Our Challenges

Community & Economy Challenges

• Although there are no real gaps in services in our community, there is a real lack of coordination according to clients, community leaders, and donors.
• Growth is expected to continue in higher-earning residents as well as housing costs
• No public transportation.

Riley Center Suggested Solutions

• Establish locally mandated living wages that are higher than minimum wage levels.
• Support child care subsidy programs to provide assistance to working parents by covering the cost of childcare.
• Expand inclusionary zoning in key locations.
• Create Community Land Trusts.
• Increase advertisement for job training programs.
• Diversify the current economy.

Education, basic needs, training

• There’s a link between low literacy and crime. Seventy-five percent of adults incarcerated in state prisons lack a high school diploma or have low literacy skills.
• The greatest single indicator of a child’s academic success is the educational level of his/her mother. If a parent can’t read, the child starts school at a disadvantage. Then, once the child is in school, the parent is unable to help with homework. Low literacy perpetuates across generations.
• Our local economy needs a prepared, educated workforce to draw new businesses to our area and to keep pace with new technology.
• Individuals with low literacy are less likely to vote or participate in civic activities.
• The greatest growth in jobs is predicted to be those in lower-paying occupations
• Jasper County faces significant challenges with poverty amidst the service region continuing to grow.
• Strengthen early education programs.
• Implement Individualized instruction and a mentoring/tutoring program.
• Develop a Testing Action Plan.

Social Well-being & Wellness

• Support housing rehabilitation loan and grant programs.
• Fast-track permits for affordable housing.
• Reduce the amount of property crimes within Beaufort County, with a specific focus on addressing the City of Beaufort.
• Increase accessibility to large grocery stores, supermarkets, and supercenters.
• Construct and fund community garden programs.

Transportation

• Beaufort County by vehicle ownership (based on 2017 data). The largest share of households owned two vehicles (46%) and although there were only 2% of households that did not own a vehicle, that represents approximately 1,412 households in the county.
• For Jasper County there were also 2% of households that did not own a vehicle (approximately 200 households) and slightly over one-third (34%) of households only owned one vehicle.
• Transportation accounted for $1.2 trillion (9.2 percent) of total national household spending (including spending on behalf of households such as employee transit subsidies) in 2017, making transportation the fourth largest household expenditure category after healthcare, housing, and food.
• Households spent an average of $9,737 on transportation in 2017. By this measure, transportation is the second largest household expenditure category after housing because it does not include spending on behalf of households. This expenditure has increased more slowly than housing, food, and health expenditures.
• Household transportation expenditures vary by household characteristics. In 2017, rural households spent more on transportation than urban households ($10,293 versus $9,511).

Housing

According to Well Being in the Nation Network, in Beaufort and Jasper counties approximately 36% of the housing is suboptimal, meaning it lacks plumbing, complete kitchens, or are overcrowded (Well Being in the Nation Network). Another important measure of housing security is the number of units that are “cost-burdened,” a term meaning more than 30% of income is spent on housing. In both counties more than one-third of residents (37%) are living in household units that are cost burdened.

Links to self-sufficiency standard http://ydn.dtd.mybluehost.me/SELC//www/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SC2020_SSS.pdf
Food insecurity – feeding america – https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2019/overall/south-carolina
Link to Census data – https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty.html