Poverty in North Carolina

North Carolina's Working Poor

More than 10% of the one million people living in Wake County live in poverty. That breaks out to over 106,000 people who struggle to make ends meet every day. What is even more heartbreaking, is that of those 106,000 people, ONE in four are children. It is nearly impossible for one full-time employed, minimum wage worker to support even one child without falling into poverty. According to the News and Observer’s special report on Seeing the Invisible, “North Carolina has one of the country’s fastest rising poverty rates. A decade ago, we were 26th – a little better than average. Now we’re 11th, speeding past the competition. We’ve also seen, over the same period, one of the steepest increases in the ranks of the uninsured.”

For many of the working poor, living pay check-to-paycheck means there is no savings fund, no one month’s salary saved for emergencies.  Numerous situations such as a spouse leaving, a long term illness, lost job or even a car breaking down can send good, hard working people into a crisis. Rent, utility and other bills go unpaid. Eviction notices start a downward spiral of unfortunate circumstances. This is where A Doorway to Hope can help. We do not subsidize income, rather we link working families in crisis with partner agencies to meet their immediate need, returning them to a state of self sufficiency. Want to make an impact? Learn more about how you can make a difference!