Growing Poverty a Problem in Fairfax, Too

The U.S. Census Bureau announced last week that the number of working poor nationwide rose to the highest level since the  depression - 14.3 percent, or one in seven Americans living near poverty level.

Fairfax County - despite its ranking as the second-wealthiest county in America - is not immune to the trend of growing poverty, said Dean Klein, director of Fairfax County's Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.

Preliminary census data for the Virginia shows the poverty rate jumping from 10.3 percent to 10.7, although the rate for Northern Virginia remains about five percent. More extensive data is expected next week.

The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis reports that more than  157,000 Virginians have joined the ranks of the poor since the recession began in 2007.

"We have seen signs that this is a trend that has been increasing for a while now," Klein says. "The needs in our community our growing. There has been an increase in requests for emergency assistance."

Klein said that calls for emergency food and shelter assistance increased by six percent over the last year.

Meanwhile, the number of people seeking aid from Reston Interfaith's  rental assistance program has grown exponentially during the economic downturn.

From January to June of 2010, the number of new households applying for emergency services rose by 10 percent. There was also an 18 percent rise in all requests for food assistance and a 35 percent rise in overall claims, Reston Interfaith numbers show. 

"We have really seen an increase in the last two years," says Kerrie Wilson, CEO of Reston Interfaith. "We have people who have never found themselves in trouble before.

"The Reston-Herndon area has had a significant number of foreclosures, and that has placed a lot of families in distress," Wilson said. "This includes investor properties, where (tenants) paid the rent, but the owners did not pay the mortgage, and the renters ended up homeless ended up even though they did what they were supposed to."

On paper, the numbers for Fairfax County show a median household income of $107,448, and less than  five percent living in poverty. The national poverty line for a family of four is a household income of around $22,000 annually.

However, in Fairfax County, where the cost of living is far greater than the national average, a family of four may be eligible for emergency housing assistance with an income of $51,350.

"In this area, the standard of self-sufficiency -what it takes to pay child care and rent - you have to be earning around $48,000 or more," says Wilson.  "People who make 50 to 60 percent of the county's median income are finding it hard to make ends meet."

Fairfax County has a homeless population of about 1,500, which is down from more than 1,800 in 2008.

The problem isn't necessarilty families that are already homeless, Klein says. The issue is the number of working poor - families in which someone is working,  but income, health benefits and job security are scarce. This leaves them in a precarious position where hunger and homelessness could become an ongoing issue.

"If the community does not respond, we will  see an increase in homelessness," Klein said.

The 14.3 percent national poverty rate is the highest since 1994. It was lower than predicted by many demographers, who were bracing for a record gain based on 2009's rapidly rising unemployment. Some experts had predicted a range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent.