Poverty in Missouri2015

Thriving Families

Food

Family & Economic Security

Housing & EnergyHealth

Education

5 Key Elements of Poverty

Missouri’s Community Action Network

19 Community

Action Agencies, 36 associate & business

members and

1,300 individual members statewide!

About 3,000 employees work in these 19 agencies serving the poor and their communities.

For every dollar of Community Services Block Grant funding Missouri received…$14.04 was leveraged from federal, state, local, and private sources.

The Community Action Network provided services to 225,569 low income individuals in FFY 2013.

General Role of Community Action Agencies

• Advocacy• Education• Poverty Simulations• Training/Technical Assistance

• Direct Services• Emergency/Crisis Intervention• Community Needs Assessment• Community Engagement

State Association Local Community Action Agency

Most importantly, Community Action Agencies are mandated by the Community Services Block Grant to act as catalysts in the community for the express purpose of impacting the causes and conditions of poverty.

Missouri Poverty Rates

VisionA state where all

people and communities thrive

MissionTo advocate for

low-income Missourians and strengthen the

Community Action Network

2014 Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates – US Census

Child PovertyCurrently,

304,178 Missouri children live in

poverty.

Out of 114 counties and the City of St. Louis – 92 counties have a child poverty rate of 20% or

higher.

2014 Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates – US Census and the Annie E. Casey Kids Count Report

Food

• 16.9% of Missourians are food

insecure (That means that

according to the USDA they do

not have access at all times to

enough food for an active

healthy life)

• Over 437,000 households in the

state participate in the SNAP

program - with an average

monthly benefit per person of

$128

Missouri has the 6th

highest percentage of

food insecure

households in the

United States

6th

• 10,237 Missourians are homeless

• 1 out of every 7 households pays

more than 30% of income on

housing expenses

• In Missouri, in order to afford the

Fair Market Rent set by Housing

and Urban Development (HUD) on

a 2 bedroom apartment - a

person must earn at least $14.31

per hour working full time

Is the percentage families

earning between $10-$30K

spend on energy after taxes.

Families making over $50K

spend only 9% on average.

24%

Housing & Energy

90.15% of Missouristudents graduate high school!Education

29.1%

Almost a third of all jobs in Missouri are considered

“low wage” meaning that they pay less than 100% of

the federal poverty line

Family & Economic Security

• Although over 928,783 people in the

state are below the federal poverty

line...only 77,551 adults and children

receive Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families (TANF).

• The 2015 federal poverty rate is

$11,670 for an individual or $24,250 for

a family of 4.

Poverty Impacts

• Overall Health• Obesity• Heart Disease /

Hypertension• Osteoporosis• Diabetes

• Life Expectancy

• Brain Development• Social and Educational

Skills in Children

Families

ENTIRECOMMUNITIES

Individuals

Snapshot of Poverty in St. Louis

City of St. Louis• Rate of Food Insecurity 25.64%• Graduation Rate 71.81%• No High School Diploma

28.7%• Poverty Rate

27.2%• Child Poverty

43.1%• Unemployment 5.5%• Uninsured 19.2%

St. Louis County• Rate of Food Insecurity 15.59%• Graduation Rate 88.87%• No High School Diploma 12%• Poverty Rate

10.9%• Child Poverty

16.2%• Unemployment 7%• Uninsured 12.4%

Information pulled from the Missouri Community Action Needs Assessment Tool via Community Commons.

Thank you.

For more information visit us on the web

www.CommunityAction.org