Idaho bishop says serious action needed to eliminate poverty in state

Published: 2007-08-10

BOISE, Idaho (CNS) -- Setting the tone for a series of statements by community leaders, Bishop Michael P. Driscoll of Boise called on Catholics and "all people of good will" to work on eliminating poverty in Idaho. The bishop issued a statement, read by diocesan chancellor Sister Arlene Ellis, a member of the Society of Sisters for the Church, at a press conference Aug. 1 at the Catholic Charities of Idaho office. The press conference, which included statements from Catholic Charities, Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho, Easter Seals/Goodwill and the School of Social Work at Boise State University, was a response to a July 25 report called "Kids Count" by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report, citing 2005 data, says that 14 percent of Idaho's population lives in poverty; the statistic for the country is 13 percent. It also shows that 36 percent of the state's single-parent households with children live in poverty and 9 percent of married couples with children do. Nationwide, those figures are 33 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

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