Edona Hadzovic is a one of the co-founders of Clothes for SLC, which aims “to provide adequate food and clothing for high school students in poverty in St. Lawrence County,” according to Hadzovic. She said the organization had some regulatory issues with serving food, so the focus centered on providing clothes. According to statistics from the New York State Community Action Association (NYSCAA), SLC kids need economic aid more than most.
Out of 62 counties in New York State, St. Lawrence County is the seventh poorest, according to the NYSCAA. Out of the 19,000 impoverished people in SLC, roughly just under one-third are children, according to the same source.
Even basic provisions for life seem at risk for children in SLC, with over half receiving eligibility for free and reduced lunches, according to NYSCAA. Children’s parents, especially single mothers, have a uniquely challenging existence in SLC. The Woman’s National Law Center found that 42 percent of single mothers in SLC live in poverty, compared with 35 percent of women statewide.
Though women and children live a particularly tough life in SLC, the average wage earner doesn’t fair much better. The NYSCAA states a live-able hourly wage for a single parent and child, in standard 40-hour work week is $25.52. However, the median income in SLC $32,394 a year or $15.57 an hour, with a 40-hour work week.
So SLC workers, on average, fall 10 dollars short of a “minimum estimate of the cost of living for a low wage family,” as stated on the NYSCAA website.
Though the average SLC worker only earns 60 percent of what they should, the reality is even more disheartening for workers with only a high school diploma.
According to NYSCAA, these workers account for the largest portion of workers in SLC, at 36 percent. Workers with only a high school education earned $26,326 a year and $12.65 an hour. A high school education earned workers less than half of a live-able level of income, according to NYSCAA standards.
In the face of SLC’s extreme poverty, some SLU students have decided to act. In addition to Clothes for SLC, Campus Kitchens provides free meals for community members at the local Unitarian Universalist Church.
According to a member of Campus Kitchens, Oscar Wilkerson, the goal is “to help people with food insecurity in the local area.” He says, “Every Monday night, we see 30 to 50 people at the UU Church in Canton.” He also noted that every week Campus Kitchen prepares snack bags for over 100 local elementary school students.
Hadzovic stated that Clothes for SLC plans to expand its aid to include food and clothes next year. He says people can donate to Clothes for SLC at www.gofundme.com/clothing-for-slc-students.