Three organizations joined the ACCF today for a teleconference on poverty trends in our region hosted by the Grantmakers of Western PA, West Virginia Grantmakers, and Ohio Grantmakers.  The presenter,  Dr. Amy Glasmeier of Penn State, gave an overview of poverty in the tri-state region.

[Heather Rullo, Vicky Clark, and Jan Foradori from HAVIN, Paula Rummel from ACCF AmeriCorps, Lori Leard from Area Agency on Aging, Charity, and Bylinda Brown from Armstrong County Mental Health Association join together to learn about poverty trends.]

The fact that Armstrong County qualifies as an “old industrial suburb” dependent on labor intensive manufacturing in industries experiencing plant closures results in these issues:  job loss, economic dislocation, long-term need for retraining, new business development, and modernization.  Many displaced workers are not prepared for non-factory work, having low levels of education, lack of child care & transportation, and lack of alternative employment opportunities. 

The ACCF will serve as a convening table for issues relating to poverty in Armstrong County, including addressing homelessness.  Please let me know if you want to be part of the conversation–leave your comments below.

View Dr. Glasmeier’s Power Point presentation on our website here.

You may also want to review these resources on poverty:

OVERALL DATA  http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/county.html

Perspective on Low-Income Families  http://www.nccp.org/pub_frs04c.html

Many thanks to those who came today; Amrstrong County leaders, making change . . .