Information about poverty in America

1. Poverty
in
AmericaBy Maya Sheppard-Challa

2. Failing Education
Preliminary, Secondary, and High Schooling
● Schools in poor communities usually receive less funding
● There is a demand for teachers in poor communities because most would rather work at schools
with more resources
● Teachers in these communities often expect failure from their students which downgrades the
performance of the students
● These students often struggle in school because of distracting home issues such as family fighting,
parent health issues, or routy environments
● Low-income students fail to graduate at 5 times the rate as middle-income students
University Schooling
● Many of these students do not go to college because it is too expensive for their families to afford
● Those with parents who did not go to college are less likely to attend themselves

3. Exploitation
The Working Class
● Some powerful companies stop their employees from forming labor unions
despite paying them as little as they can get away with
● Fast food companies have been caught failing to properly pay they
employees for working overtime
● Workers sometimes have to work in unsafe conditions with the safety of
their environment not properly regulated to save money for the company
● It is difficult for people to live on minimum wage particularly when they are
living alone with only one income

4. Lack of Access to Healthcare
● 44 million Americans do not have health insurance
● Healthcare is usually unaffordable for those below the
poverty line
● Employers sometimes do not provide health insurance
through the jobs of their employees if it is very expensive
● People unable to get affordable medicine for chronic
conditions are less productive at their jobs

5. Homelessness
● About 550,000 people in America are homeless
● A quarter of the homeless are children
● These people live on the streets, in cars, and in homeless
shelters
● They do not have jobs or healthcare
● About 50,000 homeless are veterans

6. Dependence on Government
● 35% of Americans are on some form of welfare
Welfare Breakdown:

7. YOU can help to stop poverty in this
country by being aware and
informed when voting for
presidents and state policies in the
future, as well as volunteering at
non-profit organizations made to
help low-income and homeless
Americans!