West Stanislaus County top needs are food, housing and utility assistance, survey finds
Help with utility payments, food and rent are top priorities for West Stanislaus County residents, according to a recent survey.
Grayson Neighborhood Council, a nonprofit focused on social equity and environmental issues, conducted the survey, which was presented by five residents during the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors meeting May 18. Prior to that, the organization presented the results to the Patterson and Newman city councils.
John Mataka, Grayson Neighborhood Council president, said during the presentation that between October 2020 and March, 617 residents of Grayson, Westley, Vernalis, Patterson, Newman and Crows Landing were surveyed on what their top needs were as a result of the pandemic. Of those surveyed, 189 were in Grayson, Westley and Vernalis, 245 people in Patterson and 183 people in Newman and Crows Landing.
The survey found that 260 residents (69.9%) in Newman, Crows Landing, Westley, Grayson and Vernalis said utility assistance was their top priority, and 244 people (65.6%) said food assistance was their second priority.
In Patterson, 191 residents (78%) said food assistance was their top priority and 175 people (71.4%) said utility assistance was second.
Rental assistance was the third priority for 292 (67.3%) people in Patterson, Grayson, Westley and Vernalis, while economic hardship was third for 108 (59%) people in Newman and Crows Landing, and rental assistance was fourth for 102 residents (55.7%).
In a summary statement, Mataka said the need for food assistance among families is great, given that not many people (7%) who were surveyed receive food stamps or general assistance. Among those surveyed, a total of 1,306 children were reported to be living in the households, most of which were headed by someone 50 or older. Moreover, only 40 people (6.5%) received a stimulus check.
Grayson resident Yolanda Lomeli is among the 330 (53.4%) people surveyed who suffered a reduction in personal income. She said she was unemployed for two months after working as a toddler teacher in Patterson, while her husband, who owns a barbershop, was unemployed for eight months. Only 54 people (8.8%) claimed they were receiving unemployment benefits, according to the survey.
“We’re having a hard time recovering financially and health-wise,” Lomeli said at the meeting, adding that her husband is still finding it difficult to build up clientele. The situation, including aftermath symptoms from contracting the coronavirus, is causing her health to decline, she said.
Myriam Montoya of Grayson said during the meeting that she lost income after multiple customers canceled their orders with her party rental business. Since April 2020, Montoya said she’s lost her home and lives in one bedroom with four other family members, including her children. “It’s been hard finding housing to this day,” she said in Spanish.
A little over 7% of people surveyed reported loss of income from their small businesses, which were not brick and mortar.
Delivery and mental health services needed
Yolanda Gomez told the board that when she contracted COVID-19, she worried about being able to feed her family.
“How was I going to feed my family if I could not physically go to the store or feel well enough to cook?” she said. Gomez said areas like Grayson lack access to food delivery services like Instacart that make dealing with the pandemic easier.
The County Office of Education employee also expressed feeling incompetent at her job as she tries to find resources for her community, which she knows are becoming scarce. As a family eligibility specialist, her job is to enroll families into subsidized child care and development programs.
“While I’m trying to reassure them, I am also a person going through the same issues,” she said.
Gomez and Montoya agreed that the pandemic and uncertainty are affecting their mental health.
Of the 154 (25%) adults who reported in the survey that someone in their household needed mental health services, most in need were children and seniors.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
