EL DORADO — Living day-to-day with a limited income is a reality for many people in the city and without organizations that offer food and utility assistance, they wouldn’t be able to survive.
Church-, business- and foundation-sponsored groups in El Dorado could be the difference between someone eating for the day or not. Organizations like the Salvation Army, Liberty Baptist Association, the Department of Human Services and Interfaith Health Clinic are beneficial for low-income and homeless families.
Located in the northwest corner of Ward 3 is the Salvation Army, whose branch serves the most hot-meals per day in the state of Arkansas, even the region, said Lt. Charles Smith.
According to various community leaders, each family seeking income assistance hail from nuanced situations.
“There’s no face for poverty or homelessness,” Smith said. “Each has their own story.”
For 33 years, Betty Raley worked for the city’s branch of the Department of Human Services and has seen a need not only from organizations to help the impoverished, but also from the community at large.
“We hear and see a lot of things we want to help out with, but we can’t solve every person’s problems,” Raley said.
With 30 percent of the city’s population classified as living at or below the poverty line, various services like church-sponsored food pantries and health clinics are available for families and individuals who may not be able to afford basic living expenses.
Interfaith Clinic, a SHARE Foundation agency, has offered health services to low-income families for 20 years. Established in 1996 by a group of clergy who wanted to help their community, they began a voluntary medical service in the basement of a church and grew to what the clinic does now, said Jill Temple, executive director for Interfaith Clinic.
Located at 403 W. Oak Street, the clinic offers basic medical services, lab-work, EKG’s, prescription assistance, minor
surgeries, and limited dental work.
For 2016, they saw a total of 3,176 visits.
When describing the people who come through the door, Temple said some people are agitated or mad.
“The last thing they want is to come to a medical clinic,” she said.
Some people may have a criminal background, fallen on hard times after making a steady income, not had proper education or been trying to transition out of the poverty cycle, said Kensel Spivey, alderman Ward 3.
“Once individuals file for unemployment and become reliant on their assisted income, it’s difficult for families to break from that cycle,” Spivey said.
Aside from city council duties, Spivey works as a counselor for Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, an organization that offers assistance to people with disabilities. More than likely, she said, those who qualify for Supplemental Security Disability are living on a fixed low-income.
Some cases, people are unemployed and receive about $700 from Supplemental Security income or Supplemental Security Disability to meet all their financial needs, Raley said.
“After bills, medicine and food, that income doesn’t go very far,” she said.
The Few of the
Many Faces
A 37-year-old woman—let’s call her Sarah—with two kids ages 7 and 10, waited in line at the Salvation Army cafeteria for dinner on April 27. Tonight’s menu: a casserole of hamburger meat, cream of mushroom soup, and canned peas, potatoes and green beans; with sides of mashed potatoes and white bread with garlic butter. When that ran out, the cooks brought out a tin of Salisbury steaks and mushrooms. They had been frequenting the Salvation Army after a $1,600 electric bill came into her possession, she said.
Her only source of income, she said, is roughly $850 every two weeks from disability and food stamps.
“But they don’t know how much these kids eat,” she said. “That’s why we come here; as long as I can help it they’re not going to go to bed hungry.”
With rent, food, medical bills, her kids, and a looming electricity bill, Sarah said her only choice is to seek assistance from local agencies.
“I’m hoping and praying they can help me.”
Sarah said she first qualified for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) eight years ago. She said she worked two nursing home jobs for eight years before hurting her back; now she’s unemployed and claimed that she suffers from bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.
“It’s the pits of hell,” she said.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, mental health issues are more common with people living below the poverty line, mainly due to stress, anxiety and chaos spun from an uncertain lifestyle.
A 40-year-old man waited in line, named Cedric Ford, who said he had no choice but to come to the Salvation Army for food. He wore a black do-rag, baggy shirt and pants. Next to him stood his girlfriend and baby. They had been frequenting the Salvation Army since mid-summer 2016, when he and his pregnant girlfriend were both unemployed.
“I didn’t know how things were going to be, but I stayed prayed up,” Ford said.
Pointing out a nearby water fountain, he said, he had to change his outlook on life to survive.
“If water spilled on me, I could let it ruin my day, or I could make it not a big deal and move on.”
The first week of May, Rebekah Stephens, 55, sat with a tray filled with collard greens, chili and a small chocolate cupcake. Inside the cafeteria, she was the only person wearing scrubs. For most of the day, she works as a chiropractic assistant at a nearby clinic. Today, she was on her lunch break. She walks to the Salvation Army not because of the short distance from her home, but because she has no vehicle.
Recently, she has been helping support her 30-year-old daughter who has two children, an 8-year-old and a 15-week baby. Also, she said, her son totaled his vehicle, so she’s been helping him some too. Which is difficult, when her main source of income is $12.25 per hour, she said.
“It feels like I’m making money,” Stephens said. “But I never see it.”
When she isn’t working at the clinic, she said, she works as a sleep technician, but “I don’t work that often.”
Stephens said she has been going to the Salvation Army for roughly a year, ever since her son told her about its services. Initially, she was hesitant.
“It was a pride thing at first,” she said. “I didn’t think I needed help.”
In the fall, her hours were cut back and she relied on the Salvation Army for daily dinners. Every three months or so, Stephens said she also got groceries from the organization.
She said she hasn’t tried applying for food stamps, not since two years ago. “I made too much money then,” Stephens said.
While money is tight, she said if she can take care of her children first, then she can help herself.
“It’s going to get better, I’m sure of that,” Stephens said.
Sometimes, her children take care of her.
“It sounds so corny,” she began.
May 9, Stephens’ daughter surprised her with groceries. With Stephens’ income, she doesn’t qualify for SNAP benefits or any government assistance, but her daughter does because she works fewer hours. That day, her daughter used food stamps to purchase roasted turkey meat, tomatoes and cheese so she could make a sandwich, something she hasn’t been able to do for years.
“It felt so good, I immediately had to make a second one,” she said, tears welling up. “It sounds so corny.”
This is part 2 of a series touching on poverty in the city of El Dorado. All reporting was finished as of May 16, 2017. The series will touch on issues within the city, poverty on a personal level, organizations in place to help, and an answer to an ongoing dilemma throughout the country