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Katrinas struggle is typical of thousands of working families in our community who are work- ing hard trying their best and still not able to make ends meet. They have an education and arent part of the drop-out statistics. After high school they furthered their education for a better job but went to a for-profit college and racked up thousands of dollars in student loan debt only to obtain a certification that got them a job that doesnt pay enough to support them. The issue of poverty and the working poor was highlighted in the HBO award-winning documen- tary Paycheck to Paycheck The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert. Produced by Maria Shriver this documentary followed Katrinas life for a year showing the struggle of trying to get by while rais- ing a family and working hard at a low-wage job. WHAT POVERTY DOES TO FAMILIES T he face of poverty has changed dramati- cally since the War on Poverty began more than 40 years ago most notably concerning children. The rate of child poverty has more than doubled since then growing from less than 10 percent of children in poverty to todays rate of 22 percent. Work among those who are homeless was previously focused on the chroni- cally unemployed disabled and mentally ill but now encompasses the working poor. The face of poverty today is a single mom with two kids who is working multiple jobs but still doesnt earn enough money to keep a stable roof over their heads. And for this family poverty is expensive disruptive time-consuming and traumatic. How does this affect the family Poverty is expensive. Many families living in poverty subsist in food deserts where access to healthy and nutritious food is simply not available. Not only are fresh fruits and vegetables not even offered but the price of food is exorbitant as people are buying groceries from the corner convenience store. When a family has had their utilities shut off they must pay fees to get them turned on again. When a family has been evicted from their home future landlords wont rent to them without huge deposits. Poverty is disruptive. When people dont have stable housing their entire lives are unsta- ble. School mobility ratesthe measure of how many students are new to the school during the yearare sky-high in impoverished neighbor- hoods. When children have to change schools their world changes new teachers new class- mates and new routines. Poverty is time-consuming. Getting help with basic services takes a lot of time. Every agency has different guidelines different hours and are usually in different places. Poor people often dont have reliable transportation making these tasks even more difficult. Poverty is traumatic. When we think about trauma images of war or violent assault gener- ally come to mind. But living in povertywith the constant stress of providing for basic family needs anxiety created from working multiple jobs fear of not being able to support your children and social isolationresults in the same unresolved issues that arise from post- traumatic stress disorder. REAL NEEDS OF POOR FAMILIES I work for Family Foundations as the Chief Strategy and Development Officer. Family Foundations is a nonprofit in Jacksonville Florida with a mission of growing strong money-wise families. Family Foundations was chosen to organize the efforts but the work is done through a coalition of 20 nonprofit private 36 WWW.AGRM.ORG MAYJUNE 2016 Getting help with basic services takes a lot of time. Every agency has different guidelines different hours and are usually in different places.