My learning exchange with two colleagues

I have two discussions with my colleagues, Rose and Kate. We exchanged emails to give each other information. Through the information exchange, I explored the information from their own communities, and understand more about poverty.  

Here are the information dear Rose and Kate gave me:

"A little information about myself. I live in Stamford, CT. I have a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies. I have done community service helping children in low-income families. I was a mentor and I helped children who were not getting the support they needed at home, and I would meet with the student once a week, these were low-income families.  Now I work at a Preschool and I am a toddler teacher for children 18months to 3 years old. The families I work with relatively have good jobs and are well established. There are some families that receive Care 4 Kids assistance, this assistance for families who need child care but can not afford to pay for it on their own.

Where I live and work it is considered an expensive city to live in. Some people who live in Stamford, CT only afford to live here if they live in low-income housing or get section-8 assistance. Section 8 assistance is help paying your rent when you make a salary below the poverty level or not enough to support your family size.

Some facts about Connecticut and Poverty:

 In 2010, nearly 1 in 10 residents had incomes below the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), about $11,000 for an individual or $22,000 for a family of four. This report, as more fully explained below, refers to those subsisting below the FPL as “Very Poor”. In 1990, 217,300 Connecticut residents met this definition, making up 6.8% of the state’s population. Throughout the 1990s the number of Very Poor grew 19%, accounting for 7.9% of all state residents. The 2000s saw a continuation, even a quickening, of this trend. The number of Very Poor increased 21% during the 2000s to over 314,000 people, accounting for 9.2% of Connecticut’s total population." - Rose Gautrau

"I chose the website National Center for Children in Poverty this week to look further into.  I was impressed with the wealth of information presented!  I chose my home state of Ohio to look for more information about with the demographics tool.  I was amazed at the statistics presented there.  I had no idea that 44% of Ohio children live in a low-income family.  It also offered other information about my home state, with relation to parental employment and marital status, and much more.  I'm not sure what else to share about poverty specifically.  The school district that I teach in has a wealth of low-income families.  We offer a free breakfast/lunch program to those who qualify based on income level, and work hard to reach those families in low-income situations.  Our district is one of the lower-income districts in the state of Ohio.  We are a large district, and very rural.  Many of the parents are not working or unable to work.  Some of my students do not have good hygiene because it is not stressed or helped at home.  Many of the parents I work with are unable to read or follow very basic written directions while working with their own children.  I hope this information is helpful!" - Kathryn Turner