More families in the state struggling to earn a living

By Jomay Steen, Journal staff | Sunday, February 25, 2007

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RAPID CITY — Kenny Wells, 42, works as a full-time cook at Tally’s Restaurant in downtown Rapid City and part-time at Culver’s restaurant — about 60 hours a week —and tries to schedule in even more hours.

Wells earns about $8 an hour, well above South Dakota’s $5.15 minimum wage. But it still isn’t enough to provide for his family.

“We live paycheck to paycheck,” Wells said.

They are not alone.

Since 2001, the number of people living at or below the poverty level in South Dakota has been steadily growing, having only stabilized in 2005 with 12 percent of the population falling at or below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $20,650.

But the working poor continue to struggle to pay rising costs in health care, housing, heating and transportation.

Congress is now working on a plan to raise minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009.

The South Dakota Legislature also is looking to boost its $5.15 minimum hourly wage.

But for Wells, it won’t happen soon enough.

Wells, 42, and Stephanie Lawrence, 32, are the parents of a blended family that includes their children, Jalen, 2, and Darrius, 7, as well as her children, Andre, 10, and Miranda, 15.

In trying to stay ahead of his bills, Wells spends more time at work than he does at his rented home with his family. Lawrence, who works full-time for a direct-TV company, also works overtime.

“She’s trying to get all the overtime she can get,” Wells said.

But even with the three jobs between the two as well as overtime hours, they struggle to keep their bills paid, a roof over their head and food on the table.

They have two cars and are still making payments on one. With work requiring Wells to be on the job at 6 a.m. and out as late as 11 p.m., an extra car was a necessity for the family.

But having the second car takes its toll on the family’s budget.

“What messed us around were these loan companies. They expect interest payments every two weeks,” Wells said.

After Wells and Lawrence ran into financial troubles, they began to look for ways to capitalize on what they earn and spend without damaging their credit scores or resorting to bankruptcy. They recently began going to consumer credit counseling services.

However, the nagging concern about their finances is still present.

“My girl, all she does is worry,” Wells said of their financial struggle.

That worry prompted them to make changes. The family does stay within a basic budget with Lawrence paying the rent and Wells paying for the cars and insurance.

Lawrence also saves money by air drying the laundry rather than using the dryer. They stay home a lot, watching TV, playing games or using their video game system, a gift from Wells’ mother, Arvetta Shirley. They recently cut off their cable service. But with all of these cuts to economize and long hours of work, it still hasn’t made a significant difference.

“I do worry,” Wells said of falling further into debt.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.