Columnist Susan Snyder: Too many people live hand-to-mouth

Sunday, July 2, 2000 | 10:51 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

Francine Banks lives on the edge of downtown.

And on the edge of her budget. And on the edge of her wits.

On Thursday the 40-year-old Las Vegas widow and mother of five had enough food for two more meals, no phone service and a 24-hour eviction notice from her landlord.

She hoped the mailman would bring news from the Social Security Administration as to why her monthly widow's benefit checks mistakenly were sent to a relative, who spent them. She hoped to find out when the money would come.

And she hoped to find out how soon she could begin the two restaurant jobs she just landed. The jobs will give her about 70 hours of work each week.

She keeps the Bible open on the living room table and a stiff upper lip for her children, ages 10 to 16. But her lower lip trembles when she stops long enough to think about how hard it all is.

"I've had to go to so many agencies every day for rent money or food. There are so many people who go through this," Banks says, eyes brimming with tears. "I never thought I would, though. I never thought this would happen to me."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Banks' turmoil is shared by many.

Nationally the economy is booming and unemployment is low. Yet one in 10 U.S. households -- about 36 million people -- has someone facing hunger, the agency said.

In reports published last week a Tufts University expert on hunger and poverty said it is the first time in modern history that a strong economy has not been followed by a decrease in hunger. People aren't starving, but they're close. One late rent payment or high utility bill and they're pushed over the edge.

Marlene Richter, director of social services for Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, sees those people. Usually summer brings fewer food requests from working poor with homes. But not this year.

"There is no decrease in the people with homes. They're still coming in (for food)," she says.

Catholic Charities paid May's rent and the electricity bill for Banks and gave her some food for her family.

But June's rent is still overdue. The family washes their clothes by hand. Banks' bus pass expired. And it'll be at least a week before she sees a check from work or the Social Security office. Officials have said they must investigate Banks' relative before she is reimbursed.

Banks says many of the people she meets on the bus hold down two or three jobs just to break even. They all feel invisible in the shadows of billion-dollar resorts.

"There are so many people out there that we just don't know about," she says.

When federal welfare reform kicked in earlier this year Richter saw a slight increase in requests for help. They tapered off by February, but not for a good reason.

"People combined households," she says. "Two families living in one apartment. We have a lot of that here."

We have a lot of people like the Banks family, too. Right now, they may already be living on the street.

"I try so hard for my kids," Banks says. "There ain't nothing nice about being put on the street with your kids."