Township Assistance Declines in Data Reports from 2014 to 2016

The Perry Township Trustee's office has experienced a general decline in applicants for its Emergency Assistance Program since 2014. In data compiled by the Township, this decline is reflected across several measures of Township activity, such as walk-in inquiries about assistance, actual appointments taken, and money paid out to vendors for assistance. Conversely, traffic to the Bobbie's Place Food Pantry run by the Township office has increased fairly steadily from 2014 to 2016.

The charts and graphs below are intended to reflect this data, and were compiled by Case Investigator Laura Blaker. This information was retrieved from Township appointment books, sign-in sheets, and the computer system. Most of the data compiled compares the periods of January-May across 2014, 2015, and 2016. Tap or click any of the charts below to enlarge the image.

The office is still looking into what may have caused the decrease in applicants for Township Assistance. Multiple factors may be at play, including a decreasing unemployment rate, warmer winters driving down utility bills, gentrification of residential neighborhoods in Perry Township, the closure of Southern Winds Inn in July 2015, a change in potential spending habits of Township residents, and more. Alternately, the food pantry's traffic may have increased due to factors including changing rules governing Indiana SNAP food stamp guidelines. And the decline in assistance paid out for medical expenses has plummeted since the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) medical insurance began covering dental costs.