Most Americans see poverty continuing to grow, CCHD survey finds

Published: 2005-01-14

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- More than six in 10 Americans believe that there will be more people living in poverty four years from now, according to a survey commissioned by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The "poverty pulse" survey was released Jan. 11 in Los Angeles as part of the campaign's fifth annual observance of Poverty in America Awareness Month. The U.S. bishops' domestic anti-poverty program also released public service announcements about poverty that were to appear in radio, television and print ads throughout the year. Father Robert J. Vitillo, CCHD executive director, said at a Los Angeles press conference that efforts to help low-income Americans gain political and economic power "become ever more urgent and vital in a society which often ignores their needs and rejects the claim of poor people to a 'place at the table' in a nation where one's worth is often calculated solely in economic terms." The theme of the 2005 awareness campaign, "Portraits of Hope," highlights "the many ways in which poor and low-income people have combined their energy, 'street smarts' and determination to break the cycle of poverty in their local community in order to live the life of dignity that God has freely given to each and every person in the human family," he added.

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