- Tuesday, September 25, 2012
- Jennifer Perez
- Ministry Updates
- Comments
When we hear about child poverty, it usually refers to children living in other countries and rarely do we hear about children suffering in our own communities-those children who sit next to ours at the same school, but don't have a lunch packed for the day.
We tend to think that only those living in poor communities are impacted, but even in our area of Orange County, CA (considered to be one of the wealthiest areas in America), we recently heard about a high school coach who started packing a lunch for a student because his family couldn't afford groceries.
While virtually every family has been impacted by our downward economy, The Heritage Foundation has released new research showing that marriage is the nation's best antidote to child poverty. For example, the research shows that U.S. children in married-parent families are 82 percent less likely to be poor than are their peers in single-parent homes.
The dramatic increase in unwed births and marriage's protecting factor against poverty is rarely if ever addressed in discussions of anti-poverty policy. But today, the rate of unwed childbearing is at historic highs, with more than 40 percent of children born to single women each year. While the rate varies from state to state, each has experienced dramatic increases in unwed births over the last five decades.
For more information about how marriage can decrease the child poverty rate, go to FamilyFacts.org. And, thank you for sharing the daily "Family Facts" program from The Heritage Foundation. In doing so, you are providing your listeners with an excellent resource that will help them be more educated on these social issues and hopefully, be able to impact their own communities in a positive way.
For you and your listeners who want to know more about how they can get involved and participate in being a part of the solution to these social issues, Heritage has developed a small group study called "Seek Social Justice" which addresses problems like poverty, addiction, and homelessness. Combining real-world examples of effective action with the wisdom of Christian leaders like Chuck Colson, Al Mohler, and Marvin Olasky, it will challenge your ideas about social justice and how to transform lives in need.
If you'd like a copy of this small group study on DVD, just let me know.
Jennifer Perez
Ambassador: We Connect. Ministry and Media.
Go here for the most updated Family Facts feature titles.
