January is Poverty Awareness Month. Poverty in this case indicates a degree of deficiency in economic resources; in other words, a lack of financial stability. According to the US Census Bureau, more than 45 million Americans lived in poverty in 2013. More than 19 million of those Americans were children. More than 30% of all children in Chicago are legally homeless. (Data taken from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless FAQ page). Access to food resources is limited by poverty, impacting both health and academic performance.
There are structural difficulties that we often don’t consider for those who want to overcome the cycle of poverty. In the Chicago area, one would need to make more than 18$ an hour working full time to afford a two bedroom apartment, food, and basic utilities. Currently, more than 13% of the homeless in Chicago had employment. And many of the jobs here in the United States don’t pay a living wage, the hourly amount needed to support a household of someone working full time (http://livingwage.mit.edu/).
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Catholic Campaign for Human Development is particularly invested in addressing the issue of poverty in the United States. Their website and project, Poverty USA, offers an opportunity to learn and engage, take action, and reflect spiritually on the issue of poverty in this country.
Here at Loyola, the “Poverty Simulation Workshop: An Experiential Learning Strategy on Social Justice Development” is one opportunity for faculty and students to learn more about the challenges of poverty by participating in this one day, three hour, workshop. For questions about how faculty are integrating this experience into coursework, contact: Jorgia Connor, PhD, RN Please direct other questions and RSVP by January 30, 2015 to Mickey Hade
