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There are 43.6 million Americans and 15.5 million children living in poverty today. These are crisis-level numbers and bringing them down will take communities coming together and committing to reducing poverty nationwide. It’s a welcome sign, then, that communities across the country are responding to this urgent call to action by ramping up their efforts to reduce poverty. State, local, and national organizations representing a diverse array of advocacy areas—including child well-being, homelessness, people of faith, and the business community—have joined in support of the Half in Ten campaign’s antipoverty advocacy efforts.
In a parallel effort, three faith-based organizations—the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Catholic Charities USA, and the National Council of Churches in Christ—are spearheading Fighting Poverty with Faith, a faith-centered mobilization to cut poverty in half by 2020. The initiative is now in its third year. It’s a month-long effort that challenges faith-based groups across the country to raise awareness about poverty and its solutions. This year’s policy focus is on protecting the social safety net and human needs programs, promoting effective job-creation strategies, and taking action in one’s own community.
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