Hidden poverty on Cape Cod is no surprise to service providers

Cynthia McCormick Cape Cod Times

Published Dec 27, 2021 

Some people were surprised when the town of Orleans was included among 102 Massachusetts communities that recently qualified for free COVID-19 at-home testing kits due to the local poverty rate.

Not Larry Marsland, CEO of the Lower Cape Outreach Council, which serves eight towns including Orleans.

Marsland said there is a high demand for council programs, including emergency financial assistance, fuel assistance, tuition aid and free clothing from residents of Orleans and neighboring Harwich.

More:'Potentially a game-changer': Free COVID at-home test kits available in four Cape towns

“I certainly wasn’t surprised,” he said, when state officials last week included Orleans among four Cape towns earmarked for free test kits based on the highest number of families living below the federal poverty level.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the 2021 poverty guidelines (the government does not refer to "poverty level") are based on the number of people in a household and household income: one person, $12,880 annually; two, $17,420; three, $21,960; and four, $26,500, for example.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows "percent of persons in poverty" by town. In Orleans, the rate is estimated at 7.6% for 2021; with a total population of 6,307, the data indicates 479 people living below the federal poverty guideline.

The other Cape towns that qualified for the free test kits were Barnstable, Dennis and Eastham. Ninety-eight other Massachusetts cities and towns also qualified.

Poverty on this side of the bridge can look different, as in nearly invisible, Marsland said.

“On Cape Cod, our poor are well disguised. We’re just not aware of how many people are struggling here. I live in Chatham. It’s all McMansions here now and yet Chatham Elementary School” has a food pantry for families, Marsland said.

“It’s very difficult.”

The high cost of housing, the difficulty of finding affordable — or any — rentals, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the already struggling seasonal and service-based economy and the rising cost of nearly everything are taking a financial toll on families across the peninsula.

People think of Falmouth as having more of a year-round economy.

But even there the trends are toward rising levels of need, said Elyse DeGroot, deputy director of the Falmouth Service Center.

The amount of assistance given out for mortgage payments, rent, utilities and other expenses from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 more than doubled over the past two years, DeGroot said.

During the two-month period in 2019, the service center served 41 families with 70 household members by providing $27,336 worth of support, she said.

In that same period in 2020, when people were still receiving unemployment and government pandemic checks, 33 families with 73 members received $31,531. 

From Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 this year, the service center helped 49 households with 101 members and gave out $73,413, a jump of 132% in aid, DeGroot said.

“A lot of times they are behind in their rent. The moratorium was lifted. They were behind in their bills. These are Falmouth families," DeGroot said.

In some cases, individuals had to decide between paying for medical expenses or tuition, so the Falmouth Service Center helped out with rent or utilities, she said.

People receiving aid included restaurant and hair salon workers whose hours were cut during the pandemic and independent tradespeople who were physically injured and required surgery.

“They weren’t earning the same income” as in the past, DeGroot said.

“It’s the small businesses that seem to be hit pretty hard.”

“The vast majority of our clients who are struggling are working people," Marsland said.

"It’s a convenient mythology that those who are looking for aid are unemployed or underemployed. They are under paid."

Orleans also has one of the highest percentages of older people in Massachusetts — another population that can be prone to financial fragility.

“People who are on fixed incomes are very vulnerable. We do everything we can to keep seniors in their housing and (make sure they) have their medications and groceries," Marsland said.

"This past  year has been a year of inflation.” 

One of the beauties of the Cape, in addition to its natural seaside splendor, is that it houses caring communities who band together to help those in need, Marsland said.

Even so, the hidden poverty on the Cape is becoming increasingly visible.

"I'm starting to see panhandlers at the grocery store,” Marsland said.

He said he has seen two people collecting money outside the store, including a woman with a “big smile” and a sign asking for help.

Marsland said he got used to seeing panhandlers when he lived in Manhattan, but “when you see it in East Harwich, you go, 'Wait a minute.' I grew up on Cape Cod and have never seen this in my life. You don’t think it’s possible. Not here.

“It’s certainly a sign that there’s a great deal of undercurrent of poverty and worry out there,” he said.