skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Community Agencies Struggle to Serve More Kentuckians in Poverty’s Grip

play audio
Play

Thursday, September 29, 2011   

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Poverty's grip on Kentucky and elsewhere appears to be tightening.

The Bluegrass State has the fifth-highest poverty rates in the nation, census data shows, and nearly one-third of the state's households earned less than $25,000 last year.

Rob Jones, executive director of Community Action Kentucky, says more and more people are turning to his agency for help - even those who once considered themselves middle class.

"The numbers reinforced what we have been seeing in our offices for about the last year, which is a significant pickup not only in the numbers of applicants for services, but also the nature of the applicants for services."

The state's 23 Community Action agencies are trying to stretch their service programs to help the unemployed college-educated searching for work, Jones says.

"They're needing access to computers, to broadband so they can communicate with their employers. So, we're seeing new initiatives in those directions that may not have been the central, core function of the types of services that we had provided in the past."

Jones explains how Community Action Agencies, reliant on federal dollars, are fearful of hefty budget reductions which could have a chilling effect on their ability to administer programs such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

"We are concerned about seeing those that are most in need get that benefit and are able to make it through the cold months without extreme discomfort."

Last year, Community Action agencies in Kentucky served more than 473,000 individuals and roughly 210,000 families with employment, education, housing, nutrition, health and emergency services made possible, in large part, by the Community Services Block Grant program which leverages federal dollars with private investment. Jones worries that the program will face the budget ax at a time when the services are most needed.

"I think most of our agencies are able to leverage 30 to 40 times the money through other grants and through private investment that they invest in programs with their community-services block grant."

The Community Action Council which serves several Bluegrass counties is hosting a poverty forum Monday night in Lexington to heighten awareness of the worsening financial plight of struggling families. More information about the event can be found online at povertyforum.com.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021