摘要：Living in poverty - having income that is inadequate to cover expenses for basic necessities - remains a
problem in the United States. Poverty has many causes, and thus poverty rates vary by race, ethnicity,
educational attainment, age, family structure, and region of the United States. Children who grow up in
poverty are substantially less likely to graduate from high school or college, limiting their future
opportunities (Schiller 1998). Governmental and nongovernmental organizations have attempted to
reduce poverty and its negative effects, although the proportion of the national budget dedicated to
poverty-alleviation programs remains small.2 The daily struggle of those in poverty to stay fed, clothed,
and housed, continues to grind individual spirits as well as bodies.
