COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
In January, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich energized voters with bold statements on welfare, food stamps, and poverty. The strategy paid off. Gingrich won the South Carolina Republican primary election.
Why did he choose welfare, of all issues, to strike a nerve here? Maybe he saw figures like these:
-40,000 households in Richland & Fairfield Counties are headed by working mothers with children under 17. Many live in poverty and require public assistance.
-In Richland County, nearly 34% of households headed by women with children under 10 live below poverty.
-In Fairfield County, that rate is nearly 41%.
(Source: The Cooperative Ministry)
Politics and poverty can sometimes make strange bedfellows. Extreme stances can further separate both sides of the debate. Somewhere in the middle is the truth.
Helping any problem almost always begins with finding a root cause. Maybe this figure points down a road to a solution:
-In Richland & Fairfield Counties, nearly half of female-headed households with children under the age of 5 live in poverty.
(Source: The Cooperative Ministry)
What is it about moms with children under the age of 5 that stands out? Well, if mom's going to work or go to school to get a degree, then the kids need childcare.
And childcare is expensive. In fact, childcare is more expensive than rent payments in almost half of all states. And, when you factor in two child families, that's a reality in all 50 states. (Source: Child Care Aware of America report released in August 2012)
The Cooperative Ministry realizes that barrier keeping single moms with young children on the public payroll. Now, after years of planning, a provocative plan is launched that the Midlands has never seen before.
"Solid Ground" helps low-income families reach sustainability by providing case management, mentoring, and "wrap around" services to single mothers and intact families. It is a big commitment for both sides and families must meet certain qualifications.
Families must receive government assistance, be enrolled in a public university full-time, and maintain a certain grade point average. But, even more so, participants must pick a career path that's in high demand and those seeking a "Solid Ground" must give back, too.
This Thursday on WIS News 10 at 5, Ben Hoover spends a day with a single mom on the brink of a breakthrough. See how "Solid Ground" helps fill gaps in her life as she navigates school, work, raising two daughters.
See how events in her life sent her spiraling into a life of poverty, how she woke up one morning determined to get off welfare, and what the immediate and not-so-immediate future looks like for this motivated mom.
And, how she feels about a program that requires her to give back at a point in her life where she doesn't have much to give. Plus, details on the program "Solid Ground" is modeled after that has already saved taxpayers $71,000,000 by lifting South Carolina families off welfare.
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.
Find out how one single mother is working to get off public assistance programs
