Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity lists the percentage of households in Washington state without sufficient savings to maintain for three months without income is 21.5 percent. Well, it is hard to save money when you are living paycheck to paycheck (or pension check to pension check.) This lack of assets is known as “asset poverty.”Ĭonventional wisdom says that a household should have a savings cushion equivalent to three months of household expenses saved to be minimally prepared for an emergency.
Some people might say they should save some money to cover unexpected costs. If someone has a medical procedure and have to pay an out-of-pocket amount or deductible, where will that money come from? If someone has a car break down they need as transportation to work, where does the money come from to pay that unexpected cost? When community members are on fixed incomes, or have jobs that don’t pay a self-sufficient wage, a one-time emergency quickly becomes a crisis. In these cases we usually have to send people to churches or nonprofits that have unencumbered funds, that’s to say, funds without such restrictions that keep us from giving someone a life preserver when they might be financially drowning.Īll too often we see people using credit, or payday lenders to try to survive, which puts them in a debt cycle that is difficult, if not impossible, to escape.Ĭommunity action agencies focus on helping people maintain or obtain self-sufficiency. When a community member is in crisis and needs something, we are often unable to help when these strict criteria for programs aren’t met, or the need exceeds the allowable payout maximum. People must meet certain income criteria and payments are often capped. To access these grant-funded services we must meticulously document the applicant’s household income, why the need exists, and vendor information. People must prove they are poor through paperwork galore. These grant dollars are vital to running our Headstart programs, senior nutrition, food bank distribution warehouse, energy services and housing, but they come with a lot of restrictions.
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