Poverty in Delaware County

A glimpse into poverty in Delaware County:

· 18 percent of children in Delaware County are living in poverty;

· About 20 percent of Delaware County residents have not attained a high school degree;

· 18.5 percent of non-elderly residents in Delaware County lack health insurance;

· More than a third of households in Delaware County pay more than 35 percent of their income on rent, which the federal government defines as unaffordable; and

· After the 2006 floods, some already deteriorating homes were left uninhabitable; a year later, some residents were still living in places without certificates of occupancy, and some were even living in the woods.
Catholic Charities encourages parishioners to call on legislators to address the needs of struggling constituents.

This blog is participating in Blog Action Day, an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. The aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion: this year the issue is poverty. Between now and October 15, we will be posting about poverty in our diocese, with material provided by Catholic Charities in its report "Poverty in the Diocese of Albany: A Threat to the Common Good." The report, and additional information, is available here.