Poverty
challenges Long Beach residents
Poverty:
Non-English speakers make up a large part
of the almost 10,000 Long Beach residents
living at or below the poverty line.
By
Lindsey Miranda
On-line
Forty-Niner
The
City of Long Beach now has more to boast
than a diverse population that is fifth
largest in California and the busiest port
on the West Coast.
According
to a report the U.S. Census Bureau released
last week, Long Beach has the 10th highest
poverty rate in the country. Still lower
than cities like Miami and Detroit, Long
Beach's rate increased to 22.6 percent from
16.8 percent in 1995. For a city with a
population of 437,816, that is close to
10,000 people.
The
majority of those citizens that live below
the poverty line are those from immigrant
families. Many economists feel that there
is a direct link with the number of non-English
speaking immigrants and poverty.
According
to the Long Beach Health Department, Long
Beach consists of 41 different cultures,
more than 60 languages, and almost 40 percent
of students in the Long Beach Unified School
District are "English Learners."
As
reported by the Long Beach Press Telegram,
almost 50 percent of people living in Long
Beach speak a language other than English,
and 42 percent of them do not speak English
very well. This places a handicap on parents
who are trying to find jobs to support their
families. Even though they may have valuable
job skills, they could end up in lower paying
jobs.
In
order to be considered below the poverty
line, a family of four must make an annual
income of below $18,390, and a single person
must make below $9,182. These are called
poverty thresholds and are determined by
the U.S. Census Bureau. Over half of the
Long Beach population don't meet this "threshold,"
but they still make less than $25,000 a
year. Even though this is well about the
poverty line, families will still struggle
to make ends meet.
In
the Long Beach School District, 75 percent
of elementary and middle school kids receive
free and reduced lunches daily as a part
of the statewide School Lunch Program.
Almost
a quarter of the people in Long Beach are
struggling in poverty. Many of the children
who come from low-income households with
non-native speaking parents may be at more
of a disadvantage because they not only
struggle with poverty, but with learning
as well.
The
Long Beach Department of Health and Human
Services has an Early Care and Education
Service that works to assist families from
all income brackets and backgrounds in child
care and helping the students succeed in
school.
For
Californians, the average cost of living
for a family with two working parents is
$50,000 a year.
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