Rural Poverty

 Rural Community Needs in America

  • There are approximately 250 consistently poor counties in the United States; 244 of those are rural. The child poverty
    rates in these jurisdictions often exceed 35%.
  • One in six children (2.5 million) living in rural regions of the United States are trapped in deep poverty, suffering from poor
    Imageeducation and health care.
  • Rural children are 50% more likely than their urban peers to lack health insurance.
  • A rural 8th grade student is 105% more likely more likely to have taken amphetamines; 75% more likely to have consumed cocaine, and 38% more likely to have smoked marijuana than his/her urban peers.
  • The rural working poor are more likely to be economically insolvent and yet unsupported by welfare than their urban counterparts.
  • Two-thirds of the rural poor have one family member that works.
  • 57% of the rural poor do not have reliable transportation.

Initial Priorities of Rural Compassion

The chart below lists some of the systemic needs of rural communities and the areas in which Rural Compassion seeks to encourage development. Each is interrelated and, in one or more areas, impact the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual poverty of the individual and community:

  • Mental health services
  • Medication management
  • Drug/alcohol recovery
  • Food security
  • Disaster preparedness and response
  • Housing
  • Advocacy
  • After-school tutoring
  • GED preparation
  • Literacy
  • ESL programs
  • Ethnic acclimation and immigration assistance
  • Supplemental education opportunities and childcare
  • Job training/ placement
  • Welfare-to-Work programs
  • Education in financial self-sufficiency
  • Pastor/church support
  • Church planting
  • The development of relationships by those helped with a Christian person, the local church, and with Jesus Christ.
  • Assisting people in becoming mature followers of Christ