Essential Needs Facts

ESSENTIAL NEEDS FACTS: 

  • Poverty is the lack of access to basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. (Stop TB Partnership)
  • Cumulative poverty (poverty over many years) is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. Current poverty – being poor right now – is 7th, and it alone causes 10x as many deaths as homicide, close to 5x as many deaths as gun violence, and 2.5x as many deaths as drug overdoses. Cumulative poverty is behind heart disease, cancer, and smoking-related deaths as the top killers of Americans. (The Guardian)
  • Chicago’s poverty rate is 17%, which means 450,000 Chicagoans live below the poverty line. Chicago’s rate is much higher than the national average of 12% and the major city average of 16%. That number increases if you isolate certain neighborhoods Specifically, neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and West Side which face poverty rates of up to 51%. (Illinois Policy Institute)
  • The earliest years of a child’s life are the time of most significant brain development. In 2021, there were only 8.7 million slots in licensed childcare centers and family care programs for 12.3 million children. Center-based childcare for an infant costs more than public college tuition in 34 states and the District of Columbia. (ChildrensDefense.org)
  • Childhood poverty can have devastating effects, including health problems, cognitive delays, educational difficulties, behavior problems, and social and emotional issues. (United Way of the National Capital Area) 
  • Women in Chicago experience poverty at a rate more than 20% higher than their male counterparts. The female poverty rate in Chicago is 19% compared to 16% for males, and females make up 56% of the poverty population compared to 44% for males. (Illinois Policy Institute)
  • More than 21% of Chicagoans experience food insecurity (lack of consistent access to adequate, nutritious food) and one in four children in Cook County are at risk of hunger. (Chicago Health Atlas, Greater Chicago Food Depository)
  • The price of food increased sharply since the pandemic. Food at home grew at an average annual rate of 3.5% in 2020 and 2021, more than 17x the average annual rate of the previous five years. Food at home reached an annual inflation rate of 10% in March 2022, the first time annual food inflation reached double digits since 1981. (Greater Chicago Food Depository)

 

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