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Who Needs Help?
Facts and Figures
- In the United States, over 35,000,000 people live in poverty, while surrounded by the richest society in human history.
- In 1998, the poverty level for a married couple with two children was $16,530 ($1377.50 a month). The average income for the same size American family was $56,902.00. 13.3% of Americans are below the poverty line.
- 40% of all poor families have incomes under 50% of the poverty level (4 out of 10 poor families live on $8265 a year)
- Only 12% of the poor live in urban ghettos.
- 28.4% of all African-Americans and 29.4% of all Latinos in America are poor. 11.2% of all whites are poor.
Who Are The Poor?
When thinking of “the poor”, most people think of a single, African-American mother living in urban ghettos., however, this group makes up but just a small part of those in poverty. Almost a third of poor families are headed by two married adults, and 20% of those have at least one adult working full time. Children suffer the highest poverty rate, with over 20% of all children (14 million) living in poverty.
Financial Instability
Most of us are not rich, however, there are many people in our community who, because of limited incomes, sickness, etc… cannot even pay their monthly bills like rent and groceries. Most of these people are not lazy, they just need a good opportunity.
What Causes Poverty?
Conservatives and liberals have their own definitions and causes of poverty. However, Ron Sider, long-time activist and author, says there are basically four broad causes of poverty: 1. Structural causes (a lack of low-skill, well-paying jobs and a decent living wage). 2. Personal decisions and misguided behavioral patterns (a child
grows up following their parents and their environments patterns and examples) 3. Sudden catastrophes (fire, tornado, family death or emergencies that prevent or interfere with employment). 4. Permanent disabilities (mental and physical problems that keep a person from working.
Homelessness
The simplest definition of homelessness is “any person who needs shelter”. Shelter includes a clean bed and meal. Just within the city of Richmond, it is estimated there are between 1600 and 3000 homeless people. The reasons for homelessness are vast, however, many of them, as well as many of the people themselves, do not fit inside the stereotypical definitions most Americans have. Many suffer from mental, emotional, or physical illness.
Hunger
The definition, “a craving, weakness, debilitation, or pain caused by a lack of food”, has probably been experienced by few of us. It is not the feeling we get when we miss one or even two meals. Some people, even here in Richmond, go days without eating. Many others must eat skimpy meals from whatever they can manage to scrape together, yes, even from the trash cans that we throw our excess in. Roughly ten million people a year die from hunger around the world and malnutrition and most of these are infants and children.
What Is Our Responsibility?
Poverty is wrong, not just because it means financial hardship, but because it involves exclusion from the community. And what is Jesus constantly trying to bring about? You’ve got it, community. The terms for justice found in the Bible are often associated with the words for deliverance and salvation (Micah 6:4, Ps. 76:9, 82:3-4). Biblical justice implores us to not only cope with oppression, but more emphatically, to overcome it. This justice goes beyond just implementing fair procedures, it demands new opportunity. Is equality the ideal, or does fairness actually demand unequal shares of the economic pie? The terms and concepts of justice, love, and community seem to all be interwoven throughout the Bible. Community is vital, and in order to have community, there must be justice and love. In order to have those, the poor must be taken care of, by providing not only their physical needs such as shelter, clothing, and food, but by also restoring them to the community through empowerment. Otherwise, they will be excluded, and Biblical justice demands that every person be given equal and fair opportunity to earn a living and become dignified members of their community.
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