POVERTY USA
Struggling to hang on. Making hard choices between hunger, housing and health care for their families.

It’s time to end poverty in America once and for all. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) invests in community-based solutions — that know no racial or religious boundaries. We support self-sufficiency and self-determination as the best strategies for change. We support projects that break the cycle of poverty for good. Find out more about CCHD and the programs that are changing people’s lives.

Here’s where you can make a real difference. Find out the facts. Find out how you can get involved. And thank you for joining the numbers who care.

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POVERTY USA: THE STATE OF POVERTY IN AMERICA
For the first time this decade, the nation's official poverty rate of Americans living in poverty declined from 12.6 percent in 2005 to 12.3 percent in 2006.

The number of people living in poverty in 2006, however, was not statistically different from 2005, at 36.5 million.

Since 2000, the number of poor Americans has grown by more than 6 million.

In 2006, the number of people living in extreme poverty, that is, with incomes below half the poverty line, remained the same at 15.6 million people. The number of Americans living in extreme poverty remains the highest level on record, since data first became available in 1975.

POVERTY BY REGION
POVERTY BY AGE
POVERTY BY RACE
THE WORKING POOR IN POVERTY USA

THE POVERTY LINE
Food, shelter, clothing, health care, transportation - these are only the beginnings of the basic necessities of modern American living. Each year, the federal government calculates the minimum amount of money required by families to meet these basic needs. The resulting calculation is what is commonly referred to as the "poverty line." Using 2005 data, the government has set the 2006 poverty guidelines at:

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006

The U.S. Census Bureau uses a complex equation to measure "official poverty." It begins by computing poverty status based on income, including all money income before taxes, such as earnings, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, Social Security, public assistance, veterans payments, etc. Noncash benefits such as food stamps and housing do not count, nor do capital gains or losses.

If a person lives with a family, the income of all related family members is added up. That income amount is matched against what is called the "measure of need," or the poverty threshold. These thresholds vary according to the size of the family and the ages of the members.

Originally derived in the early 1960s using U.S. Department of Agriculture food budgets designed for families under economic stress, the thresholds are not intended to be complete descriptions of what people and families need to live. Although in some sense they reflect families' needs, the thresholds are intended for use as a statistical yardstick. What's more, many government programs use a different poverty measure, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines or multiples thereof.

The official measure of poverty used by the Census Bureau was established by the Office of Management and Budget; however, government aid programs do not have to use the official poverty measure as eligibility criteria. The U.S. Census Bureau officially designates a family as "in poverty" if the total family income is less than the threshold appropriate for that family.

For example, if a family has five members - two children, a mother and father and a great-aunt - their poverty threshold in 2006 was set at $24,382. If the mother's income was $10,000 for that year, the father's $5,000 and the great-aunt's $10,000, the total income of $25,000 would mean the family was not "in poverty" according to the official definition.

JANUARY IS POVERTY AWARENESS MONTH
Today, 36.5 million Americans—and 1 in 6 children (that’s 17.4 percent of all American children)—are living below the poverty line.  They live in families who are of necessity making hard choices between food, health care, heat and rent. To bring attention to this national crisis, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has designated January as “Poverty in America Awareness Month.”
During this special month of observance, we devote our efforts to heightening the nation's understanding of the breadth and depth of the problems of poverty by:

• Releasing a powerful public service campaign to raise awareness of poverty in America.
• Encouraging the editorial media to focus on poverty.
• Educating the public to be sensitive to the needs of those in poverty and to treat poor people with respect.
• Holding events in Catholic schools and public settings to make sure poverty is top-of-mind for all Americans.

For More on Poverty USA please check out CCHD USA's website.