PROMOTING FINANCIAL STABILITY AND INDEPENDENCE

ABOUT UNITED WAY

United Way advances the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all. Our focus is on education, income and health – the building blocks for a good quality of life. United Way recruits people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. We invite you to be part of the change. You can give, you can advocate, and you can volunteer. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED.

More information about United Way’s work to improve lives and communities can be found at www.uwgnh.org.

INCOME

Why Income Matters

The American ideal is that hard work will lead to success and that, regardless of one’s origins, America is the land of opportunity. However, that ideal is in peril. Even with more than one family member bringing in wages — or with one person holding multiple jobs — many families are barely getting by, with no ability to save for college, a home, or retirement. Individuals who have limited literacy, math, and computer skills face significant challenges to finding work that can support a family — challenges that have been exacerbated by the loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs in our region.

Adults living in poverty face many challenges, as do their children. Low-income children are at least twice as likely as higher-income children to have physical health problems, experience emotional and behavioral health difficulties, have learning disabilities, and be at risk of developmental delays. This extends the income gap between Connecticut’s high and low wage earners into future generations.

THE INCOME GAP

• Since the late 1980s, Connecticut’s low-income families experienced the most severe wage deterioration in the country ($4,400 or 17%). By contrast, CT’s highest-paid workers have experienced higher wage growth than like-workers in most other states ($20,000 or 45%).1

• Connecticut has among the worst racial and ethnic inequalities in family assets in the nation. For example, the median net worth of white-headed households ($195,771) in Connecticut is 65 times the median net worth of minority-headed households ($3,000).

• The region’s median household income is almost 10% lower than the state median.

HOMELESSNESS

• Between 2009 and 2010, statewide shelter-related inquiries to 2-1-1 increased by 18.3%, while public assistance requests increased by 20.6%.

• According to the 2009 Annual Point in Time Count 677, individuals (521 households) in our region are homeless.

• From 2008 to 2009, Connecticut had a 33% increase in the number of homeless families with children.

AFFORDABLE RENTALS, HOMEOWNERSHIP & FORECLOSURE

• The fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Connecticut is $1,098/month. In order to afford this rent, a household must earn $43,911/year ($21.60 hour). Jobs that do not pay enough to afford fair-market rent include: customer service representatives, office clerks, medical assistants, food preparation workers, janitors, and home health aides.

• The percentage of renters and owners paying more than 30% of their income on housing has risen dramatically in the region between 2000 and 2009.

• The number of foreclosures in New Haven has remained high since the beginning of the economic downturn. Pending foreclosure-related legal actions were higher in the first two quarters of 2010 compared to comparable periods in 2008 and 2009.

HOW IS OUR COMMUNITY DOING?

1 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities2 2008 American Community Survey (3-year estimate)3 Department of Social services data4 CT Department of Labor data5 CT Department of Labor data6 2005 Survey of Income and Program Participation

7 Lyceum Center8 State of Working Connecticut. CT Voices for Children, www.ctkidslink.org/publications/ econ10sowctfull.pdf9 New Haven ROOF Project10 CHFA

Number of Foreclosures in New Haven

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY

• In 2008, 30.5% of New Haven children lived below the poverty line (compared to 11.5% statewide).2 More than three-quarters of New Haven students qualify for free and reduced price meals, which means their families earn less than 185% of the poverty level (an annual income of $39,220 for a family of four).

• In our region a family needs to earn at least 2.5 times the federal poverty level to be considered financially stable. This translates into the equivalent of almost three full-time minimum wage jobs.

• During the first four months of 2010, the Department of Social Services (DSS) office in New Haven received 11,053 applications for food stamps, an increase of 38% from the 8,002 reported during the same period in 2008. Statewide, DSS food stamp applications during that period increased by 51%.3

EMPLOYMENT AND SAVINGS

• Connecticut’s unemployment rate has remained higher than at any point since the 1970s, standing at 9.4% as of July 2010. This is an increase from an 8.6% unemployment rate in July 2009 and a 6.1% rate in July 2008.4

• The unemployment rate in the Greater New Haven region stands near the statewide average, but varies by town from 6.1% in Madison to 13.5% in New Haven.5

• Only 22% of lower-income working families (those who live below 250% of the federal poverty level) in Connecticut have more than $300 in savings, the amount that is needed to weather a single typical emergency.6

Much of the data found in this report was compiled by DataHaven. Visit www.ctdatahaven.org/barometer for more information.

In Greater New Haven, we are joined with community partners to focus on advancing economic opportunity and increasing access to housing as the best ways to create change in our region and improve lives.

WHAT IS UNITED WAY OF GREATER NEW HAVEN DOING?

Smart About Money helps households acquire the tools and support they need to take control of their finances and put them on the road to financial stability.

Money matters. When an individual or family is unsure of how to budget, it can feel like their finances are spinning out of control. United Way and its partner, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, are working to help households achieve financial success. By matching lower-income

households with volunteer budget coaches, SAM impacts a family’s financial future today.

SAM is a resource for households that have income, but are challenged to live within their budgets or meet their financial goals (saving for college or a car or home purchase).

Together, SAM participants and coaches work to build knowledge and change behaviors through one-on-one sessions, so families can take control of their finances and be on the road to financial stability. United Way provides this free service to residents of New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, and East Haven and recruits and supports the volunteer budget coaches. SAM clients also benefit from referrals for additional services, such as credit repair, debt reduction, and homeownership training.

Connex Credit Union is helping to sponsor this program.

Learn more at uwgnh.org/sam

THE RESULTS WE ARE WORKING TO ACHIEVE:

Result 1: Families and individuals achieve greater financial success

Result 2: Families and individuals live in stable, affordable housing

ADVANCING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

United Way focuses on three strategies to help families and individuals achieve financial stability: employment; access to benefits; and financial education.

Workforce Development An employed individual can better support her own family financially and

contributes significantly more to the U.S economy. Male high school dropouts make $1 million less in mean lifetime earnings than their male counterparts with 1-3 years of college; female dropouts earn $700,000 less than their female counterparts. Workforce development programs allow individuals to compete in the job market by gaining or strengthening skills necessary to obtain and maintain a job and to advance at their current workplace or to secure a better job elsewhere.

United Way supports efforts to help people find employment by investing in programs that provide job training, skill development, and job referral and placement services.

Accessing Public and Employer BenefitsMillions of eligible Americans are not utilizing food stamps, health insurance,

retirement savings plans and other public and employer-provided benefits that can significantly increase their household income and improve their overall health and well-being. United Way supports services and programs, such as 2-1-1, that connect people to benefits.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest and most effective federal aid program for low- to moderate-income workers. For many eligible families, the EITC can increase their annual income by as much as 15 percent. United Way invests in campaigns to educate families about the availability and benefits of the EITC and to provide free tax preparation to help families qualify for the credit.

Gaining Financial Education to Put Resources to WorkFinancial education provides information and skills that enable individuals and

families to manage their financial resources wisely, create positive relationships with financial institutions, and make informed decisions regarding their personal finances.

United Way runs SAM (Smart About Money) to provide budget coaching for low- to moderate-income individuals to help them achieve their financial goals.

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INCREASING ACCESS TO HOUSING

Connecticut housing costs have increased significantly faster than wages. The recent foreclosure crisis has left growing numbers of homeowners and renters without housing, and has the potential to damage entire neighborhoods.

Considerable research shows that individuals and wider communities benefit from stable, affordable housing. United Way’s focus includes both emergency housing, as well as long-term, permanent affordable housing.

Emergency HousingHomelessness comes at an incredible cost to families and to society. In fact, it costs the

taxpayer between $1.9 and $2.2 billion annually to shelter homeless families. These figures do not include the emotional toll on those who are homeless.

To help meet people’s basic needs, United Way invests in homeless shelters in our region. In 2009 and 2010, Neighbor-to-Neighbor LifeLine, United Way’s partnership with The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, raised and invested over half a million dollars to provide emergency housing to residents of the region affected by the economic downturn. United Way also serves as the managing organization for the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which over the past three years has made $1.9 million available to address the emergency food, shelter, and fuel needs in the region. United Way partners on many efforts to provide services and resources for people homeless or at risk of homelessness, including Shelter Now, an effort to raise funds to keep the overflow shelter in New Haven open during the winter.

Support to Access and Maintain HousingWhile meeting people’s immediate needs for shelter is important, we are also interested in

helping families avoid homelessness through prevention programs that keep them housed. Given that housing is often a family’s single largest expense, United Way has focused on helping individuals and families secure affordable housing as a way to improve their financial stability.

United Way supports a range of prevention programs that ensure families receive the supportive services they need to stay housed, particularly for those who are mentally ill or struggling with substance abuse. United Way is a partner in New Haven’s ROOF (Real Options Overcoming Foreclosure) Project, which is providing information and services to help people avoid foreclosure and keep both their housing and their single largest asset. And for people at imminent risk of homelessness, United Way 2-1-1 has managed the intake and referrals statewide for the $17 million of Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program stimulus funding provided to Connecticut residents to bypass shelters and move into housing solutions.

United Way Income Partnerships (2007-2010 )

AIDS Project New HavenALSO-Cornerstone

Agency on Aging of South Central CTBeth-El Center

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of HartfordChildren’s Community Center of Connecticut

Christian Community Action Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic

City of New Haven Re-Entry RoundtableColumbus House

Community Mediation Connecticut Children and Family Center

Connecticut Money SchoolDomestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven

Emergency Shelter Management ServicesFellowship, Inc.Fellowship Place

Harbor Health ServicesIntegrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS)

Jewish Family Services of New HavenJUNTA for Progressive Action

Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund Life Haven

Neighborhood Housing ServicesNew Haven Asset Building CollaborativeNew Haven Community Action Agency

New Haven ContinuumNew Haven Home Ownership Program

New Haven Home RecoveryNew Haven Legal Assistance Association New Haven Urban Resources Initiative

New Life Madison Youth and Family Services

Mutual Housing Association of South Central CTROOF (Real Options Overcoming Foreclosure)

ProjectShelter NOW

South Central Behavioral Health NetworkSTRIVE-New Haven

The Diaper BankThe Furniture Co-Op

Town of HamdenWomen and Family Life Center

INCOME

For the most updated version of this document, please visit www.uwgnh.org/income-paper