Grappling With Poverty

A few months ago, a tiny structure was built on the lawn in front of the Mount Horeb Area School District’s administrative offices. With a sloped roof and a floor held aloft by a vertical four-by-four, it is a “Little Free Food Pantry,” and it is heavily used. 

Food goes in, food goes out. Donations pile up, and canned and boxed goods are quickly taken home by families whose own cupboards will seem a little less bare, if only for a day or two, because of this small pantry. 

“It’s being used all the time,” said Dr. Steve Salerno, the school district’s superintendent, who often carries surplus donations personally to the “Little Free Food Pantry” when its reserves get low.  Those who use the pantry, and those who donate to it, are anonymous by design. There is no paperwork to fill out. No questions to answer. No tax forms to traverse. But the pantry’s popularity makes clear that there are many in the community for whom financial stability is currently out of grasp. The following story chronicles just some of the ways people need help, and some of the ways people are working to bring food, shelter and peace of mind to their neighbors in Mount Horeb and beyond. 

The average home in Mount Horeb is worth significantly more than a quarter of a million dollars. The median household income is $71,660, which is $10,000 more than the national figure. It is a place of lush greenscapes, stellar schools, a chugging economic development engine and a general midwestern congeniality about which tourists feel perpetually compelled to comment. 

It is a place where in recent years, citizens have chosen through voter referendums to add millions of dollars to their own tax bills in order to pay for updated schools, a new public safety building and a golf course.

But the fact that many people here enjoy relative economic stability does not mean there isn’t need. It only means the need is sometimes harder to see. And needs that are not often seen, often are not helped.

But people from area schools, churches, non-profits, government agencies and more have been working behind the scenes to find and help those who are struggling. 

Thirty-five percent of residents in Mount Horeb are “working poor,” while between 15 and 17 percent of school age children in the school district qualify for free and reduced lunch. More than 100 people dine monthly at a monthly free community dinner in Mount Horeb, and more than 2,000 people picked up free clothing, footwear and bedding at the Community Clothes Closet in 2018. 

The McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which became law in 1987, not only provides federal funding for those who experience homelessness; it also gives an annual glimpse into the variety of ways poverty and homelessness are impacting communities and their schools across the nation. 

Megan Miller, a K-5 social worker for the Mount Horeb Area School District, will not officially report local homelessness numbers until the end of the year, but she has already identified a dozen homeless students in the district during the 2019-20 school year that only just began.

“Last year, we ended the year with 18 students identified,” Miller explained. Once a student is eligible for McKinney-Vento services, they remain eligible for the duration of that school year even if they find permanent, stable housing before summer.  

“The main living situations that we see in our district are living at one of the hotels in town [the Karakahl, Little Village and sometimes GrandStay] or doubling up with family and friends due to loss of housing or some other economic or safety concern,” Miller explained. 

But while 12 local students have been identified as being eligible for federal dollars, Miller says another statistic might be more sobering; roughly 30 percent of students in the Mount Horeb area are just over the poverty line, meaning one medical bill or missed mortgage or car payment could thrust them into a world without housing stability. 

There are people who have been hard at work trying to help. Miller pointed out that the village board’s recent emphasis on policies encouraging affordable housing will have a very real impact for many local families who can’t currently lock down a place to live. 

“We have some really great resources in our community and some good things coming,” she said. “In 2022, there will be a new apartment building opening with many one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable housing units where rent is usually calculated by taking 30 percent of your income so everyone pays a different amount for the same units; I believe families who make less than 60 percent of the median income can qualify for this affordable housing.”

The Push For More Affordable Housing

The Dane County Board last month approved funding to assist six new apartment developments in Cottage Grove, Mount Horeb, Fitchburg and Madison. The vote freed up $1,350,000 for Gorman & Co.’s 58-unit Landsby Ridge project at 204 South Blue Mounds Street in Mount Horeb. 

The proposed development will include 53 units that classify as “affordable.” It includes 17 one-bedroom, 25 two-bedroom, and 11 three-bedroom units.

“The Village Board recognizes that we have a gap in our housing stock when it comes to affordable housing options,” said village administrator Nicholas Owen last week. “We have had several proposals for affordable housing projects that just have not worked out, but we’re optimistic about the project Gorman Company is proposing in the village.  In addition the village will be considering other zoning changes to try to fill this gap in our housing stock.”

Village president Randy Littel said the need for additional workforce housing in Mount Horeb is irrefutable. 

“It is a problem and the [Mount Horeb Area Economic Development Corporation] has been pushing and trying to find affordable housing and developers who are willing to do it,” Littel said. “It’s been a problem since before I got on the board.”

Littel went on to say the Economic Development Corporation and the Mount Horeb Area Chamber of Commerce have talked “quite a bit about the fact that lots of employees, particularly in the service industry, don’t live in our community because they can’t afford to live here.”

“If people can afford to live here, it’s only going to help businesses,” he continued. “We’re still looking. Some of the land is expensive, but the important thing is to get developers to come to us.”

Littel said even relatively minor ordinance and zoning changes could help make the community more affordable for those who lack financial security. For instance, allowing smaller lot sizes would allow a more diverse group of people to afford their own homes. 

“But that’s homes,” he stated. “Most of the need we see is for apartments.”

Economic Development Corporation Plays A Key Role

As executive director of the Mount Horeb Area Economic Development Corporation (MHAEDC), Carol Johnson runs an organization that is not a government agency but does work closely with the village to promote policies, programs and specific development projects. 

“MHAEDC has been an advocate for new multi-income level and senior housing options for years,” Johnson wrote in a statement to the Mail. “Mount Horeb is unique community in Dane County as there is little to no housing stock available at just about every income and life status level.”

“There is a lack of rental units, first-time home ownership opportunities and senior options that provide our long-time residents an opportunity to downsize and remain in town, close to family and friends,” she continued. “One of our on-going priorities is to educate people and get the word out that there is a multi-housing need in our community. In 2018 we had an opportunity to speak about the 2017 Mount Horeb  Housing Survey at the Dane County Housing Summit which caught the interest of several area housing developers. Gorman and Company was one of those developers and we have been involved with the new project on Blue Mound Street since the onset.  It is a great project and hopefully one of many that can help meet the future needs of our growing and changing community.”

Community Clothes Closet & Neighbor In Need

Back at the school district, Miller said she and others are already partnering with several local charitable groups.

“In the meantime, [school social worker] Sam Hamer and I have been working closely with Janna Hansen [at the] Community Clothes Closet and Neighbors Helping Neighbors to find assistance with rent and/or security deposits to either prevent or end homelessness for families,” Miller explained. “We also hosted a winter clothing drive and were able to provide most or all of the winter clothing these families needed while donating the rest to the Community Clothes Closet.”

She said many local families are also connected with the Weekend Backpack Program, which provides weekend meals and snacks for families. 

Over the summer, with help from Hansen and the Mount Horeb Recreation Department, Miller was also able to provide individual or family pool passes for all of students identified as eligible for McKinney-Vento services during the 2018-19 school year.

“I am hoping to continue increasing access to summer programming in future years,” she said. “We have partnered with many community resources, including but not limited to: Joining Forces for Families (JFF), Building Bridges, Pastor Jared Parmley, the Community Clothes Closet, the Weekend Backpack Program, the Giving Tree, local police, and the Goodman Community Center in Madison.”

Hansen is a longtime Community Clothes Closet board member, and she is also board president for Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a 501c3 non-profit that recently formed thanks primarily to a team of 14 local volunteers. 

“The Community Needs Exploratory Committee was exploring the need in our community, and what it found was that people continue to struggle with food insecurity and other needs,” said Hansen. 

“It’s become even more evident through the committee’s work,” she added. 

They found that on in three local families could be living on the brink of financial ruin.

Hansen and others have worked closely with social workers in the Mount Horeb Area School District as well as Second Harvest Food Bank, and they plan to establish a satellite site at the local high school where students can get supplies they need. 

Neighbors Helping Neighbors is still in its infancy, but  it is already helping people in a variety of ways.

“What we’re envisioning Neighbors Helping Neighbors as a community hub,” said Hansen. “Something like a resource center.”

The people behind the two charitable organizations have already teamed up with school social workers to establish a fund for area families currently without stable housing. It’s widely known that it is much more cost efficient to prevent someone from losing their house or apartment than it is to find them a new one. 

“The thing you’ll hear social workers in the schools say, and the thing I say when I [speak to local civic organizations] is that people in need don’t want to be in need,” Hansen said. “And they don’t want to ask for help. We don’t realize it, but it’s people we see every day, and it’s people who are working just as hard as you and I but are just one paycheck away from disaster.”

Donations to Neighbors Helping Neighbors can be mailed to PO BOX 196, Mt. Horeb WI, 53572. If you wish to earmark your donation for a specific need, such as “Emergency In District Housing” or   “Tiny Pantries Assistance” please feel free to do so.  

If you wish to contact them directly the best way to do that immediately is to contact the Community Clothes Closet at 608-437-6114, or via email at cclothescloset@gmail.com.

Who Needs Help?

America has grappled with the realities of homelessness since its very inception, with public perceptions and stereotypes ranging from the romantic, bindlestiff-carrying, rail-riding hobo to the drug-addled stranger sleeping under a frozen bridge. But the realities have less to do with aesthetics and more to do with the volatile nature of personal finance, from healthcare to mortgage rates, than any other factor. In fact, the legal definition of “homelessness” as laid out by McKinney-Vento likely doesn’t really match up with public perceptions at all. 

Families that have a temporary roof over their heads, such as those staying at a friend’s house or motel, are not always perceived as homeless by the public, but they are according to those trying to help them. 

“[A] lot of these families might not actually identify themselves as homeless,” says Miller. “That is why I have also been using the phrase, ‘Families identified as eligible for McKinney-Vento services.’”

Dane County is home to more than half a million people and 217,506 households. Median income is $70,796, versus $56,811 statewide. Yet 10 percent of households in Dane County live in poverty. And 21 percent qualify as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALEC). These families live above the Federal Poverty Level but make less than enough to cover the basic cost of living. 

In a recent presentation to the Mount Horeb Rotary Club, Hansen updated club members about plans to create a community resource center that will provide not only clothing, but also food along with personal and household essentials for anyone who needs it. 

“By providing these resources our clients are then able to allocate resources for other basic needs such as rent, utilities and heat,” Jansen said. “We will also continue to work with other local agencies and our school district social workers, to also assist with varying needs.”

“Mount Horeb is regarded as one of the best places to live in Dane County, while Dane County is regarded as one of the best places to live in the state,”  Hansen said. “We have a largely safe and relatively affluent community, high-achieving schools, excellent municipal services, strong local businesses and an effective network of service organizations and religious charities.”

“[But] amid all this, statistics from social service agencies, charitable organizations and the Mount Horeb Area School District indicate a sizable share of residents rely on helping hands to make ends meet,” Hansen said. 

“According to a United Way report, the ‘working poor’ are relatively prevalent in Mount Horeb. The report indicates 35 percent of Mount Horeb residents (2,929, in raw numbers) fall under the ALICE classification,” she said. Other Dane County municipalities that feed into the school district, followed by their ALICE percentage, include Blue Mounds (35), Vermont (26), Perry (24), Primrose (23) and Springdale (17).

“These families are one emergency, or one paycheck away from homelessness, and these families make up 35 percent of our community,” Hansen stated.