Poverty is rampant in South Carolina, limiting people’s access to quality food, health, housing and education.
But talks to address these issues often leave low-income communities out, which leads to proposals for solutions that don’t have a big enough impact, according to the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.
The ministry recently collaborated with the University of South Carolina on a new study, “South Carolina: Structural Factors Associated with Poverty”.
The project sheds light on the structural barriers that perpetuate systemic poverty, which organizations hope will be used to spark meaningful conversations in communities about how to overcome barriers.
“We hope this is a product that communities can use for themselves,” said Melinda Merrell, professor at the Center for Research in Rural and Minority Health at the Arnold School of Public Health at USC.
During a virtual meeting on January 27, researchers pointed to data that prove a person’s racial or ethnic identity, gender and place of birth can represent significant barriers to economic self-sufficiency in the state.
During a presentation entitled “Removing Barriers to Prosperity: Poverty by Planning”, they noted that in South Carolina, blacks make up 43% of the poor population, while making up only 27% of the state’s population.
This reflects one of the study’s main findings, which shows that the state’s history of discriminatory practices has created an economic disadvantage for blacks, Merrell said.
“‘Poverty By Design’ illustrates that, from the start of building this nation, it was very clear who individuals wanted to have power,” said Chynna Phillips, director of policy and research at the Sisters of Charity foundation.
The survey shows that several counties are also combating “persistent poverty”, which means that 20% of the population has lived in poverty in all censuses since 1980.
“This is a barrier to prosperity,” said Merrell. “It limits the number of people who can come together to collectively defend their needs.”
Affordable housing is also an issue.
North Charleston ranks first in the country in evictions, with a rate of 16.5 percent for every 100 renters, and Columbia ranks eighth with 8.2 percent, the researchers said.
Data show that 80% of the state’s counties are at or above the national average for evictions.
Experts say this is due to the relatively high cost of rent in the state.
It also stems from a “lessor-friendly legal system” that allows landlords to file evictions at low cost, a fee of $ 40 compared to the national average of $ 110. Owners also do not need to give late notice tenants, and lawyers are not required to be part of the process. These factors help speed up evictions, the researchers said.
“These conditions combine to create an environment where evictions are used only to obtain payment of rent, rather than sending a late notice,” said Merrell.
Although moratoriums on rent have been imposed due to the pandemic, people will have to make these payments, said Merrell.
“This is something that we have to look at in the coming months so that people can maintain their homes,” she said.
Several Southern Carolinians also suffer from food insecurity, which is the lack of access to sufficient food to consistently support a family’s traditional needs.
About 2.3 million residents lived in areas of low access to food in 2015, and this has been aggravated by the closure of supermarkets over the years. Between 2016 and 2020, 105 supermarkets closed in South Carolina, the study said.
Many of these closures occurred in areas where people regularly lived in poverty.
Another area where people suffer due to low income is health.
In 2018, 27% of state residents had medical debts in collections. This compares to 9% of national health costs in collections.
The problem can be cyclical because people in debt are slow to receive adequate health care.
“Debt really is an obstacle for families to get on that path to prosperity,” said Merrell.
Experts hope that the information will lead to change. The strategy of the Irmãs de Caridade Foundation is to seek to build a robust network of people with lived experiences. The foundation will be on their side in advocating for policies that can lead to solutions to address poverty, said Phillips.
Reach Rickey Dennis at 937-4886. Follow him on Twitter @RCDJunior.