In fiscal year 2022, the federal government spent $1.19 trillion on more than 80 different welfare programs. What has that to do with you, or your family? Well, your family contributed an average of $9,000 to public welfare last fiscal year. Individually, each of 332 million Americans ponied up $3,600 on average.

You would think social welfare programs costing billions a year for decades would have eradicated poverty in the nation. Think again.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, roughly one-fifth of all Americans receive some form of welfare assistance, consuming almost 20% of total federal spending and a quarter of tax revenues. That includes 20% of Kingsport residents.

In Kingsport alone there are an estimated 11,250 people living in poverty. The poverty rate in Kingsport is 52% higher than the state average and 62% higher than the national average. Sullivan County is slightly better off with a poverty rate of 18%, about 1.3 times the state average and 1.4 times the national average.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Health, there are two broad views as to why people stay poor. One emphasizes differences in fundamentals, such as ability, talent or motivation. The other, called the poverty traps view, cites differences in opportunities that stem from access to wealth. Impoverished individuals do not have access to economic and social resources as a result of their poverty.

With that in mind, a unique, three-year pilot project covering the 10-county region of Northeast Tennessee is taking a different approach, one that hopes to set the standard in giving hope to families trapped in welfare. If successful, it could lead to programs that will have a tremendous impact on reducing state and federal spending while lifting millions out of poverty. More than 1,000 local families will be enrolled.

The program is called STRONG Families Northeast Tennessee and is made possible by a $25 million state grant and the assistance of numerous agencies, including the First Tennessee Development District Foundation, Frontier Health, Appalachian Opportunity Fund, Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, Carter County Drug Prevention, Ballad Health and many others. The difference is in approach.

“The intent of this program is to help people get on their feet and stay on their feet,” said Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy. “It offers programs that train participants in job and life skills, as well as family planning and household finances.”

Trained care coordinators, known as family partners, will be assigned to each participating family to help guide them. Application forms can be found at https://www.ftdd.org/topiform.

Enrollment is open to qualified residents in Hawkins, Hancock, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties, among others.

The program intends to provide assistance to needy families with children so they can live in their own homes or the homes of relatives; end dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation and marriage; and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies while encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

What a difference between that, and a welfare check.

– Kingsport Times-News