Living in poverty in Philadelphia

Guests: Eva Gladstein, Judith Levine and Angela Sutton

Every day, people living in “deep” poverty face uncertainty about food, health care, housing and child care. Deep poverty for a family of four means taking in $12,000 a year or less, half of the U.S. poverty rate of $24,000. And in Philadelphia, a staggering 12 percent of adults and children can be described as living in deep poverty. Poverty takes an enormous physical and emotional toll, particularly on children who, studies show, can have a difficult time surviving its impact as they grow into adulthood. In this hour of Radio Times, what is life like for poor people in our city, why is it so hard to break the cycle of poverty,and what can government do to help those who face economic insecurity? We’ll talk with EVA GLADSTEIN, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity for the City of Philadelphia, Temple sociologist JUDITH LEVINE, and ANGELA SUTTON, an advocate for mothers raising their children in poverty and a member of Witnesses to Hunger.