who we are
Introduction
It’s A Blessing to Be a Blessing, Inc. is an organization dedicated to being a beacon of hope and love for the downtrodden and forgotten among us. This includes the homeless, hungry, disenfranchised youth, elderly, and impoverished families and communities who needs basic life necessities and resources to survive in life.
Our mission was birthed out of the burden and need, to address the negative realities and circumstances plaguing our city in the areas of Hunger and Poverty. As much research suggest, high poverty rates and food insecurity are inextricably tied together and drastically effect the strength of families and communities in Philadelphia and our society as a whole. We as an organization are determined to help address these issues by making a difference.
Hunger
In the Philadelphia region, hundreds of thousands of individuals suffer from food insecurity. While the economy has improved, rates of food insecurity remain well above pre-recession levels (Coalition Against Hunger, Advocacy p.1). Locally the problem is severe, and nationwide the problem is just as threatening. Research shows that there are millions suffering from hunger and inadequate food supply. As a result millions have looked to the government for help. Pennsylvania alone has more than 1.8 million recipients of food stamps, or (SNAP) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Mezzacappa, p.1). Furthermore, more than a quarter of them, or 500,000, are in Philadelphia. These numbers reveal that there is a third of the city’s population who needs some type of food assistance due to inability to buy the food they need. (Mezzacappa, p.1)
“48.8 million Americans—including 13 million children— live in households that lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis. As a result, they struggle with hunger at some time during the year. Food insecurity—the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food— exists in 17.2 million households in America, 3.9 million of them with children. Rates of food insecurity are substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the federal poverty line, among households with children headed by single parents (35.1% of female-headed households with children are food-insecure) and among Black and Hispanic households (Coalition Against Hunger, Advocacy p.1). ”
Food insecurity is most common in large cities like Philadelphia, and it is inextricably tied to poverty as previously stated. Though research shows that there are an estimated 700 food pantries and soup kitchens throughout Philadelphia. Although these programs keep families from going hungry each day, they struggle to keep up with the growing number of people coming to them for help (Coalition Against Hunger, Advocacy p.1. In 2014, nearly 90% of food pantries, either ran out of food or had to provide less to those in need at some point during the year. This is why we want to help more and to provide more support in this area! Philadelphia has a one of the most serious poverty issues and hunger issues among the states as being one of the largest cities in the Nation. Whether jobless or homeless thousands of people in our city are unable to feed themselves consistently and need some type of support.
Poverty
According to federal and state data, poverty and food insecurity, are actually getting worse in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and research shows as a result that the region’s children are heavily affected (Mezzacappa, p.1) In fact, Children – individuals under the age of 18 – make up 40 percent of the participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to the data (Mezzacappa, p.1) The issue of poverty in Philadelphia is no laughing matter as many are effected and many are suffering.
“One in four residents in the city lives in poverty. For children, the rate is 37 percent, or more than one in three. More than one in 10 residents live in so-called “deep poverty,” or below half the federal poverty rate, which is now defined as just over $24,000 in annual income for a family of four. As a result, food insecurity, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture determines largely through household surveys, is also a big problem in Philadelphia. The federal school lunch and breakfast programs help address this amongst youth. (Coalition Against Hunger, Advocacy p.1). ”
According to (Philadelphia State of The City 2015.org p.2) though there has been some progress in these areas over the years, there is still much need for improvement and poverty is still appears to be Philadelphia’s arguably most daunting and intractable problem. At last count, the city’s poverty rate stood at 26 percent, down slightly in the past few years but still the highest among the nation’s 10 largest cities. More than 400,000 Philadelphians live below the federal poverty line, including 37 percent of children and 43 percent of Latinos (Philadelphia State of The City 2015.org p.2). As a result of poverty and poor-schooling which often leads to a lack of educational attainment, it is estimated that by 2030, 600,000 Philadelphians (nearly 39% of the current total population) will not have the skills to secure the types of jobs that will be available in Philadelphia as we live in an increasingly global economy (The Crisis, para. 1).
According to (The Crisis, para. 2) in large parts of the city, participation in the labor force is less than 65% (See charts below). Today, more than 500,000 (42%) adults in Philadelphia do not participate in the labor force (The Crisis, para. 2). Employment and family-sustaining wage prospects are particularly daunting for those without a college degree, as increasingly more jobs require postsecondary education (The Crisis, para. 2). Especially hard hit are the 300,000 formerly incarcerated Philadelphians who face multiple barriers to securing employment, such as low literacy skills, lack of a high school or college degree, employer reluctance, or lack of a social network to connect them to job openings
What we Do
What is the Answer?
This lends to the correlation that poverty leads to poor education, poor education leads to low educational attainment and joblessness, and joblessness leads to increased criminal activity and high incarceration rates. This in turn becomes a vicious cycle that often results in high recidivism rates, homelessness and often death. Furthermore, with the overwhelming number of Black and Latino men incarcerated, many mothers have to survive as single parents to raise children without a second form of income to aid them, and to aid in providing them with being able to provide their children with high quality education opportunities, food and basic necessities.
What is the answer? The answer is to provide specialized programs to help meet the needs of people who need help. Recognizing that these issues need to be addressed within our community, we have established these programs to provide solutions and to help aid in the fight against hunger and poverty in our city. It is our hope through these services and programs, we can help equip individuals and families with the supports, resources and skill-sets necessary to survive and live better.
It's a Blessing to Be a Blessing
(215) 326-9625
itsablessingtobeablessing@gmail.com
1500 Walnut St Ste 1102, Philadelphia, PA 19102
