St. Vincent de Paul Addresses Growing Issue of Children in Poverty Locally

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul presented the affects of poverty on children in Cincinnati to local business and civic leaders at its annual breakfast Thursday, April 22, at its Bank St. headquarters in the West End.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 167,000 children living in poverty in the Tri-State area. In 2009, St. Vincent de Paul provided food, prescription medications, and homelessness prevention assistance to more than 85,000 people including more than 35,000 local impoverished children.

“During home visits to people in need, we often see families living on the brink with children who go to school hungry, sleep on the floor, or in some cases, stepping into parental roles out of desperation,” noted Liz Carter, Executive Director, Society of St. Vincent de Paul. “Our goal is to help stabilize the adults caring for these children through assistance with rent, utilities, food, job assistance and emotional support.”

National statistics help illustrate the effects of poverty on our community’s children:

- Children in impoverished families are more likely to have low cognitive scores and learning disabilities in combination with other health problems, with average cognitive scores that are 60% lower than those of other children. Source Family Poverty and Its Implications for School Success

- Poor children are twice as likely to repeat a grade and are more likely to move frequently than their more advantaged peers. Source Family Poverty and Its Implications for School Success

- Children born into poverty are more likely to have a low birth weight and are more likely to die in the first month of life. Source Family Poverty and Its Implications for School Success

- Poor inner-city youths are seven times more likely to be the victims of child abuse or neglect than are children of higher social and economic status. Source A Framework for Understanding Poverty

“Last year, St. Vincent de Paul provided 55,000 families with groceries and prevented homelessness for more than 2,700 families. Nearly half the people affected by our programs are children who might otherwise have gone hungry or slept in a shelter, a car, or worse, on the street,” Carter said. “The basics provided by St. Vincent de Paul create a more stable environment for children, improving their chances to thrive, learn, and develop into happy, productive adults.”

For more information on St. Vincent de Paul’s services in our local community, to volunteer or to offer financial support, contact Julie Rack, Development Director, 513-562-8841, ext. 225 or by email at jrack@SVDPcincinnati.org. Or, visit www.SVDPcincinnati.org.

About St. Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) has been helping Greater Cincinnati and Hamilton County residents in need with the basic necessities of life for 140 years. The organization works personally with those in need, regardless of race or creed, to bridge the spiritual, emotional and material gaps in their lives through home visits provided by neighborhood-based volunteer groups, and groundbreaking initiatives like the Charitable Pharmacy. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul continues to be a leading community service organization, recently recognized by The Better Business Bureau (BBB) as a Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics winner and by The CincinnatiUSA Regional Chamber of Commerce as Non-Profit of the Year. For more information, go to www.SVDPcincinnati.org.