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| Hungry and Homeless |
| About : |
The Campaign is committed to ending hunger and homelessness in America by educating, engaging, and training students to directly meet individuals' immediate needs while advocating for long-term systemic solutions.
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| Location : |
USA
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| URL : |
http://www.studentsagainsthunger.org/
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| Biography : |
As today's students face a world filled with global conflict, disappearing jobs, skyrocketing education costs, and increasing poverty in America, action is more crucial than ever. We know hunger and homelessness are increasing epidemics plaguing the United States - striking Americans of every age, ethnicity, and religion, hitting urban and rural communities alike.
Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 35.9 million Americans, 12.5 percent of the population. More than 36 million people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States, including 1 in 3 children. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelter or cars.
The combination of the high cost of living, low-wage jobs, and high unemployment rates only exacerbate these problems and force countless Americans to choose between food, housing, and other expenses. Studies show that money devoted to food is typically the first to be sacrificed. Families will often pay their fixed payments first, such as rent and utilities, rather than pay for food. Bread for the World reported that 35% of Americans had to choose between food and rent, while 28% had to choose between medical care and food, in the first half of 2004.
Unfortunately, these problems will only continue to grow if our society does not make it a national priority to address them in any systemic way.
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| Associated Tags : |
hunger,
homelessness,
policy
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