2012 AUGUST-MASHPEE EDIC Plan for Executive Park

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i levels in Mashpee had slipped to 11.5 percent below the county and 15.7 percent below the state. Mashpee's median household income levels also slid relative to county and statewide levels. Mashpee's minority population disproportionately suffers from poverty. Minority families represent 9 percent of all families, but 19 percent of poor families in Mashpee. Overall, 11.5 percent of minority families live in poverty compared to 4.9 percent of white families. Most of these poor families in Mashpee are headed by women; all of the minority families living in poverty are female-headed households, while 65 percent of white poor families have no husband present. Economic uncertainty for some Mashpee residents is related to the lack of full-time, year-round employment. Of all the people who reported having worked at all in 1989 in Mashpee, only 57 percent worked full-time, year-round. About one in five employed residents worked less than 35 hours a week in 1990;about 14 percent reported working 26 weeks of the year or less. Public assistance programs appear to not fully meet the needs of poor Mashpee residents. Of 126 families living in poverty at the time of the 1990 Census, 80 received no form of public assistance, and half (43) of the female-headed households living in poverty received none. Of families other than those considered poor, 124 families, about half with a female head of household, received public assistance in 1990. Over 300 Mashpee residents use the food pantry, with the demand from Mashpee far exceeding that of Falmouth, a much larger town. For some of Mashpee Is low-income residents, each day is a struggle to put food on the table. According to anecdotal information, many of the working poor commute to the Hyannis area to work in year-round motels, restaurants, and retail jobs. Others do odd jobs to provide some family income. However, to supplement low-wage jobs, many Mashpee residents grow extensive gardens in the summer and freeze or can food for the winter. Many also shellfish, not to earn additional income, but to supplement the family's diet. The overwhelming demand for public housing is another sign of the economic struggles faced by Mashpee residents. Mashpec's Housing Authority has less than 150 units, mostly state-funded rental units. In 1995 there was a three-year wait list for senior housing and a four-year wait list for family housing. The lack of a community center in Mashpee was frequently cited as a concern of the human service community. A community center would provide a location for clinicians to deliver services, as well as a focal point for recreational and teen activities. Economic Structure The job base in Mashpee is small relative to the Town's population. As a result, the majority of Mashpee residents seek work out of Town. Over 4,600 Mashpee residents were seeking employment in 1993, but the Town's job base offered only 2,145 jobs. Over 75 percent of town residents work outside of Mashpee, with 58.3 percent working elsewhere in Barnstable County, mostly in the neighboring towns of Barnstable (Hyannis) and Falmouth. Over 60 percent of Mashpee workers live outside of Mashpee, with the majority commuting from elsewhere in Barnstable County, especially Barnstable and Falmouth. The number of Mashpee residents working out of the home has increased, but still represents a small portion of the total. From 1980 to 1990, the number of Mashpee residents working out of the home rose from 34 to 74, an increase of 135 percent. However,the percentage actually fell slightly, from 2.18 percent in 1980 to 2.02 percent in 1990. The 1990 percentage is slightly less than the corresponding figures for Massachusetts(2.51 percent)and the United States(3 percent). 4