Salvation Army's holiday breakfast in Hackensack offers words of wisdom from poverty’s victimsThursday November 22, 2012, 8:16 PM
BY LINH TAT
STAFF WRITER
The Record
HACKENSACK — Don’t cut off benefits until a newly employed person’s really back on their feet.
MITSU YASUKAWA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Volunteer Anna Maria, second from left, serves Maria Yunga, left, as Digna Guama, 3, and his mother Leny Asitimbay, right, look on during a Thanksgiving Breakfast at The Second Reformed Church in Hackensack. Feed kids well, so their brains are healthy enough to learn a skill.
Give skilled immigrants a few breaks in paperwork so they can do in America what they used to do best in their old homeland.
If you were looking on Thanksgiving for an agenda to help eradicate poverty, it was readily available from the recipients of the Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving breakfast at the Second Reformed Church on Union Street.
After losing his job as a plumber in 2008, James Taylor has tried to battle his way back to financial independence. He recently landed a contracting job and hopes the full-time work will mean no more nights spent in shelters.
But Taylor’s not entirely optimistic. Many government programs cut off assistance as soon as an individual finds work, rather than weaning them off the services slowly, he said.
“Why not let there be a grace period so you have time to work, put some money away?” he asked. The current system, he believes, makes it difficult for individuals to successfully transition out of public assistance.
His sentiments were shared by some others at breakfast, where Taylor enjoyed a hot meal of flapjacks, eggs, sausage, a croissant, and juice and coffee. Volunteers also handed out turkey food baskets to about 150 families.
The organization this year served about 550 meals — nearly double last year’s count. But The Salvation Army was not the only nonprofit to see an increase in the number of requests for aid. The Bergen County Relief Center and the Englewood-based Center for Food Action have also received more calls for help.
Although many of this year’s extra requests came from superstorm Sandy evacuees, more “middle Americans” in general are finding themselves in need of a helping hand, these nonprofits say. In fact, a report by the Legal Services of New Jersey’s Poverty Research Institute suggests an increase in the percentage of stressed households. The current federal poverty level is $23,050 for a household of four. The Poverty Research Institute considers that New Jerseyans must have an annual income of twice that amount — or 200 percent of the poverty level — to make ends meet.
But in 2008, the percentage of New Jersey households living below the benchmark was 20.8 percent; two years later, it rose to 23.8 percent. ...
Jennifer Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Center for Food Action, which provides emergency food packages as well as “weekend snack packs” to students who receive free or reduced hot meals at schools on weekdays, believes the way to break the cycle of poverty is to ensure that children receive nutritious meals and a quality education.
“If a child is fed a nutritious meal, they learn better,” Johnson said. “Studies after studies show that poor nutrition lead to limited ability to learn because your brain is not working as optimally as it should.”
Others, like Hackensack Councilman Jorge Meneses, pointed to job growth as key to combating poverty, and suggested government incentives to businesses willing to expand their work force.
“Many corporations are leaving the state; we cannot afford that,” said Meneses, who helped serve Thursday’s breakfast. He noted the city’s plans to revitalize Main Street, though it may take a few years before those businesses will be ready to hire, he said.
“If we get more jobs, we’ll get [fewer] people looking for help,” he said. “When people are working, they’re getting their needs met in a dignified way.”
Recent immigrants Neville and Rose Dixon agree. Both worked for the Jamaican government, where Neville Dixon was a data control supervisor and information technology support officer, and his wife worked in customer relations. But their degrees and professional certificates aren’t recognized in this country, they said, and as immigrants, they don’t qualify for student loans so they can return to school and earn equivalent degrees here.
Fewer roadblocks for legal immigrants trying to establish a new life in America would cut down on the number relying on charity, they believe.
“If I had [student loans], I’d go back to school,” said Rose Dixon, adding that she’s hopeful her family won’t have to return for another meal at The Salvation Army next Thanksgiving.
While many offered longer-term solutions to ending poverty, Derek Boone, executive director of The Bergen County Relief Center, spoke of meeting existing needs.
The continued high unemployment rate has left more people seeking assistance this year, he said, but donations have slowed. Nevertheless, his organization hosted a meal at the Vincente K. Tibbs Senior Citizen Building in Englewood on Thursday. Organizers expected to serve at least 250 people there, with possibly more meals delivered to people’s homes afterwards.
Broadly speaking, Boone said various groups working on common causes would benefit from being less divisive.
“What needs to be done in Bergen County?” he asked. “The clergy should come together, the local officials should come together and the local agencies should come together. Everyone, start meeting and start preparing to make things better.”
Email: tat@northjersey.com
