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Poverty
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January is Poverty Awareness Month
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Want to dig deeper into global poverty?
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Join our JustMatters Course!
Learn more HERE!
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Pray, Learn, Act, and Connect on Domestic Poverty
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1. Pray
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Daily Devotionals
Spend time in daily prayer this January with the Poverty Awareness Month 2023 Reflections from the USCCB. You can also sign up to have these daily reflections emailed to you during Poverty Awareness Month! After filling in your contact information, select "Poverty Awareness Month (January)" under "Other Email Updates".
Set aside a few minutes each day to reflect on the relationship between poverty and racism with the Poverty and Racism: 31 Day Devotional, created by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Catholic Charities-Social Concerns.
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Prayer for Solidarity
Almighty and ever-living God,
empower your one human family to join hands
on our journey of faith.
Send us your spirit of hope,
so that we may work
to alleviate human suffering
and foster charity and justice
in our world.
Amen.~USCCB
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2. Learn
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What the US Catholic Bishops Say
Poverty and wealth are intimately tied to economic life. In A Catholic Framework for Economic Life, our bishops remind us that “As followers of Jesus Christ and participants in a powerful economy, Catholics in the United States are called to work for greater economic justice in the face of persistent poverty [and] growing income-gaps... We urge Catholics to use the following ethical framework for economic life as principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and directions for action.”
Here are a few of those 10 principles:
1. The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy.
3. A fundamental moral measure of any economy is how the poor and vulnerable are faring.
4. All people have a right to life and to secure the basic necessities of life (e.g., food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, safe environment, economic security).
8. Society has a moral obligation, including governmental action where necessary, to assure opportunity, meet basic human needs, and pursue justice in economic life.
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More USCCB Resources
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Poverty in the U.S.
Learn more about poverty through Poverty USA's Poverty Facts page. Explore rates of poverty in the U.S. by county or other demographics, and find out the cost of poverty in the United States. Check out PBS Frontline's What Happened to Poverty in America in 2021 for a review of how pandemic challenges and pandemic-related policies have affected poverty.
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Poverty and Racial Economic Inequality
In the United States, the average Black and Hispanic or Latino households earn about half as much as the average White household and own only about 15 to 20 percent as much net wealth. Because of this, people of color have higher rates of living in poverty than white people. Read about the racial wealth gap and wealth inequality or view the data on economic disparities by race and ethnicity in chart form.
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3. Act
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Quick Ways to Start Acting to Alleviate Poverty
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Donate to a food pantry (such as our very own Micah 6!) to help relieve hunger.
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Consider volunteering for or supporting one of St. Austin's ministries that offer support to people experiencing poverty: Outreach, St. Vincent de Paul, Gabriel Project, or Micah 6.
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Contact organizations that work to address poverty (see the "Connect" section below for ideas!) to get a list of their most wanted items. Invite family and friends to join your effort.
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Choose your words wisely. Using derogatory terms and/or making generalizations about people who are living in poverty works against people who are trying to get back on their feet. Instead, talk with people who are struggling and listen to their stories.
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Use public transportation whenever possible. Your support helps to ensure that public transportation remains available for us all.
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See more ideas from Poverty USA.
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Write Your Elected Officials about Poverty Issues You Care About
Enhanced Child Tax Credit -- Included in the American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021, the enhanced child tax credit has enabled parents across the country to pay for basic necessities and is expected to lower the number of children experiencing poverty by more than 40 percent as compared to child poverty levels in the absence of the expansion. However, it has ended, and Congress must renew this credit to maintain this progress. Read about the credit and its impact from CNBC, Spectrum Local News (highlights the impact of the credit on a Georgetown single mom), and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Then, visit our Advocate Now! page to find your 3 Congressional representatives and reach out to them on this issue.
Economic Opportunity -- Advocate for fair tax policy, programs that help families make ends meet, and solutions to the racial wealth divide in the U.S.
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4. Connect
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Local Organizations
St. Austin's ministries of charity -- Outreach, St. Vincent de Paul, Gabriel Project, and Micah 6 -- work to provide basic needs to those experiencing poverty or a temporary financial hardship.
Catholic Charities of Central Texas serves anyone in need by strengthening families and promoting respect for human dignity and life. They seek to fight poverty, impact communities, and improve quality of life.
Visit our Housing Plaza for organizations that fight poverty through affordable housing.
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National Organizations
Poverty USA is an initiative of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and was created as an educational resource to help individuals and communities to address poverty in America by confronting the root causes of economic injustice—and promoting policies that help to break the cycle of poverty.
RESULTS is a movement of passionate, committed everyday people who use their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty.
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What about Global Poverty?
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We plan to add a page on global poverty once the "Faith & Poverty: A Global Response" JustMatters course concludes. Meanwhile, check out these pages from the USCCB: Global Poverty & Global Poverty: Debt Relief.
Looking to Act? Every year, Congress decides how to spend the money in the U.S. federal budget. Urge lawmakers to support issues that build the foundation to end poverty – health, education, and economic opportunity - through the Global Poverty Budget & Appropriations. The coronavirus pandemic is exposing just how far the world has to go toward protecting the rights and needs of those experiencing poverty – and just what an important role advocates can play. Take action on Coronavirus and Poverty.
Looking to connect? Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas, and RESULTS and Bread for the World fight poverty both domestically and internationally.
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