Nearly 1 in 3 Working Families in US Are Low Income

New data from the U.S. census Bureau show that in 2009, there were more than 10 million low-income working families in the United States.2 Between 2007 and 2009, the share of working families who are low-income—earning less than 200 percent of the official poverty threshold—increased from 28 percent to 30 percent. This now means that nearly 1 in 3 working families in the United States, despite their hard work, are struggling to meet basic needs. The plight of these families now challenges a fundamental assumption that in america, work pays. Read more...

Stigma Haunts Mentally Ill Latinos

From CNN Health.com: Although the rates of mental illness among Latinos and whites in the U.S. are roughly equivalent, whites are far more likely to receive mental-health treatment (about 60 percent more likely, a 2008 study found). According to a 2001 Surgeon General's report, only about 20 percent of Latinos with a psychological disorder consult a general health-care provider about their symptoms, and just 10 percent contact a mental-health specialist. Read more..

Middle-Class Cope with Food Insecurity

From CNN: With unemployment near 10% and foreclosures ongoing, more Americans are relying on food banks, institutions that are usually regarded as a last resort, food security experts said. Feeding America, an organization of more than 200 U.S. food banks, fed 37 million Americans in 2009, nearly a 50% jump from 2006. Read more...

Young, Alone, and Homeless

From the Boston Globe: State education officials counted 13,090 homeless students in the last academic year — an 85 percent increase from five years before. Of those, 735 were defined as unaccompanied, out of the custody of their parents or legal guardians. That is more than double the number five years before. Read more...

More than 45 Million Adults Experienced Mental Illness in the Past Year

SAMSHA News Release: According to new results from a national survey, 19.9 percent of American adults in the United States (45.1 million) have experienced mental illness over the past year. The survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that 11 million adults (4.8 percent) in the U.S. suffered serious mental illness in the past year -- a diagnosable mental disorder has substantially interfered with, or limited one or more major life activities. Read more...