Posted: 8:00 a.m.Monday, Sept. 21, 2015

Thousands of Butler, Warren residents livingin poverty

ByAmanda Seitz

Staff Writer

Fewerpeople in Butler and Warren counties are living in poverty compared to thenational average, the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates show.

Still,an estimated 62,000 residents in the two counties live below the poverty level,the data reveals. For a single-person household the poverty threshold sits atroughly $12,000 or less in yearly income while a family of four making $24,000or less is considered improvised, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thatmeans thousands of people in the county are bringing home $2,000 or less everymonth to feed, house and clothe their families.

Butler County’s estimated poverty rate in 2014 was14.6 percent, slightly lower than the 14.8 percent national average. Meanwhile,Warren Countyhad the lowest poverty rate, 4.5 percent, last year among the 39 Ohio counties surveyed.The survey only includes counties with a population of 65,000 people or more.

Themedian income in Butler County is an estimated $56,000 and in Warren Countyit’s more than $72,000 — both counties are higher than the state’s averageincome.

Themost recent poverty data showed no significant changes from the year before,according to the federal bureau.

Butler County’s poverty rate has inched up in recent years. In 2010, forexample, 13.5 percent of households were living in poverty. Go back evenfurther to 1999, and the poverty rate sat at 8.7 percent.

LourdesWard said many people who seek help from Reach Out Lakota, a West Chester Twp.nonprofit that sponsors programs — including a food and clothing pantry — forfamilies who have fallen on tough times, hold hourly jobs at restaurants orlocal retailers. Others are elderly or have gone through sudden shock, such asjob loss or a divorce, that have left them financially weakened.

She’sworked with the nonprofit for 22 years.

“Thefaces change but, sadly, the circumstances are similar,” she said. “I wouldlike people to have a little more of an open mind, that hard times effect usall, it doesn’t matter your income level.”