By Siera Brown

When you think of poverty in California you probably think of specific spots like San Francisco or Oakland but in reality poverty is everywhere. California is in fact the poorest state, as of recently.

Lets look at the facts:

In recent years, California has maintained a substantially higher poverty rate than the rest of the nation: 16.1% compared to 12%. Only New York and Washington D.C. possess higher poverty rates once living costs are factored in.

Poverty in California is higher among women, 16%, than men, 14%, and highest among children, as a staggering 21% of California’s children live in poverty.

In 1969, 12% of poor families had a member who worked full-time. Today, over 34% of poor families in California have a full-time worker and an additional 39% have a part-time worker. Poverty, more than ever, is tied to working people.

It is said the reasoning for California's very high poverty is a multitude of things. For instance, the governments wrong estimation of California's Census Bureau (The Census Bureau one source for current population data and the latest Economic Indicators).

The child poverty level in California rose 4 percent from 2006 to now. Children's poverty is, of course, everywhere but when it's right outside your front door it becomes real to you. Helping these kids is imperative to helping our society grow.  

By: Clair Lorch

Poverty is all around the world, even within the Bay Area.  In fact, one in five residents in the Bay Area lives in poverty.  Out of the five poorest neighborhoods in the Bay Area, four of them reside in the East bay.  These neighborhoods include:  downtown Bekeley, uptown Oakland, Alameda Point, part of West Oakland, and Hunters Point in San Francisco. More than forty percent of the people living in these areas are below the poverty line, stated a report from the Contra Costa Times (http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_19251068).  The poverty line for a single person in the Bay Area is $11,000.  How comfortably do you think you could live on just that small amount of money to get by all year? 

Depending on ethnicity, some may be more likely to fall into poverty. As an example, every one in three hispanic children is reported to be part of a family living at, or beliow, the poverty line.
NBC Bay Area has even found reports that “nearly half of California’s children live in poverty [or close] to it. . .”. They even went on to find that 21.6 perfect of children live in poverty within California.  From 2006 to 2011 the percent of childhood poverty has gone up four points.  It is pretty sad that only five California counties have shown to decrese in child poverty rates over the measured time period.  (http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/California-Childhood-Poverty-Rates-Increasing-Report-186100321.html). 

So what can you do to help? While there are many organizations working to fight poverty and prevent causes, here just a few maybe  you could volunteer with:

- The Hunger Site: focuses on the power of the internet and its ability to spread relief.
- Mercy Corps: helps those suffering in poverty build secure, productive, and just communities.
-Meals On Wheels Association of America: work  to provide meal services to people in need of such help.