Almost 1 in 5 American families struggled to meet one or more of nine basic needs in 2011, the Census Bureau reported earlier this year. These included difficulty meeting essential expenses, not paying rent or mortgage, getting evicted, not paying utilities or having utilities or phone service cut off, not seeing a doctor or dentist when needed, or not always having enough food. Several of these measures of financial difficulty worsened between 2005 and 2011, according to the Census data. Many poor children live in households that struggle to meet basic needs. More than half (58%) of poor children lived in households that experienced at least one of four hardships — “low food security,” overcrowded housing, falling behind on rent or mortgage, or having utilities cut off — and close to half of children in near-poor families faced such hardships, too.
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 11/25/13, Basic Needs
No comments:
Post a Comment