State of Poverty in Ohio Report 2014

In cooperation with Community Research Partners (CRP), OACAA released the State of Poverty in Ohio Report on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. The report, which is now available online, aims to illustrate the effects of poverty in an effort to understand economic hardships today and over the last fifty years.

Throughout the report, you will learn about many of the barriers that have kept nearly 32 percent of people in the United States teetering on the edge of, or prevented them from escaping, poverty. You will also learn how the Federal Poverty Measure (FPM), which was developed over fifty years ago, is an insufficient way to measure Americans’ ability to provide basic necessities such as housing and utilities—because the FPM was developed to measure only the minimum food budget. And you will learn more about the challenges people in poverty face when working to overcome the benefits gap while learning to financially manage soaring education debt in order to live a self-sufficient life without public or private assistance.

Utilizing graphics, case studies and data, the report dispels commonly held myths and misconceptions about poverty. The report also illustrates how Community Action agencies utilize a holistic approach to meet the needs of low-income families and individuals while on their unique paths to self-sufficiency. Poverty is a complex issue and cannot be alleviated with simple solutions. We hope this study of poverty and its effect on millions of Ohioans will shine a light on the issues in order to develop long-term solutions.