Allendale is a small town in one of South Carolina’s rural counties. If you travel down Highway 301 in Allendale you see remnants of the past. At one time, Allendale was not only a busy community with thriving businesses, restaurants, and motels but a bustling thoroughfare for travelers heading south from New York and north from Florida. Hundreds of cars traveled through the town every day until Interstate 95 was constructed and a new, more direct, four lane route was created for these same travelers around 1970. After that, Allendale was off the map and businesses quickly began to suffer. It was the beginning of a downward spiral for Allendale.
Fast forward to 2013 and South Carolina’s smallest county is now shackled with poor schools, unemployment and poverty. Allendale ranks near the bottom in every statistical category. It is the poorest county in the state with 40% of the population living below the poverty level and Its unemployment rate is second highest at 17%. Its median family income is last at $24,820 per year and its public school performance is fourth from the bottom in standardized testing. Also, nearly 98% of the students attending school in the county are poor and nearly all the teachers live in other counties and commute to Allendale.
What’s even worse is that South Carolina, as a state, ranks near the bottom nationally in several of these same categories. For example, it ranks 48th out of 50 states with children in poverty. It ranks 43rd in families living below the poverty line and 41st in percent of the population with less than a high school education. So Allendale is not only near the bottom in South Carolina, It is near the bottom in the entire United States. Is all of this a direct result of losing a highway that came through town? Many people believe this was the catalyst for the “Allendale downfall.”
Many private funders have essentially given up on Allendale. One funder told me that he felt Allendale was a “lost cause” and putting money there was tantamount to “pouring it down a black hole.” So why have people given up on Allendale? Is the problem so overwhelming that it cannot be fixed or is it that there is simply not enough money to fix it?
These complex community and financial issues without solid answers are not unique to Allendale. If you travel up the Interstate 95 corridor through Bamberg, Orangeburg, Clarendon, Williamsburg, Marion, and Dillon Counties, you see very similar situations. Allendale just happens to be a little worse than the others. Besides unemployment and poverty, you have a very high teenage pregnancy rate; you have an extremely high obesity and diabetes rate per capita; you have the highest infant mortality rate in the state and one of the worst in the country. The life expectancy of people in Allendale is much lower and the senior citizens who do make it are at an extremely high risk of the threat of hunger.
Allendale did not choose to be poor and it did not choose to lose businesses and therefore lose its tax base which affects its schools. It was the victim of a system of modern transportation. Many people living in Allendale do not see a way out or an improved life. Those in power often have their own priorities which can often be at odds with the people who reside in that community. It is a sad state of affairs.
Here are a few thoughts about improving things a bit.
Small rural impoverished communities have lost their economic engines. Therefore, they have lost their job base, tax base, and often their motivation for anything new within the community. They are in survival mode. Many have simply given up on “what is possible” and focused on “what they have lost”.
- A good starting point is to find a way to get everyone to focus on the “bigger picture”. Develop a realistic strategic plan for the community and involve stakeholders at every level. Government, churches, schools, outreach programs, businesses, health care providers, and other community stakeholders are very well intended but often work in isolation. It is important to get the people and organizations to “buy in” to a specific plan in the best interest of the overall community. Everyone has to see a better defined strategy with goals and action steps to be executed that will have an impact on every citizen in the community.
Within the strategic plan one must:
- Find that elusive economic engine using existing assets (beautiful land and wildlife are prevalent in Allendale).
- Better utilize institutions. USC has a successful branch in Allendale with a very good nursing program and can be a real driver in the community and economic development towards a brighter future. They should take the lead.
- Build more effective school readiness programs
- Involve the faith community and all the spirit, energy, and intelligence it has to give.
- Strengthen parent training and add strong afterschool and recreational programs beyond what is available today.
- Create or improve a public or quasi public transportation program to support employment, education, and medical needs.
- Improve public education and reduce dropout rates by offering stronger alternative options such as GED and diploma programs during the evening hours and on weekends.
- Give a voice to the poor. If you live in poverty and have ideas but believe they will never be heard, then you are voiceless. Leaders of any movement must engage and listen to those experiencing the life that the leaders are trying to help improve. Change and vision must come from all levels—top to bottom and bottom to top.
I think Allendale has some beautiful places. Its farmland, wildlife, and natural beauty is outstanding. It has beautiful people also and they want a life filled with hope and opportunity.
Allendale has a future and it does not have to be a bad one. Finding the vision, energy and passion for this wonderful rural town is the first step towards making Allendale more like the Allendale of the pre 1970 era.
This is the first in a series of blogs to be written about community issues and opportunities across South Carolina.
