Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

This article summarizes the problems as well as the solutions presented at a conference on Robeson County's rising poverty rate. The conference was attended by community leaders, state leaders, and college professors. It was held at the Center for Community Action.

Leslie Hossfield, a sociology professor at UNC-Wilmington, views unemployment as the root of the problem, noting that Robeson County lost over 8,700 jobs between 1993 and 2003. She added that the county's poverty rate has grown from 22.8% in 2000 to 32.9% in 2005, while the median household income has declined by $3,102 since 2000.

Sandra Cox of the Robeson County Department of Social Services, who heads the county's Work First program, explained that Medicaid costs have increased 69% since 2000, and the number of Medicaid recipients has increased 9% during the same period.

Ken Windley, the county manager, noted that the county has regained 6,000 of the 8,700 jobs lost since the early 1990s.

Gayle Fernandez, executive director of the county's Community Development Foundation, stated that Robeson County residents have over $10 million in unclaimed tax refunds available to them. Residents can get assistance in filing their tax returns from this organization.

U. S. Representative Mike McIntyre sent a letter of support to the conference that discussed his 10-point plan, the Rural America Bill of Rights, through which he is working to bring assistance to Robeson County.

One catalyst for this conference was a recently released federal report that showed Robeson County, in 2005, to be the third poorest of the nation's counties with populations between 65,000 and 250,000, with a poverty rate of 32.9%. The reference for the report is:

Income, earnings, and poverty data from the 2005 American Community Survey. (American Community Survey Reports.) U.S. Census Bureau, August 2006.
See page 25 of the PDF file (page 19 of the document), Table 8.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/acs-02.pdf

For another report on the conference, see the following:

Williams, Allison."Robeson poverty cuts deep; leaders urged to find ways to rebuild the county.” Fayetteville Observer October 14, 2006. Local and State Section. Full text available:

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45115389/editions. (These libraries have back years of this newspaper. Check the library catalog of the library of your choice to see if the year you need is available.)

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

In her coverage of the conference, Allison Williams adds information on efforts by community colleges, UNC-Pembroke, and UNC-Chapel Hill to find solutions. She also mentions a Giving Exchange started by the Center for Community Action; an African American credit union that might be established by Robeson County's chapter of the NAACP; and efforts by the Lumbee Tribe. The tribe's chairperson, Jimmy Goins, discussed ways federal recognition of the Lumbee would benefit the entire county. Williams's article concludes with a list of counties whose population is 65,000-249,999 with the highest poverty rate.