New Poverty Data

The following editorial from YWCA Executive Director Carole Coppens appeared in The Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin:

As an Executive Director at a nonprofit organization in the Broome County community I am saddened by the new Census Bureau data which paints a deeply disturbing picture of growing poverty in this country and in our state. Nationally, the number of people living in poverty grew by 2.6 million in 2008 to 13.2 percent. The State of New York continues to suffer from a poverty rate of 10.3%. Unfortunately, Broome County is keeping up with that pace at a 10.4% poverty rate.

As troubling as the 2008 data is, the reality today is almost certainly worse. The recession started last year, but its impact has been far greater in 2009. The YWCA Binghamton/Broome County has seen the impact of the recession with a growing number of homeless women and children on the waiting list for our Emergency Shelter. This could be a result of unemployment averaging 5.8 percent last year compared with an average so far this year of just fewer than 9 percent, and climbing. Our county economy mirrors the national trend unemployment is up from 7.1% percent in December 2008 to 8.3 percent in July 2009. Past trends show that when unemployment rises, poverty also goes up.

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that assuming an average unemployment rate of 9.3 percent for 2009, poverty would increase this year to 14.7 percent. Higher unemployment will hit children disproportionately hard. Their poverty is expected to rise from 19 percent in 2008 to 25 percent this year, which translates into one in four children living in poverty. Here in Broome County, it will mean that families on the edge will need assistance to ensure they do not fall further into the downward spiral of poverty. Evidence has shown that in hard economic times all types of families struggle. Domestic violence increases, depression takes over and alcohol abuse increases. In turn, placing demands on communities' service providers often financially strapped themselves.

We must not allow poverty to deepen unchecked. On a daily basis the YWCA sees the impact of poverty on families. For children, the consequences of poverty can be long-lasting, leading to poor nutrition, poor health and poor prospects for success in school. Read more here.