Waterford: Rich Town, Poor Town

The image of Waterford is often of a well-off, if not affluent, town, filled with hard-working people who have stable family lives. And for the majority of people, that might be true. But certainly not for , according to Sharon Palmer, a former Waterford teacher.

“I remember somebody telling me that, and just earlier that week I was dealing with a student whose entire family was eating dog food,” Palmer, who is the moderator of the Representative Town Meeting, said at a recent meeting. “There are pockets of poverty in Waterford.”

Palmer was referring to her time as a teacher, years ago. Trouble is, statistics and anecdotes prove things have gotten worse.

Statistics

In 2007, 311 people received food stamps in Waterford. In 2010, 662 people received food stamps, according to a report by the Department of Agriculture.

In 2009-'10, 13.3 percent of students in Waterford schools received free or reduced-price meals. This number is up 2.8 percent from 2008-'09, and that number was up from the year before that.

Over the past few years, more people than ever have appealed their tax assessments, Town Assessor Michael Bekech said. That is almost always a sign of a bad economy, as people are having trouble paying their taxes so they challenge the assessment, Bekech said.

Every year, the building department has made more money through fees than it costs, except for 2008-'09, because the housing market was so slow, Chief Building Inspector Frank Hoagland said. This year, the department will make money again, but mainly because of some large commercial properties ( and Coca-Cola), he said.

The amount of sewer and tax liens placed on property owners is the highest in his 19 years of service, Town Clerk Robert Nye said. The town has collected less garbage than ever the past few years, because people are buying and therefore throwing away less, Public Works Director Ron Cusano said.

In 2008, Thames River Council for Community Action, a nonprofit organization that helps people in need, helped 750 people, a fairly stable number over the decade, Executive Director Deborah Monahan said. In 2009, TVCCA helped 1,000 people, she said.

Perhaps most disturbingly, the amount of physical arrests in town has more than doubled since 2006, and the amount of physical arrests went up 44 percent from 2009 to 2010 alone, according to the town’s yearly audit. Generally, when the economy does worse, crime goes up, Police Lt. Brett Mahoney said at an earlier budget meeting.

Mental Health

“I’m not willing to sound the alarm; Waterford is still a very stable community,” Youth Services Director Dani Gorman said. “But there are issues in this community like any other community, and we have seen an increase over the past few years.”

In the past few years, Youth Services has seen an increase in everything from counseling to abuse to homelessness, Gorman said. It is likely the result of a down economy, she said.

Several people have turned violent, or required counseling because of a loss of a job or a loss of an income, she said. That can be particularly hard on men, Gorman said.

“I always say men define themselves by their job,” Gorman said. “And if you take that away, that can be a cause of other problems.”

Many people who have never asked for help before, and never thought they thought they would, are now forced into asking, Gorman said. Some are so proud that they won’t tell anyone, but are referred from people who know, she said.

“I always want people to feel comfortable asking for help,” Gorman said. “I always say you may need help now, but you can give back five years from now when you are in a better financial place; you can donate to us. And we have had many people do that.”

The Solutions

, more families than ever (96) needed help buying gifts for their children and asked Youth Services for help, Gorman said. However, it was also the first year that every family was “adopted” by another family or organization, Gorman said.

“Waterford really has a lot of people who give back,” she said. “This really is a very giving community.”

First Selectman Dan Steward was fully aware of the issues in town, and was proud of the volunteers and staff members who were helping out. However, ultimately, the task of fixing these issues comes down to the person, he said.

“The majority of people are able to be productive members of society if they work at it,” Steward said.

And although the help is good, it is tough to see people who abuse the system, he said.

“You shouldn’t be living on welfare if you can get a job,” Steward said. “I see people … not even trying, and I have a hard time with that.”