Imagine yourself as a mom with two children. Before becoming a parent, you worked as
customer service representative. Although you never made a lot of money, you and your husband were able
to rent a place and get by.
Now hard times have hit. Your husband left and it turns out so have your savings. You have no family in the area and all your
friends are trying to make ends meet too. What are your options?
A) You go on welfare. When you leave welfare and get fulltime
employment, what will your hourly wage be? What is the average wage for individuals leaving welfare?
$6.15 $7.00 $8.06 $10.00 (Upjohn Institute for
Employment Research)
B) OK, that’s not a lot, but you can cut
corners. After all, how much do you need
to make per hour working a 40 hour week to be able to afford a 2 bedroom apartment
in the area? What hourly wage allows you
to afford a fair-market rental in the area?
$9.73 $11.65 $17.32 $19.28 (National Low Income Housing
Coalition)
C) How many hours do you have to work at the
average wage you receive leaving welfare (question A) to afford this apartment
(question B)?
46 67 86 93 (National Low Income Housing
Coalition)
D) So other areas are going to have to be cut
back. If sometimes you need to go to
food pantries and other emergency food sources you would be like one out of
every _____ people in this country each year.
12 25 50 100 (Hunger in America 2006 Study)
E) The employment you get, two part-time jobs,
does not offer medical insurance, adding more stress to your budget. Your children join the ______children nationally
who do not have health care coverage.
2.9 million: 1 in 25
3.7 million: 1 in 20
7.4 million: 1 in 10
8.1 million: 1 in 9 (US Census Bureau: 2007)
F) You work, but you are still a low-income
family (as defined by the USgovernment). What percentage of
low-income families with children have at least one working parent?
29% 43% 75% 81% (NationalCenter for Children in Poverty)
G) Your youngest daughter is not in school
yet. But the cost of childcare is more
than the tuition at a public college. Beside your state, how many other states have this disparity?
9 20 33 44 (National Association of
Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies)
H) You have lost one of the jobs you hold, you
are behind on the rent, and you need to make repairs to the car. Shortly you will be evicted. Families make up what percentage of this
country’s homeless population?
12% 40% 49% 65% (NationalCenter on Family Homelessness)
I) Beside your children, how many kids are
homeless in this country over the course of a year?
less than 100,000
150,000-200,000
500,000-750,000
over 1,000,000 (NationalCenter on Family Homelessness)
J) This is what
percentage of the overall homeless population?
8% 15% 25% 50% (National Coalition for the
Homeless)
Answers:
A: $8.06
B: $17.32 (nationally, many locations will be higher. You can find this info for your local region
at www.nlihc.org/oor2008/).
C: 86 (locally may be more or less)
D: 12 (This is about 8% of the entire US population)
E: 8.1 million
F: 81%
G: 44
H: 40%
I: over 1,000,000 (Approximately 1,555,360)
J: 25%
Homepage | A Stay at Family Promise | Host Congregations | Frequent Asked Questions | You Can Help | Contact Us | Wish List | About Us | Facts About Poverty and Families | Links
