Atlanta Ranks Fifth for Children Living in High Poverty Areas

The number of Georgia children living in concentrated poverty is at a 40-year high. But the problem is even worse in downtown Atlanta. The city ranks fifth in the country for having the most kids living in concentrated poverty. Nationally, more and more children are living in high poverty areas. These are places where more than 30 percent of households live below the poverty line. This means a family of four gets by on less than $22,000 a year. The Annie E. Casey Foundation conducted a study on the issue. Laura Speer, who’s with the foundation, says it’s a bigger problem in Atlanta. “Forty-three percent of all the children living in the city are living in areas of concentrated poverty,” Speer says. “It’s very high.” These areas have less access to good foods, education, health care services and job opportunities. Children in these areas often have more behavioral problems and trouble staying in school. Julie Sharpe of Georgia Kids Count collects state data for the foundation. She says Fulton and DeKalb counties have areas where 95 to 100 percent of the population is living below the poverty line. The recession has hurt families, but Sharpe says it’s not that simple. “A lot of people who live in poverty, they’re actually working,” Sharpe says. “They’re just working in low-wage, low-hour, no-benefit jobs.” That’s why projects like the Department of Education’s “Promise Neighborhoods” might help. Sharpe says one launched last year in Atlanta. “And it really is an effort that is neighbor to neighbor, block to block, one person at a time to look at the root causes of poverty and transform those communities.” The idea is to work across generations to offer more opportunities for both children and their parents.