Poor People's Campaign

Forward Focus Fact Sheets


COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact in M.O.R.E. States

We are hurting, in the throes of a global health pandemic, a recessionary economy, and ongoing police and policy violence. 140 million poor and low-income individuals have been called to sacrifice more than we can afford to give up. These fact sheets provide just a handful of indicators of how people are suffering across the nation.

Sources


Health and a Healthy Environment Fact Sheet

Our healthcare system fails to meet the needs of millions of Americans. Care is unaffordable, inaccessible, and unequal. At the same time, as a nation we spend more per person on health care than almost any other country. This money lines the pockets of health care profiteers and investors while leaving nearly 140 million people facing financial hardship as a direct result of their need for health care. It does not need to be this way: we can and must take swift action to secure to everyone the basic human right to health care and a healthy environment.


Housing Fact Sheet

When over 10 million people are without housing or on the brink of homelessness, while at the same time there are over 18 million vacant homes across the country, we must re-examine our nation’s priorities. When mortgage debts, increasing rents, and low wages put us all at risk of losing our housing, our response cannot be to make homelessness a crime. Instead we must recognize the great abundance in our society and guarantee everyone the right to a decent house to live in.


Who is Left Out of the COVID-19 Legislation Fact Sheet

Epidemics emerge along the fissures of our society, reflecting not only the biology of the infectious agent, but patterns of marginalization, exclusion and discrimination. The coronavirus pandemic is no exception. COVID-19 has revealed deep social and economic failures and will reinforce existing health inequities. Before COVID-19, nearly 700 people were dying every day from poverty and inequality, yet the legislative response does not account for the 140 million people who are poor or one emergency closer to being poor today.


Costs of Poverty Fact Sheet

Poverty takes an enormous toll on this country and its people every day. The economic and social costs of poverty and the injustices of systemic racism, militarism and ecological devastation are unsustainable. The United States has the wealth to end these interlocking injustices, but the political will is lacking. This is why we are organizing among those most impacted by these injustices to compel this country to take action. Fight poverty, not the poor!


Children and Youth Fact Sheet

In the U.S. today, 52.1 percent of children under the age of 18 are poor or low-income (38.5 million children). When more than half of our children do not know if they will have a place to sleep, nutritious meals, and safe communities, we are failing our families and compromising the future of this country. It does not need to be this way. We have abundant resources for our children.


Defund Militarism Fact Sheets

Militarism and violence are the hallmarks of U.S. policy at home and abroad. From war to mass incarceration and beyond, these policies amplify poverty, racism and environmental degradation. They can and must change.

United States Fact Sheet


State Fact Sheets (2020)

Fifty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and many other leaders launched a Poor People’s Campaign to tackle the pervasive problems of systemic racism, poverty, and militarism. By many measures, these interrelated problems are worse today than they were back in 1968. And if you add in climate change and ecological devastation, the urgency is even greater. Learn more about the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, militarism/the war economy, ecological devastation, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism in your state:


Child Well-Being Fact Sheets

In the US today, 52.1% of children (38.5 million children) are poor or low-income. When more than half of our children do not know if they will have a place to sleep, nutritious meals, or safe communities, we are failing our families and compromising the future of this country. Learn more about child well-being in your state:


State Fact Sheets (2018)