Shoulder To Shoulder brings relief to the destructive pressures of living in poverty, one mother or grandmother at a time.  We find that the struggles of raising kids in low-income neighborhoods is heartbreaking and we want to bring hope to that.  We encourage our volunteers to engage with our friends as we share basic needs of food, clothing and furniture.  We believe that the relationships that develop can be life-altering for the needy family and for the volunteer.  

The following list details the destructive pressures that are crushing families living in poverty:

Poverty's Profile:

• Single mothers and grandmothers raising two more more children
• Most children in low-income neighborhoods are of school age 
• Moms work odd shifts to accommodate school schedules
• Adults and children suffer from respiratory diseases, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, mental deficiencies and mental illness
• Children are having children
• Food insecurity is a monthly challenge
• Housing insecurity
• Addiction

If one or more adults in the family unit can work, that presents challenges as well.  Typically uneducated, the worker only qualifies for low-paying part-time work with very few benefits.

At $8.50 an hour, the wage-earner will gross $17,000 a year.  The following poverty guidelines published by the US Government indicate where that income falls.

 
2009 Poverty Guidelines*

*Published in the Federal Register on January 23, 2009