The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, a program sponsored by the US bishops, designates every January as Poverty Awareness Month in the US.
The statistics can be jarring. “Today, 36.5 million Americans — and 1 in 6 children – are living below the poverty line.” The rate of poverty has declined a bit this past year, from 12.6% of the population in 2005 to 12.3% in 2006. More troubling, though, is that “In 2006, the number of people living in extreme poverty (with incomes below half the poverty line) remained the same at 15.6 million people.”
The website offers further statistics, identifying poverty by region, by age, and by race. A special section of the website is dedicated to the difficulties of the working poor.
It is easy to get discouraged and think that nothing we can do can have an impact. This is not the case, however. We can make a difference, little by little.
The website recommends a three-step approach: 1) Learn, 2) Act, and 2) Give. Although giving is always good, some of us tend to jump to that step without ever going through the learning step. What are the causes of poverty? What makes it difficult for people to break out of the cycle of poverty? How can we tackle these problems? The website offers much helpful information in these areas.
Although the month of January is ending, poverty awareness should not end, but rather begin this month. Make an effort to better educate yourself about poverty and about how you can help to make a difference.
Posted by APWeb 
