NATIONAL POVERTY IN AMERICA AWARENESS MONTH
COMMUNITY ACTION RECOGNIZES POVERTY AWARENESS MONTH
Sixty years ago, President Johnson reported to Congress on the State of the Union. As part of that historic speech, the president declared an unconditional war on poverty, stating, “many Americans live on the outskirts of hope–some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity.” From that declaration grew not just the original Community Action Program, but many of the programs that are still a part of our movement today, including Head Start, weatherization, SNAP, utility assistance, VISTA, and Job Corps.
But even before the Economic Opportunity Act and other bills creating substantive antipoverty programming were introduced, LBJ had accomplished something significant: by prioritizing the fight against poverty in his State of the Union, he increased public awareness of poverty in America and identified it as a problem affecting all Americans and one that we must solve together.
The National Community Action Partnership continues that legacy by recognizing National Poverty in America Awareness Month and supporting the 1000+ Community Action Agencies and Associations fighting every day for social and economic justice in communities across the country.
Poverty is not a static condition endured by an unlucky few – it is a multidimensional human experiential state with causes and conditions that can be addressed and shaped by policy decisions. According to the federal government, 88.5% of people in the U.S. achieved an acceptable standard of living in 2022. As a singular Network of Community Action Agencies fighting poverty on the front lines in all types of communities, we know those numbers present a distorted, incomplete account of hardship.
Harmful stereotypes and artificially depressed estimates of people experiencing poverty allow othering that contributes to negative narratives about under-resourced populations. The Community Action Network can help change that narrative by sharing the stories and circumstances of customers in our communities and engaging the public and policymakers to raise awareness about the true experience of poverty in America.
Check-out these graphics, resources, and sample social media messaging to help spread the word about the individuals and families experiencing financial hardship in our communities.
To learn more about Community Action history, check-out NCAP’s 60th Anniversary Toolkit and head to the landing page for additional resources, including a Planning Guide, engagement activities, communications tools, and more!
RESOURCES
National Community Action Partnership – U.S. Poverty Data
U.S. Census Bureau – National Poverty in America Awareness Month: January 2024
Center for American Progress – Poverty in the United States: Interactive Map
U.S. Census Bureau – How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – 2023 Federal Poverty Guidelines
Institute for Research on Poverty at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University
Center on Poverty & Inequality at Georgetown Law School
Confronting Poverty – Poverty Myths & Facts
Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative – Global Multidimensional Poverty Index
Center on Budget & Policy Priorities – Analyzing the Census Bureau’s 2022 Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance Data
The Century Foundation – American Poverty Should Be Measured Relative to the Prevailing Standards of Our Time
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine – An Updated Measure of Poverty
WEBINAR – Institute for Research on Poverty – Poverty Measurement For The Next Generation: Findings From The Interagency Technical Working Group On Evaluating Alternative Measures Of Poverty
The Supplemental Expenditure Poverty Measure: A New Method for Measuring Poverty
The American Prospect – Rethinking the Poverty Measure
SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES
Did you know? January is #PovertyAwarenessMonth! From coast to coast, America’s more than 1,000 #CommunityAction Agencies are working to help families improve financial stability and build assets to support long-term success and resilience. #CommunityAction60 #60YearsStrong
More than 11 million children live in poverty in America. #CommunityAction is making a difference with a broad range of services that support children, empower parents, and advance economic mobility for families. #PovertyAwarenessMonth #CommunityAction60 #60YearsStrong
It’s not enough to have a job. People need jobs with a living wage that can support a family. #CommunityAction is proud to provide workforce development, job support, transportation and more to help folks land a great job and achieve financial security. #CommunityAction60
Low-income households typically spend 16% of their annual income on energy costs. Community Action #weatherization services make homes more energy efficient, saving families money that can be used for food, medicine and other essentials. #PovertyAwarenessMonth #CommunityAction60
Whether it’s financial coaching services that help families achieve stability or Whole Family Approaches that help kids and parents thrive, #CommunityAction is equipped to ensure everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. #PovertyAwarenessMonth #CommunityAction60
There are nearly 38 million Americans in #poverty and millions more living on the edge. #CommunityAction is making a difference with life-changing services that help families overcome barriers and build towards lasting success and prosperity. #PovertyAwarenessMonth #60YearsStrong
#CommunityAction is America’s poverty fighting network! Our agencies connect Americans to greater opportunity with a broad range of programs that help families succeed like #HeadStart, workforce development, affordable housing, financial coaching and more. #CommunityAction60
Learn how #CommunityAction Agencies tackled the challenges of the #COVID19 pandemic by using innovative new approaches to meet local needs. 👉 communityactionpartnership.com/our-impact-during-the-pandemic/ #PovertyAwarenessMonth #CommunityAction60 #60YearsStrong
SAMPLE GRAPHICS
Feel free to use any of the following graphics. Click the image to download.
