2008 Woodie Awards
Even Well To Do Can Find Themselves Living in Poverty
Tony Pugh
Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: Holt News
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Two years ago, Douglas County, Colo., had the nation's second highest median income
among small counties.
But as new home construction, top-notch schools and a serene lifestyle draws thousands of new residents, the affluent community just south of Denver has struggled to deal with a rapid growth in population and poverty.
A surge in service, retail and construction jobs that typically accompany high-growth areas has brought more low skilled, working poor people to Douglas County despite the area's high cost of living.
Only about 7,000 of the county's roughly 250,000 residents are poor, according to recent census data. But 3,908 of the poor _
55 percent _ are in deep poverty. They include struggling newcomers and families once entrenched in the county's upper-middle
class.
The recent technology slowdown caused many Douglas County homeowners to lose their jobs. County foreclosure filings topped 1,000 in 2006, compared with 212 in 2000.
"We've had quite a few people end up losing jobs and going through their savings and their retirement savings," said George
Kennedy, Douglas County's human services director. "We certainly have had a lot of cases where the family splits (by divorce) and one spouse or the other ends up with the house and the mortgage and the kids and can't make ends meet."
Marie Kissinger, a 50-year old stay-at-home mother, was pitched into severe poverty when
her husband left the family and his $138,000-a-year job and moved to Seattle in August 2005.
Now as a part-time supermarket stock worker, Kissinger said her income fluctuates from
$200 to $1,500 a month, depending on her hours. She said she'd be lucky if she made $5,000 in 2006.
A parent with one child would have to make more than $6,948 to escape severe poverty,
according to current Census Bureau guidelines.
In the waiting room of the Task Force of Douglas County, a local social service agency, Kissinger fought back tears as she
among small counties.
But as new home construction, top-notch schools and a serene lifestyle draws thousands of new residents, the affluent community just south of Denver has struggled to deal with a rapid growth in population and poverty.
A surge in service, retail and construction jobs that typically accompany high-growth areas has brought more low skilled, working poor people to Douglas County despite the area's high cost of living.
Only about 7,000 of the county's roughly 250,000 residents are poor, according to recent census data. But 3,908 of the poor _
55 percent _ are in deep poverty. They include struggling newcomers and families once entrenched in the county's upper-middle
class.
The recent technology slowdown caused many Douglas County homeowners to lose their jobs. County foreclosure filings topped 1,000 in 2006, compared with 212 in 2000.
"We've had quite a few people end up losing jobs and going through their savings and their retirement savings," said George
Kennedy, Douglas County's human services director. "We certainly have had a lot of cases where the family splits (by divorce) and one spouse or the other ends up with the house and the mortgage and the kids and can't make ends meet."
Marie Kissinger, a 50-year old stay-at-home mother, was pitched into severe poverty when
her husband left the family and his $138,000-a-year job and moved to Seattle in August 2005.
Now as a part-time supermarket stock worker, Kissinger said her income fluctuates from
$200 to $1,500 a month, depending on her hours. She said she'd be lucky if she made $5,000 in 2006.
A parent with one child would have to make more than $6,948 to escape severe poverty,
according to current Census Bureau guidelines.
In the waiting room of the Task Force of Douglas County, a local social service agency, Kissinger fought back tears as she
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