Some Data on Poverty

Here's some data on poverty that I gleaned from Dave Phillips, co-founder of Cincinnati Works.

Cincinnati has about 200,000 people who live in poverty as defined by the federal poverty guidelines. By extension, a good estimate for the Houston metropolitan area is that 400,000 or more people are living in poverty.

People living in poverty generally fit into two categories:

1. The Chronically Unemployed -- people that have lots of first jobs that don't work out

• 60% of these are generational due to welfare -- it's passed from generation to generation
• The rest are situational -- something happened.

2. The Working Poor: working one, often two jobs at minimum wage, but can't get ahead.

Some other facts:

• 47% have criminal records
• 60% suffer from chronic depression or anxiety
• 30-40% are on drugs
• 55% don't know how to drive (there is a 25% higher salary for same jobs off bus lines)
• 95% of the individuals that come to Cincinnati Works are single parents
• 80% of school dropouts are due to poverty

Economic reasons to care:

• Lifetime cost to society of a household in poverty: $1-1.5 million
• Five-year cost to society of a household in poverty: $150,000

Total one-time cost using the Cincinnati Works model to reach self sufficiency: $6,000

Sounds like a good thing to get behind and help spread!