“Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” A common quote to help us relate to the lives of others. Thursday, December 8,The Leadership Stark County 25th class had the opportunity to live the quote.
What would you do if you were a single mother with two teenage children, you have never worked, and your husband just left you with only $10.00? This was one scenario that was role played during the TANF Town simulation. We were asked to take the simulation seriously and reminded that living below poverty level is reality for 15% of Stark County residents.
Immediately following this simulation we boarded a SARTA bus and had the opportunity to eat lunch at the Samaritan’s Table. Located in Saint John the Baptist Church, the Samaritan’s Table serves 600 hot meals every Thursday. The lunch is free, with donations accepted. For many, the meal is appreciated for the nutritional value, but for some, it is the visitation and fellowship with others that is appealing
Human Resource Day allowed us an opportunity to safely experience how some of our neighbors live daily. We were privileged to walk in someone else’s shoes without living in them. Our take away as business leaders, we have a great opportunity to impact the lives of our friends and neighbors by sharing what we learned and possibly serving with one of the social and human resource agencies.
Agencies like United Way, Coleman Behavioral Health, Quest Recovery, Stark County Dept. of Jobs & Family Services, Mental Health Board, Refuge of Hope, Food Pantries, J R Coleman Child Care and many others. With so many agencies and services, it seems there would be duplication of assistance. In fact, just the opposite, each agency has an area of expertise and there is collaboration with regard to best practice, serving needs and dealing with infinite resources.
Here are some facts that were shared with us by professionals from some of the human services agencies
• More than one in seven Ohio households are facing a daily risk of hunger.
• 35% of clients served by Food banks are choosing between paying for food and paying for medical care.
• More than 20% of Ohio children under the age of 18 are food insecure
• 70% or Stark County residents live within 1/2 mile of Sarta Bus route
• Sarta served over 2 million riders in 2010
• There are more “Quick Cash” establishments in Stark county then fast food restaurants.
• 1 in 6 stark county residents benefit from service supported by United Way
• Dial 211 and have access to resources to help guide you to Social Service assistance.
• There is no “free ride” or getting rich off the system. Each person benefitting from assistance must work a calculated number of hours to qualify for the assistance.
As facts and examples were presented, reality set in, none of us are exempt from this situation, no matter how well we have prepared to avoid it. We are all just one set of circumstances away from needing some form of assistance. One missed paycheck, one accident, one illness, one death, one bad luck of the draw can create an unexpected chain of events that leads to financial or emotional issues. We tend to refer to those receiving assistance, as “those people” but they are our neighbors and many of them have been “just like us”.

Thank you to those that spent time out of their day with us including:
Bill Burgess, Patrice M. Fetzer, Paulla Gates, Christopher Hewitt, Kellijo Jeffries, Kim Labriola, Sherri McKinney-Frantz, Jennifer McNemar, Molly Moriarty, Lori Stokes, Tom Thompson, Lori Travaglino, Donna Williams, David Wills, Todd Porter