-1133 Pullman Regional Hospital Behavioral Health, (509) 339-2394 Scott, Donna, Ph.D., Pullman, (509) 332-5605 Wilson Psychological Services, 1240 SE Bishop Blvd., Pullman, (509) 334-0782 Washington State University Counseling and Testing Center, 280 Lighty Student Services Building, P.O. Box 641065, Pullman, (509) 335-4511, after hours: (509) 3352159, testing: (509) 335-1744 WSU Psychology Clinic, 362 Johnson Tower, Pullman, (509) 335-3587

MENTAL HEALTH

IDAHO Region II Behavioral Health Crisis Line, (866) 449-3815 Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, (208) 882-2433; 1350 Troy Highway, No. 2, Moscow, (208) 882-0670; 1118 F St., P.O. Drawer B, Lewiston, (208) 799-4360; www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov Mental Health and Alcohol Services, 626 Eighth Ave., SE, Olympia, (888) 7136010 Palouse River Counseling, 340 NE Maple St., Pullman, (866) 871-6385, (509) 3341133

CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES Alliance Family Services, 212 Rodeo Drive, No. 410, Moscow, (208) 882-5960 Opportunities Unlimited, 119 E. Fourth St., Moscow, (208) 883-5587 Region II Adult Mental Health and Children’s Mental Health, 1350 Troy Highway, No. 2, Moscow, (208) 882-0562 Scott Community Care, 200 S. Almon St., Moscow, (208) 882-3504; 119 New Sixth St., Lewiston, (208) 746-9946 Susan Call’s Case Management, 313 D St., Lewiston, (208) 798-8070 Weeks & Vietri Counseling and Community Service, 818 S. Washington St., Moscow, (888) 875-2784, (208) 882-8514

CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, (208) 882-2433; 1350 Troy Highway, No. 2, Moscow, (208) 882-0670; 1118 F St., P.O. Drawer B, Lewiston, (208) 799-4360; www. healthandwelfare.idaho.gov Care Net of the Palouse, 1515 W. A St., Moscow, (208) 882-2370, provides pregnancy testing and obstetric ultrasound confidentially.

Free of charge during the first one to two trimesters to confirm pregnancy through Wish Medical CASA (Court Appointed Child Advocates), 1618 Idaho St., No. 100, Lewiston, (888) 746-2272, (208) 746-3378, guardian ad litem for child protection cases and volunteers available Community Action Partnership, 428 W. Third St., No. 4, Moscow, (800) 3264843, (208) 882-3535, Latah County family specialists to help with goal setting and self sufficiency; emergency and financial services; multiple resources Direction Dynamics, Moscow, (208) 882-0440, family, child custody and divorce mediation and coaching/counseling First Steps Program, (208) 883-6399, education and support for parents and parents to be Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies, Boise, (954) 765-0550 Department of Health and Welfare, Infant-Toddler Program, 1350 State Highway 8, No. 2, Moscow, (208) 882-0670, children birth to 3 with any disabilities Idaho Human Services, (208) 334-5500 KinCare in Idaho, (208) 983-1738, support for grandparents raising grandchildren La Leche League of the Palouse, (509) 334-5439, breast feeding support and monthly meetings, telephone help with breastfeeding questions Lewis-Clark Early Childhood Program, 514 Northwood Drive, Moscow, (208) 883-3940, Head Start and services for ages 3-5 with preschool education, nutrition, screenings, help with resources and free preschool for low income families

Literacy Council of the Palouse, Moscow, (509) 592-5657, free and confidential tutoring to improve English speaking, reading, writing and math Moscow Parent-Toddler Co-op, (208) 310-9344, field trips and group activities for parents and their children under 4; parenting library available North Central District Health Department, 333 E. Palouse River Drive, Moscow, (208) 882-7506, “Ages and Stages” questionnaire program for birth to 36 months WIC – Women with Infant Children, (208) 882-7353, dietary counseling and food vouchers for milk, formula, etc., to ensure healthy diet in pregnant women and children under 2; also includes other resources Palouse Resource Network for Families, (509) 332-3524, resources and services for families Success by Six of the Palouse, (208) 882-7162, mother-baby network for fun and support Shriners, (208) 743-6916 University of Idaho Early Childhood Learning Center, (208) 885-6414 Wish Medical, 1515 W. A St., Moscow, (208) 892-9474, free pregnancy and STD testing Within Reach, (800) 322-2588 Young Children and Families Programs, (886) 295-YCFP, (208) 883-6334, parenting education and support, in-home individualized programs and parent group activities in Latah and Whitman Counties Washington Community Action Center, 350 SE Fairmont Road, Pullman, (509) 334-9147, provides critical services to those in need, including housing, supplemental food, energy assistance, legal referrals, home weatherization and repair Department of Early Learning, (360) 725-4665 Department of Social and Health Services, Child Protective Services, Children’s Administration, Colfax, (800) 642-5179, (509) 397-5040, provides free developmental services and supports to children to age 3 and their families Community Childcare Center, Pullman, (509) 334-9290 Headstart and Early Childhood Assistance (ECEAP), (877) 909-7005, preschool family service for families who have children in preschool Division of Children and Family Services, (509) 332-4420, ages and stages program and early intervention program, free and available to qualifying children up to age 3 La Leche League of the Palouse, (208) 882-0357, breast feeding support, monthly meetings, telephone help with questions Palouse Resource Network for Families, (509) 332-3524, resources and services for families Pullman Child Welfare, (509) 338-0801, provides emergency food, clothes and gas to low income families with children in school Pullman United Way, (509) 332-3691 Success by Six of the Palouse, (208) 882-7162, mother-baby network for fun and support Young Children & Families Programs, (208) 883-6334 Early Learning Center, (509) 332-5117, (208) 882-5437, parenting education and support, in-home individualized programs and parent group activities in Latah and Whitman counties Whitman County Health Department,

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 29

Pullman, (509) 332-6752, WIC and well child clinic

“Ending homelessness on the Palouse, one family at a time”

(208) 882-0165 familypromisepalouse.org

Contact your local Whitman County Aging and Disability Resources at 1-800-873-5889 Today!

DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES Apria/Coram Healthcare, (800) 7351153 Area Agency on Aging, Lewiston, (208) 743-5580, free equipment loan closet Buri’s Medical Equipment, 119 S. Main St., Colfax, (877) 397-4635, (509) 3974635 Disability Action Center, 505 N. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-0523, free equipment loan closet Inland Medical and Rehabilitation, 200 E. Second Ave., Suite B, Spokane, (509) 455-9385 Kinetic Concepts Incorporated (KCI), (800) 275-4524 Kootenai Prosthetic Orthotic Service Inc., 1321 W. Northwood Center Court, Coeur d’Alene, (208) 765-3080 LifeCare Solutions, 11703 E. Sprague Ave., Building C-3, Spokane Valley, (800) 475-0278, (509) 921-6560 Lincare, 428 W. Third St., No. 2, Moscow, (208) 882-1847 Marketime, Moscow, (208) 882-7541 Norco, 223 W. Third St., Moscow, (208) 882-3571 Northern Home Medical, 825 SE Bishop Blvd., No. 301, Pullman, (509) 3346501 Northwest Respiratory & Medical, 619 S. Washington St., No. 102, Moscow, (208) 882-9746 Owl Home Medical, 312 St. John’s Way, Lewiston, (208) 743-7766 Sid’s Pharmacy, 825 SE Bishop Blvd.,

Pullman, (509) 332-4608 Wasem’s Home Medical, 800 Sixth St., Clarkston, (509) 758-2565

PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL/SPEECH THERAPY Elements of Wellness Aquatic and Manual Therapy, 872 Troy Highway, No. 170, Moscow, (208) 892-8888 Gritman Therapy Solutions, 810 S. Main St., Moscow, (208) 883-1522 McGreevy, Marianne & Quanta, Piko, 1035 NW Nye St., Pullman, (509) 3323257 Moscow Mountain Physical Therapy, 872 Troy Highway, No. 180, Moscow, (208) 882-1426 Proformance Sport Physical Therapy, 1225 S. Grand Ave., Suite B, Pullman, (509) 338-9204 Pullman Sport Physical Therapy, 588 SE Bishop Blvd., Suite A, Pullman, (509) 332-7778 Summit Physical Therapy, 1620 SE Summit Court, Pullman, (509) 332-5106

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORT Life Flight, 22285 Yellow Gate Lane, No. 102, Aurora, Ore., (503) 678-4364; Idaho membership, 2779 S. Liberty St., Boise, (800) 574-9464, (208) 362-3800; Washington and Oregon membership, P.O. Box 99, Aurora, Ore., (800) 982-9299, (503) 678-4370; www.lifeflight.org/ Northwest Medstar, P.O. Box 11005, Spokane Valley, (800) 572-3210; (509) 536-5462; membership, P.O. Box 469, Spokane, (855) UJOINUS, (855) 856-4687; www.nwmedstar.org/

Help, support and resources are available for you in your caregiving & care receiving journey!

Provides equal opportunity to services programs, actvites, employment and appointments to planning advisory bodies with-out regards to race, color, sex, religion, natinal origin, creed, marital status, age, Vietnam era or disabled veterans status, sensory, mental or physical disability.

HELPING PEOPLE. CHANGING LIVES. STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY. Serving Ferry, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Whitman County

30 | Poverty on the Palouse | 2014

An Open Letter to Rep. Susan Fagan, Rep. Joe Schmick, and Sen. Mark Schoesler

Greetings,

We thank you, our state legislators, for your continued public service and for your visible support for the Community Action Center by attending its 25th anniversary celebration. We wish you all the best as you travel throughout the Ninth District and represent us in Olympia.

We ask you to address poverty as one of your top priorities. Some solutions may require bringing in more state revenue, and we hope that you will find the political courage to do so.

Poverty is not easy. Ask anyone thrown out of work or hit with staggering medical bills or working one or more lowincome jobs. The struggle to make ends meet often leads to stress and loneliness.

We believe:

• Every child should have enough to eat – good nutrition is necessary for young people to do well in school.

• Everybody should live with a sense of hope and dignity.

Some suggested steps for dealing with poverty are:

• Raising the state minimum wage.

• Restoring $500,000 for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. This program helps low-income seniors, new moms and young kids.

• Fully funding State Food Assistance (SFA). This program helps immigrants not eligible for food stamps (SNAP).

Thank you in advance as you work to meet the basic needs of everyone.

Rich Alldredge Bonnie Ayre-Svingen Jeanette Bonner Frances Pavlas Bose Lennis Boyer Damaris Bradish Janet Brandt John T. Brewer Martin Buehler Sally M. Burkhart Emmett G. Carden Mary H. Carloye Jessica Cassleman Shelley Chambers Sandra C. Cooper Karen R. Curry Margaret B. DeMartini Dennis Edgecombe Maureen Edgecombe John A. Elwood Larry Fox Mary Gastel Passmore Dawn Gauthier Nancy Gillard Lynn Gordon John D. Grabner

Tricia Grantham Carl Hauser Ginny Hauser Dolores Heidenreich Linda Heidenreich Jeanne Holstad Wesley Howell Mary E. Hubbard Uta Hutnak Vincent Hutnak David V. Hutton Sylvia H. Hutton Carole Johnson Gregory M. Johnson Mary R. Johnson Roy Johnson Brenda J. Kane Michael LeRoy Kane George E. Kennedy Jason Kraft Chip Laird Mary Lauver Lucille Linden Stanton Linden Deacon Dianne Lowe Nancy Mack

Jennifer Madrid Thorson Jose Madrid Thorson John P. McNamara Susan M. McNamara Gary Meadows Judy Meuth Diane Miller Kent Miller Marlee Moser Margery Muir Sharon Nitz Nancy Nydegger Christine Oakley Katherine O’Rourke Laetisha O’Rourke Theresa Paul Timothy Paulitz Rosie Pavlov Jerri J. Pedersen, RN MPH Elsa Kirsten Peters Marianne Peterson Annette Pettenger Roger Pettenger Rebecca E. Phillips Margaret (Peggy) Ray Anne Remaley

Travis Ridout Sandra Ristow Catherine Ritchie Mary E. Rivetti W.O. Sarai-Clark Alice Schroeder David Seamans Jim Short Don Shrope Nancy Shrope Elizabeth Siler Patrick Siler Muriel M. Slattum Monique H. Slipher Kathleen Smith-Meadows Cheryl Starkey Beth Waddel R. Jacob Watson Rick Watts Bertie J. Weddell Jim Weddell Nathan Weller Kristine Zakarison

http://users.pullman.com/today/

Poverty on the Palouse | 2014 | 31

I am for the

child who no longer comes

I

am for the child who lived in motels and in cars and in shelters. I am for him.

The child who finally was taken away, and put in foster car. A group home. Where he sleeps on a temporary cot, the kind found in prisons. And where everything he owns is kept in a plastic garbage bag. I am for that child. So I am there for that child.

To listen to him. To stand up in court for him. To speak for him. To champion without compromise for what’s in his best interest. Because if I am there for him, I know he will be half as likely to languish in foster care, and that much more likely to find a safe, permanent home. That is the child I am for. I am a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer.

I am you.

To learn more visit www.whitmancountycasa.org or call (509) 397-5308.