Schenectady Inner City Ministry: Advocating for the Poor

by Holly E. Nye

Bishop Susan Morrison of the Albany Area recently told a story to a United Methodist Women unit in upstate New York:

A church group was giving out turkeys for Thanksgiving. Upon getting a turkey, one person said, "Thank you," then added, "I wonder why is it that you always have the turkeys to give?"

Church people often think in terms of direct service -- meeting people’s immediate needs. Philip Grigsby, executive director of Schenectady Inner City Ministry in Schenectady, N.Y., said that’s just the beginning.

"Social service is important, but you can’t stop there," Mr. Grigsby said. "You have to ask the hard questions."

Schenectady Inner City Ministry is a community-organizing ministry supported by financial contributions and volunteer efforts of 55 congregations, 10 of them United Methodist. It received a grant funded by the Women’s Division to address the impact of welfare-law changes on the poor in its upstate New York community. The ministry includes a food-buying co-operative, a housing initiative, a food pantry, a youth program and a drop-in center for homeless people.

The ministry’s approach to addressing poverty is fourfold, Mr. Grigsby said:

• Social service,
• Social education,
• Social witness by giving voice to people impacted by the changes in welfare policy,
• Social action by addressing the root causes of poverty and seeking policy changes toward eliminating poverty.

The ministry’s plan includes educating the community, especially people of faith about the impact of welfare changes. Each member congregation sends two people to participate in a rapid-response legislative network to stay on top of policy issues. These representatives educate their congregations and contact elected officials.

The ministry also supervises a monthly forum for service providers, service recipients, media and local elected officials to discuss public policy and its impact on city residents. Pat Obrecht, the ministry’s food-program coordinator explained why the forums are held:

"Too often, elected officials have never actually met with a person who is going through the hoops of the system."

Five years ago, 2,500 families in Schenectady were receiving welfare benefits. Since New York’s Welfare Reform Act of 1997, the number has dropped to about 900. What has become of the other 1,600 families?

"Some got jobs," Mr. Grigsby said. "Some moved away. Some, I’m afraid, are busy surviving, living in an underground or illegal economy, or scraping by on part-time work or in low-paying jobs without benefits."

Staff at Schenectady Inner City Ministries have worked with people encountering a range of difficulties in navigating the state’s "Work First" program:

• A young father works 30 hours a week for a supermarket chain -- one of the largest employers in the area. Though he stocks food on store shelves all day, he has to visit the ministry’s food pantry because he does not earn enough to feed his family.
• A mother who has been receiving welfare finds a job, and the county department of social services closes her case. Her caseworker doesn’t know, or neglects to tell her, she may still qualify for child-care benefits, food stamps or even reduced Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) payments during a transition time.
• A young woman finds work as a maid in a suburban motel, but has no car to drive to work or to get to her children to day care.

Anticipating these kinds of difficulties with the new system, Schenectady Inner City Ministry launched the Welfare Reform Initiative in 1998.

"In a time of economic abundance, more people are coming to the food pantry and seeking other services," Mr. Grigsby said. "We are seeing more crises."

The ministry’s housing program was overwhelmed in 2000 with requests for money to prevent evictions or to pay deposits to get families into housing.

"I know that giving away food is not the answer to the problem, but I also know we have to do it," Ms. Obrecht said. "At the same time, we’re working to prepare people to lobby their elected officials for changes that will support working families: a living wage, quality affordable child care, and education and job training."

Because of the number of people seeking assistance in the last three years, service providers in Schenectady came together to form the Community Crisis Network, a centralized referral point to a range of services. Mr. Grigsby said the network is a direct response to gaps in service left by changes in welfare.

The Welfare Reform Initiative seeks to make the County Department of Social Services accountable for what it is mandated to do, Ms. Obrecht said.

As part of its education effort, Schenectady Inner City Ministry recently circulated information about the self-sufficiency standard for New York, a study conducted by a number of agencies to tell their story of what people need to be self-sufficient. The study’s figures for Schenectady show that a single parent with two preschool children needs to earn $37,000, or nearly $18 an hour, to meet expenses. To survive a low-paying service job, a parent would need food stamps and subsidies for child care, health care and transportation.

With this information, congregations can advocate for legislation that will assist people to be self-sufficient: training programs, health care, child care.

Schenectady Inner City Ministry’s leadership has found the collaborative model the best way to respond to complex issues.

"No church or agency can meet all the needs," Mr. Grisby said. "We can do much more together than separately."

For example, the ministry is the lead agency among a number of government, non-profit and faith-based groups that make up the board for JOBS, etc. -- an employment-training center that assists people as they leave welfare. About one-quarter of JOBS, etc. clients are or have been welfare recipients. The center provides low-cost phone service, free voice mail, use of fax and copier, and resume assistance. A weekly meeting links job seekers with potential employers.

The center also links people to transportation assistance, child care, GED preparation, legal services and small-business development. JOBS, etc. staff talk with people who come to the Department of Social Services for re-certification days and those who visit Schenectady Inner City Ministry’s food pantry to alert them to the employment assistance available to them.

David Coplon, director of JOBS, etc. works to keep people from the pitfall of moving from welfare poor to working poor.

The story of a single mother in Schenectady explains the work of JOBS, etc. The woman landed an interview for a position as a health aide at a county-run facility. The position paid $10.50 per hour, a better rate than many entry-level jobs, and included excellent benefits. But the facility was not on a public-transportation route, the job required irregular and late-shift work, and the woman did not have a car.

She was connected with Wheels for Work, a program run by a group of agencies, including JOBS, etc.; Schenectady Inner City Ministry’s; and the New York State Department of Labor. For $300 spread over three years, the woman qualified to receive a donated car, auto insurance, AAA coverage and instruction in car care.

There are a number of ways United Methodist Women units and their local churches can help, Mr. Grigsby said:

• Find out what your state is doing with savings from reduced welfare rolls, then advocate for uses that help people move to productive employment;
• Designate someone as a legislative advocate, who will become informed on policy issues and can link to networks that are responding to those in need;
• Educate the congregation as to possible policy changes, how they may affect welfare recipients and how to contact their elected officials;
• Collaborate with other churches and service agencies to address both direct-service concerns and public-policy issues affecting low-income families; and
• Donate a car that is less than 10 years old to a Wheels-to-Work program, and spread the word to others to do the same.

The Rev. Holly E. Nye is a clergy member of the Troy Conference, where she serves as conference communications director.

• Response
• Responsively Yours
• United Methodist Women
• Women's Division