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2009
Contact: Ginger Hobbs LeverDirector Marketing & Community Relations
The University of New Hampshire Manchester
400 Commercial Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Phone: (603) 641-4122
Fax: (603) 641-4192
E-Mail: ginger.lever@unh.edu
www.unhm.unh.edu
Children and Poverty
The Smallest of Victims Often Have the Largest of Consequences
Manchester, NH– According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), over 13 million children in the United States – 18% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $22,050 a year for a family of four. Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice that level to cover basic expenses, including housing. Using this standard, 39% of children live in low-income families. NCCP estimates that there are 550,000 young children in homeless families. Learn how Families in Transition (FIT), a local agency, is working to reduce these numbers for families in NH at a presentation on Wednesday, March 11 at 1:00 p.m. in UNH Manchester’s third floor auditorium. The lecture is entitled “Children and Poverty; The Smallest of Victims Often Have the Largest of Consequences.”
For 17 years, Families in Transition, located in Manchester and Concord, has seen a huge influx of referrals for temporary and permanent housing, primarily for single parents and their children. Of the more than 5,000 referrals for services in 2008, more than 3,000 were for minors. Research has shown that children who suffer from homelessness are more prone to medical illnesses, developmental delays and social deficits, and very often experience re-occurring issues as adults. On March 11 Robin Abbott, Director of Community Relations, and Becky Hadley, Youth Program Coordinator, will discuss how FIT is implementing successful therapeutic programs and supports to help the smallest of victims stop the cycle of homelessness.
The presentation is offered as part of UNH Manchester’s Saul O Sidore Lecture Series, Poverty in America. The Saul O Sidore Foundation was established to support programs that challenge the sources of existing information with new and vital ways of looking at issues in all phases of our society and our world. The series is free and open to the public, thanks to funding from the Saul O Sidore Foundation. The next event, “Learning from the Poor – How to Manage a Household Budget during Tough Economic Times”, presented by Mary Sliney, CEO of The Way Home, will be offered on Monday, March 30 at 1:00 p.m. The events are held in the third floor auditorium at University Center located at 400 Commercial Street in Manchester. Pay and display parking is available in the Arms Park Parking Lot and on Commercial Street.
UNH Manchester, UNH’s urban campus in Manchester’s historic millyard, hosts a variety of public programs including lectures, films, book groups, exhibits and more. For special accommodations, please contact the Marketing and Community Relations Office at 603-641-4167 at least three weeks in advance of the event. Learn more at www.unhm.unh.edu or call the Marketing and Community Relations Office.
UNH Manchester, UNH's urban campus, offers liberal arts and applied majors in business, science, and technology, all with an urban focus. UNH Manchester is UNH. Learn more at www.unhm.unh.edu.
