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Path from poverty: Woman's strength realized through hard times
[September 11, 2011]

Path from poverty: Woman's strength realized through hard times


Sep 11, 2011 (York Daily Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Nereida Simon, right, talks with Paula DeJonge of Spring Lake, Mich., as DeJonge -- who's with the Christian nonprofit Reach Workcamps -- puts tape around trim in Simon's kitchen before painting in June. Simon connected with the group through Circles. Simon found it hard not to help, but was told not to. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- KATE PENN) YORK, Pa. -- About this series In York County, about one in 10 people doesn't have or make enough money to meet basic living needs without help. Even a steady job isn't always the answer, and a single setback can derail the most promising progress.



"Path from Poverty" explores people working to escape poverty in different ways -- by seeking help, by leaning on each other, by changing their own lives.

Part 1: Sarah Yanda was brought up middle-class but has discovered the suction of poverty. She vows to become self-sufficient.


Part 3: (Coming Sept. 18) Greg Smith's job skills program found a partner in Jared Smith's construction company, and together they put people to work on a York City schools project.

No one ever taught Nereida Simon about finances.

She learned what she knows about managing money by living. Making a little more than $20,000 a year, she paid her bills and her mortgage, and bought groceries and clothes for her three kids when she could.

Her life was never easy, but she usually made ends meet. Sometimes, she just didn't have enough.

About four years ago, the 47-year-old single mom from Gettysburg turned to credit cards and loans to pay for things her family needed.

After bills, she couldn't afford enough food and made too much to qualify for assistance. She charged about $60 a week to feed her family. Other expenses piled on.

Her oldest daughter, Alice, 22 , was born with a condition that resulted in abnormalities of bone and soft tissues in her head and face. After years of operations, Alice needed a final reconstructive surgery to align her jaw, so Simon took time off work and used her credit card to travel to a hospital in New York.

About the same time, her windows needed to be replaced. They were more than 50 years old with cracked molding, barely keeping the cold out in the winter. She applied for a homeowner's loan to replace them, once again spending what she didn't have to pay for a necessity.

Most weeks when she sat down to balance her checkbook, she had nothing left.

Growing up poor She grew up in Chinantla, Mexico, raised by her grandfather in a two-room bamboo structure with no furniture or running water. Her parents legally immigrated to New York in 1967 for a better life.

Simon moved to the U.S. 10 years later, when she was 14 years old. She dropped out of school in eighth grade because she couldn't learn English fast enough and fell behind in school.

Her parents thought it was best for her to work. She held jobs in a department store and as a cashier in restaurants making the minimum.

Simon got married at 18 and started having children. When both she and her husband worked, juggling finances was easier. However, life was more difficult.

She worked nights for Survivors, a nonprofit that provides services to domestic violence victims. At times, she left her children home alone, knowing their father should be home soon after. Sometimes, they called her at work and said their dad hadn't come home yet. She handed her paychecks over to her husband, who was on-and-off employed.

Through taking calls from battered women, she realized she lacked control over her own life.

"I didn't have a voice," Simon said.

Taking control $7.25 Pennsylvania minimum hourly wage, which allows a single parent working full time to earn about a third of the income needed to meet her family's basic needs (without government assistance).

A few years before she and her husband divorced in 2003, she started controlling her family's finances.

Her financial situation didn't seem to make sense. She worked two jobs, sometimes three. Why didn't she have enough? "You're working hard, trying to move on, but you're not going anywhere," she said.

Simon quit her job at the hotline so she could be there for her kids. She briefly worked for an after-school program, then got an offer to clerk at the Adams County Courthouse. She said they offered her $9 an hour.

It wasn't enough.

"I had to be bold and ask for more," she said.

She started more than two years ago at $11 an hour, and after a couple of raises, she makes about $24,000 a year.

In the past few years, Simon stopped spending money on things she didn't need. She canceled her cable and cell phone contract, switching to a prepaid phone for $10 less a month.

The changes weren't enough. Her debt, with interest, was increasing.

"I always knew I needed help," she said.

She felt as if she had done something wrong.

"It wasn't pride," Simon said. "I felt ashamed." She and a friend talked about starting a group for women who were struggling. At that same time, they learned about Circles, a program to help people work their way out of poverty.

The hardest part She felt embarrassed to attend meetings. She worked hard. She didn't want to belong there. She didn't talk much about her problems in the beginning.

Nereida Simon talks with Dave Johnson, a registered nurse, before a Circles meeting in Gettysburg in April. For more than a year, Simon has been participating in the program, an initiative to engage the community in helping families move out of poverty. Simon has learned from the project, she says. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- KATE PENN) Circles, run by South Central Community Action Programs , pairs people who are in poverty -- known as leaders -- with members of the community -- known as allies.

Simon started Circles about a year and a half ago with SCCAP's second class of participants. Of the first class of five families, one family became self-sufficient.

After learning the curriculum, Simon was matched with three allies -- one who had been in poverty five years ago.

Cara Russo, 31, of Gettysburg went from making less than $15,000 a year as a part-time waitress and receiving food stamps and help with gas, electric, rent and child care to making $47,000 as a general manager of a restaurant.

Russo made her way out with help from Circles. She has been self-sufficient for about two years.

Simon listened to the stories of other struggling people. She started to realize that she was doing better than she thought.

Her $8,000 debt didn't seem so high anymore. She had already stopped using her credit card -- her last transaction was a $200 fee to cancel her cell phone contract. She knew that in the long run, that fee would be worth it.

"I don't feel like making another company rich," she said.

Simon listened to stories about people buying Christmas gifts when they couldn't afford to pay their rent.

She didn't buy her kids anything for Christmas in 2009. Two of her kids were in their early 20s, but her youngest, Monica, was about 12. When Simon can't afford something, she apologizes, but they understand. She and her kids talk about everything. She makes it up to them when she can afford gifts, such as after receiving a tax refund.

Her recent choices had put her on the right track, but her goal still seemed distant.

Simon got a part-time job at a clothing store, working 50 hours per week at both jobs and making an extra $100 a week. She put what money she could toward her debt.

Life's setbacks Nereida Simon, left, and Cara Russo use their cell phones to calculate how far they walked recently as part of a fitness challenge. Before joining Circles, Simon made some small changes to save money. She canceled her cable and switched to a prepaid phone for $10 less a month. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- KATE PENN) In April, she started to feel a burning sensation in her chest and stomach. She felt weak and had a headache. She visited several doctors and made multiple trips to the emergency room. She had an electrocardiogram and other tests. She decided to take a break from the clothing store.

Maybe she was doing too much.

Simon anticipated a month off, which because of her illness turned into four months without her extra income and $500 in unanticipated medical bills.

She recently sat at a Circles meeting in the basement of a day care. Participants shared their progress in an activity called "new or good," a positive spin on hard times.

Adrienne Camel's 12-year-old son, Marquise, was finally getting braces. Her insurance wasn't going to pay the $5,000, but she vowed to make it work.

Darlene Stancil's 14-year-old son, Isaiah, made honor roll.

Another woman got a deal on a wedding dress and had a week to lose weight. Another lost her job, but said it would be OK because she'd find something better. Her voice shook as she spoke.

It was Simon's turn. She took a deep breath.

"I got my health problem figured out," she said. "I think I found a new doctor." She smiled. Despite her bills and income decrease, that felt good.

Changing misconceptions Now, after learning more about poverty, she wants to share her experience with others in hopes of changing misconceptions -- a key element to make the Circles program effective.

"Sometimes, there's a lot of stigma that you are poor because of poor choices," Simon said. "People look at you like you're worthless." Circles Coordinator Emily Rice-Townsend leads a meeting in April. Circles pairs members of the community with people who are struggling to work their way out of poverty. Nereida Simon, third from left, sits next to mentor Cara Russo, fourth from left. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- KATE PENN) Circles Coordinator Emily Rice-Townsend said that is the greatest change she has seen in Simon, who volunteered to help with recruitment for a new group starting this month.

Since joining Circles, Simon has never missed a weekly meeting.

"She is a wonderful example of how she has embraced her situation and chosen to rise above it at the same time," Rice-Townsend said.

Simon's ultimate goal is to get out of debt and increase her income enough so she doesn't have to worry about unplanned expenses. She said $35,000 to $40,000 would be enough. If her kids get sick, she wants to be with them without worrying about finances or swiping a credit card.

"I don't ever want to borrow from it again," she said.

Throughout her struggle, her faith has helped and guided her.

In 1995, her oldest son, James, was diagnosed with leukemia. She took time off work to be with him at a hospital in New Jersey. At the same time, her daughter Alice was in a hospital in New York.

After chemotherapy, James went into remission, but the cancer came back. He died when he was 13 years old.

Simon stopped working and relied on cash and food stamps for assistance for the only time in her life.

"Things had turned bad for us at that point," she said.

From that experience, Simon decided she wanted to help others who were hurting. Her life had been touched by social workers who helped her when her son was sick.

She earned her associate's degree at Harrisburg Area Community College in 2008. It took her 10 years. She's considering going back to school to get her bachelor's in social work, but she's leaning toward getting involved with ministry.

She's sitting back, content with the progress she has made and anticipating something brighter in her near future.

"I really feel like my time is coming," Simon said. "I'm kind of waiting for it to unfold." Nereida Simon's daughter Monica Ramirez, 14, and Ashlyn Heller, 11, use spray paint to decorate a board as their mothers attend a Circles meeting in April. Ashlyn's mom, Cara Russo, was once in poverty and is one of Simon's allies in the program. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- KATE PENN) Defining poverty 32 Percentage of public and private students in York County eligible for free or reduced- price school lunches, as of October 2010, compared with 39 percent of students statewide.

The U.S. government says 12 percent, or roughly 36 million people, were living at or below the poverty line last year.

While many programs for the poor use the government's poverty threshold to determine eligibility, most researchers agree a "poverty line" income underestimates the amount of money a working family needs to cover essentials.

Based on a formula devised in the mid-1960s, the official poverty measure doesn't reflect changes in the economy during the last half century, such as the ballooning costs of health care. It also doesn't factor in child care costs, housing or transportation -- all essentials for working families.

Instead, sociologists and advocates for the poor use alternative formulas to determine the minimum level of income required for a family to sustain itself. The Self-Sufficiency Standard, for example, considers regional variation in living expenses and accounts for food, housing, child care, health care, transportation, taxes and other costs.

Last year, the Standard estimated the cost of living in York County for a single parent with a preschooler and school-age child was $42,114, which requires an hourly wage near $21.60. In comparison, the federal poverty line for a family of three is $18,530, which comes out to $9.50 an hour earned by a single parent working 40 hours a week.

One in five households in Pennsylvania lacked self-sufficiency wages last year, according to an analysis by the Center for Women's Welfare at the University of Washington. In 85 percent of these households, at least one adult was working.

Sources: Economic Policy Institute, the National Poverty Center and "The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania" by the Center for Women's Welfare at the University of Washington Nereida Simon, left, tells volunteer Cheryl Galan of Ontario, N.Y., about her life as members of a non-profit christian group, Reach Workcamps, make repairs to Simon's home in Gettysburg in June. Simon connected with the group through Circles, an initiative to engage the community in helping families move out of poverty, helping children succeed in school and helping address systemic solutions to poverty. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- KATE PENN) About Circles Circles, a national program run by South Central Community Action Programs, pairs people who are in poverty -- also known as leaders -- with members of the community -- also known as allies. Circle leaders and allies attend meetings about finances, health and food availability, among other topics, to learn how to get ahead.

Circles coordinator Emily Rice-Townsend said SCCAP chooses participants based on Federal Poverty Guidelines and the Self-Sufficiency Standard. People who earn less to afford basic needs may qualify.

Circles leaders study a curriculum at weekly meetings for several months before they are matched with allies, who are volunteers. Leaders and allies meet once a month for a meal and class.

A new Gettysburg Circles group is scheduled to begin this month. To become a leader or ally, contact Rice-Townsend at 334-7634 ext. 162. For details about Circles, visit www.movethemountain.org.

Meet Nereida Age: 47 Lives in: Gettysburg Occupation: clerk for Adams County Court House, retail Family: son, Rodolfo Ramirez, 26; daughters Alice Ramirez, 22, and Monica Ramirez, 14 Goals: eliminate debt, obtain a bachelor's degree in social work, find a higher paying job, see the world Poverty locally According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 7.2 percent of residents in Adams County lived below the poverty level in 2009, compared with 8.9 percent in York County and 12.5 percent in Pennsylvania.

A person who makes less than $10,830 a year is in poverty, according to government guidelines.

___ (c)2011 York Daily Record (York, Pa.) Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at www.ydr.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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