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upworthy

poverty

Democracy

Single mom perfectly explains to Congress why the U.S. poverty line needs a total rehaul

"I'm not asking you to apologize for your privilege but I'm asking you to see past it."

Photo by Ev on Unsplash

Nearly 12 percent of the U.S. population lives in poverty. That's more than one in ten Americans—and the percent is even higher for children.

If you're not up on the current numbers, the federal poverty line is $12,760 for an individuals and $26,200 for a family of four. If those annual incomes sound abysmally low, it's because they are. And incredibly, the Trump administration has proposed lowering the poverty line further, which would make more poor Americans ineligible for needed assistance.

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Joy

Owner of Sleep Trailer hopes to help end homelessness with his unique invention

“I wanted to give them a space that would be a real foundation and be a launch pad to help them break the cycle of homelessness.”

Sleep Trailer hopes to help end homelessness.

Homelessness has become an increasingly dire problem for people living in the United States over the past several years. While there are shelters available for some, space is limited and resources are stretched thin. In fact, many shelters don't allow people to be there during the day or have curfews that don't account for people who work night shifts, making shelters unaccommodating for some.

But some people are looking to find solutions outside of the norm, which is where Sleep Trailer comes in. Sleep Trailer is a mobile pod system created by Jason Christensen, who is the son of a cabinet maker and home builder. He built this unique trailer as a means to help people experiencing homelessness.

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This could be the guest house.

This article originally appeared on May 23, 2015


Inequality has gotten worse than you think.

An investigation by Hasan Minhaj of "The Daily Show" shows that the problem isn't just your classic case of "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."

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TD Bank

Tanya Whitaker (right)

True

Tanya Whitaker's life mantra is a large part of why she's so driven to help those in need in her community of Clinton, Maryland. It boils down to a Gilbert Young painting called "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother."

"I knew I needed to do something to help break down systemic barriers and build bridges for not only the underprivileged, but the underserved," Tanya tells Upworthy. "I am assisting my brother in our community."

Tanya has been working to lift up underserved communities in almost every aspect of her life. She works in the career and technical education department for the District of Columbia's State Superintendent of Education, and helps students realize goals they didn't even know were possible. That work informed the development of her nonprofit, Skills Today Advance Tomorrow Development Center (STAT DC), which aims to "advance the economic mobility and social progress in low and moderate-income communities," she explains.

Even before starting STAT DC, Tanya felt compelled to help people have access to what they need, regardless of their circumstances. This became particularly clear to her during the pandemic, which left so many more people in need of food and/or shelter. "It has been my experience through this pandemic that all economic lines have been blurred," she says.

One thing that really stood out to her is how many children went hungry during the pandemic because schools were closed.

"America was faced with the fact that most school-aged children were getting most of their nutritional needs from the school," explains Tanya. "And without that outlet to tap into, parents were forced to get into food lines that they never thought would be part of their daily or weekly needs."

In response to the need she saw, Tanya created a sizable network of volunteers to feed the homeless in her community. Just like in her day job, she's the manager making it all happen, from organizing donations, deliveries and all the other working parts it takes to carry out such a gargantuan task on a regular basis. "I have such an awesome group of dedicated volunteers," says Tanya. "This could not be done to this magnitude without such a group." Even her 78-year-old father is involved.

Tanya Whitaker (left)Photo courtesy of TD Bank

She often doesn't have enough funds to cover the costs of her food distribution program. Thanks to a donation from TD Bank from their #TDThanksYou campaign, however, she should be able to keep her work going through the holidays — when food insecurity and homelessness are most prevalent in the U.S. "This directly impacts the daily operation of the food distribution. What the public does not see is the day-to-day expenses that we incur to make this happen," says Tanya.

TD Thanks You is TD Bank's annual campaign that aims to bolster its customers, colleagues, and communities by giving back to them in meaningful ways. This year, the 2021 #TDThanksYou campaign is highlighting stories of people who are spreading positivity and optimism in their communities without asking for anything in return. Tanya's work certainly seems to fit the bill.

Tanya's team distributes food every Thursday, but that means organization and packing of food has to begin Tuesday. Food is assembled into sections, non-perishables, meat, dairy, frozen food and produce. Thursdays tend to be the busiest days because they typically get a surprise batch of food that needs to be sorted. After all the food is sectioned out, they start assembling it into bags and prepare those bags for distribution.

Tanya's been able to keep food distribution efforts of this magnitude going with the help of several businesses. And she made those connections by literally knocking on doors.

One relationship came about when she realized a nearby mall, and its parking lots, had been sitting unused. "I drove around the parking lot until I found a security office door. I knocked on what seemed to be an abandoned, empty room, and met my wonderful angel, Ms. Carolyn Martin, the property manager for the Landmark Mall's division for Howard Hughes Corporation."

Tanya explained her mission to feed the homeless, and the next day, Ms. Martin welcomed her to use one of the mall's parking lots free of charge.

"It is imperative that we, as socially responsible individuals, not wait on government programs or a 'knight in shining armor' to come to the rescue," says Tanya.

People like Tanya use compassion and fervor to fight food insecurity, homelessness and economic inequality every day. They're not waiting for a "knight" to come to the rescue; they just pick up the proverbial sword themselves.