Poverty in the USA (first in a series)
Here are the numbers (from povertyusa.org):
Since 2000, the number of poor Americans has grown by more than 6 million. Total Americans below the official poverty thresholds numbered 37 million. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004)
On average, more than one out of every three Americans - 37 percent of all people in the United States - are officially classified as living in poverty at least 2 months out of the year. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004)
The number of Americans living in severe poverty - with incomes below half of the poverty line - remained the same at 15.6 million. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004)
In case you were wondering how poverty is defined, here are the federal poverty levels for families in 2005:
One person: $9,645
Two persons: $12,334
Three persons: $15,067
Four persons:$19,307
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004
Here are the numbers (from povertyusa.org):
Since 2000, the number of poor Americans has grown by more than 6 million. Total Americans below the official poverty thresholds numbered 37 million. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004)
On average, more than one out of every three Americans - 37 percent of all people in the United States - are officially classified as living in poverty at least 2 months out of the year. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004)
The number of Americans living in severe poverty - with incomes below half of the poverty line - remained the same at 15.6 million. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004)
In case you were wondering how poverty is defined, here are the federal poverty levels for families in 2005:
One person: $9,645
Two persons: $12,334
Three persons: $15,067
Four persons:$19,307
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004
posted by mbg at 3:17 PM
1 Comments:
These last few weeks, our church has been hosting families who are homeless. When we've done these hostings in the past, it's been your "typical" family who along with needing housing needed help with parenting skills, self esteem, job training, etc.... It's all the stuff I see every day as a social worker.
This time around, every last family we are hosting is classified as the working poor. One woman was a stewardess w/Northwest Air last year, was laid off in the fall, and is now homeless w/three young children. A father is there with his teenaged daughters--he has been a chef for the last 12 years at a local hospital, and now is homeless. These are all wonderful families who are in need of a most basic element--shelter.
Amy Yoder McGloughlin
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