Ouch!  Texas facts not so good.

If the facts on poverty in Texas aren't grim enough, think about the hundreds of thousands of folks with jobs who can't make ends meet.  Or the massive numbers of families one paycheck away from homelessness.

• ·         Texas leads the nation in children at risk of hunger

• ·         In North Texas alone, that's about 250,000 children

• ·          We're 49th. in number of working poor

•      That is, Texas is 2nd. in the nation in the number of people who work and remain poor

• ·         Average annual income of the poorest 20% of Texas families is $14,700

• ·         25% of our children in Texas are born into poverty

• ·         We're the 8^th largest GDP in the world.  In 2006 that was $1.1 trillion

• ·         We are No. 1 in the nation in the number of shopping malls

In case you think I'm being snide with the 'good news' facts, I actually think this is good news.  Added to my belief that (a) most people just don't know these facts and (b) that most people I know in Texas are smart and generous, I can envision a pretty powerful amount of activity around this issue.  Join me and let's learn what we need to know and get busy together.

                                                            Molly Hanchey

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RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/PCTPoverty20090506

Wednesday, May 6 - 7 to 8:30 pm

Forum on Poverty

$3 entry fee

Larry James of Central Dallas Ministries, one of Texas' leading experts on poverty, will kick off the first in the series on poverty in North Texas.  Join this small, interactive group discussion on poverty, examined from both the humanitarian and economic perspective. 

For more information on Central Dallas Ministries:  www.CentralDallasMinistries.org

For questions or comments, email us at frontdesk@progressivecenteroftexas.org or call 214-485-2720.