Hamilton Journal News
November 16, 2009
HAMILTON — Ohioans are still generous during this ongoing economic recession, but the kind of giving has shifted, according to a report released last week by Miami University Hamilton’s Center for Civic Engagement. Ohio’s Civic Health Index Report, prepared in conjunction with National Conference on Citizenship, shows that 80 percent of Ohioans say they have cut back on time spent volunteering, participating in groups, and performing other civic activities in their communities during the past year while the economy was shrinking. “This does not mean that four-fifths of our citizens have stopped participating,” said Miami University professor of political science Clyde Brown in a news release. “It means they are participating less, and thus our civic capacity has significantly declined.” The report also shows that poorer people are giving the most these days. “We had hoped the economic hardship might trigger more compassion as people saw real suffering and needs,” said John Bridgeland, chairman of NCoC’s advisory board and CEO of Civic Enterprises. “While this is not true for volunteering, it is true for providing food and shelter. And people with the least means are giving the most.” Half of Ohioans surveyed said they had given food or money to a relative or non-relative in the past year. Sixteen percent of respondents had allowed a relative to life with them. Key findings of the report indicate that Ohioans have been hit hard by the current recession: • 40 percent of Ohio households had trouble affording essentials, such as food or medicine, compared to 31 percent of national households; • 30 percent of Ohio households had suffered a job loss by one of its members compared to 20 percent of national households; • 14 percent of Ohio households reported mortgage problems or had lost a home to foreclosure compared to 7 percent of national households The survey also shows that confidence in major institutions is low among Ohioans, with only 4 percent expressing confidence in Congress or the Executive Branch of the federal government, 5 percent confidence in major companies and 6 percent in banks and financial institutions, rating that the report describe as “extremely low.”