Forums aim to help Long Island's poor

Who are Long Island's poor?

It's a question Suffolk County's Welfare to Work Commission wants answered, and next week it's launching a series of hearings to spotlight the stories of residents who are struggling in the wake of the recession. The commission, which reports to the county legislature, is hosting three public hearings starting May 18.

Titled "Struggling in Suburbia," the forums aim to dispel misconceptions about poverty in Suffolk and Nassau, said commission chairman Richard Koubek.

"The phrase Long Island and poverty seems like an oxymoron," Koubek said Thursday at a news conference in Hauppauge.

Though Suffolk, with an average household income of $104,000, is the fifth wealthiest county in the state, public assistance rolls have reached record numbers since the recession began in 2007, said Suffolk Social Services Deputy Commissioner John O'Neal. Food stamp cases grew by 148 percent, Medicaid caseloads increased by 44 percent and the number of homeless families more than doubled to 480 over the past five years, according to county figures.

Nassau has experienced similar changes. Food stamp cases grew by 145 percent since 2007, according to social service department figures.

"There is the thought that Long Island, and Suffolk County in particular, is comprised of just fancy cars and big homes," said legislative Majority Leader DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville), chairman of the Human Services Committee. "Often overlooked are the many people that are struggling to get by on a daily basis."

Scheduled witnesses at the first hearing will include Trudi Renwick, head of the Census Bureau's poverty statistics branch, and a panel of local economic and social service experts. Working parents including Rene Delgado, of Bellport, whose children were dropped recently from the county's child care program due to state funding cuts, also will testify.

"I'm a single mom who feels like I have a black cloud hanging over my head," Delgado said.

Koubek said the commission will compile a final report aimed at recommending county and state policies "that will get at the root causes of poverty in Suffolk County and provide struggling Long Islanders with the support they need."

The public hearings are scheduled for May 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and May 22 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building, 725 Veterans Memorial Hwy., in Hauppauge, and on June 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Riverhead Legislative Auditorium, 300 Center Dr.