Kalamazoo County: Poverty is in Your Backyard

According to the Kalamazoo County Poverty Report, 27,482 (about 1 out of 10) Kalamazoo County residents live at or below the poverty line; 7,230 (about 1 out of 4) of those residents are children. 

Many people believe that poverty is something that happens only in big cities or third-world countries. But poverty is widespread in this county. On any given night, 250 to 300 Kalamazoo County residents stay in homeless shelters.

The U.S. Census Bureau puts the federal poverty line at $9,570 for one person and at $19,484 for a family of four. That's only $375 per week for a family of four!

62% of the households in Kalamazoo County that live in poverty are headed by single mothers. Michigan is ranked #2 in the United States for the highest unemployment rate. Mississippi is #1. 

43% of families that need to rent a two-bedroom apartment can not afford to do so. In Vicksburg, 18.2% of residents spend over 30% of their income on housing.

So, what can the people of Kalamazoo County do about poverty? Organizations like the Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative are trying to reduce poverty by combining the efforts of employment, educational, human services, economic development, philanthropic, legal, faith-based, and health systems agencies and citizens of Kalamazoo County.
Through the Poverty Reduction Initiative, these groups are working to implement a coordinated effort to bring poverty reduction services to Kalamazoo County.

The goals of the Poverty Reduction Initiative are to "enhance countywide poverty reduction efforts" and to have "the community support and enable countywide poverty reduction efforts".

Currently the Poverty Reduction Initiative is working to increase the financial stability of low-income residents, make more jobs available for low-income residents, develop and implement a new countywide housing plan, and assist in coordinating the reduction of poverty in parts of the Edison neighborhood.