What is Poverty?
- Poverty is lack of shelter.
- Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor.
- Poverty is not having a job.
- Poverty is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
- Poverty is the condition of not having a voice—not realizing one’s rights, and not knowing how to ask for what is needed.
- Poverty is being hungry.
U.S. Statistics
- While the US is one of the wealthiest countries on earth 1 in 6 people in the US face hunger.
- 16 million American children live below the poverty line. 62% of teachers say children in their classrooms are coming to school hungry.
- In the US, and all over the globe, the gap between the few wealthiest people and the many living in poverty grows wider each year.
Tampa Bay Statistics
- Florida ranks fourth in the nation for family hunger
- In Hillsborough County there are 204,240 food insecure people
- According to the 2019 THHI Homeless count, on any given night there are at least 1,650 homeless men, women, and children in Tampa
- 19.8% of the Tampa Population falls below the poverty line, which is higher than the national average of 14%
- More than one in four Hillsborough county children under 5 live below the poverty line
Things to Consider
- Homelessness can happen to anyone, and it can happen very suddenly
- Hunger isn’t caused by a lack of food, rather the continued prevalence of poverty.
- Homelessness is not always a result of a drug addiction or alcoholism
- Only an estimated 38% of the homeless population have an alcohol addiction, while an estimated 26% may have a problem with substance abuse, thus leaving a large portion of homelessness not caused by drugs or alcohol
- Homelessness does not always mean the person lives on the street, some may live in shelters or with friends
- Homelessness is generally a lack of stable housing, or someone who may have a temporary unsuitable living situation
- Being homeless is only a period in a person's life and does not define them entirely, they are simply an individual experiencing homelessness