Last night, I recorded a 20/20 special on Appalachia, (I grew up there). Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region along the Appalachia Mountains. It extends from southern NY to northern AL, MS and GA. It's a very poor region.
I'm always worrying about the future and money. Which is a good thing since MOST AMERICANS, 58.5%, will spend at least one year below the poverty line! I hope that my years below the poverty level are in the past (I would say, I was considered below the poverty level in college based on my income.) and I'll never be in that position again. The poverty for one person is at or below $10,400, for a family of 5 (which I grew up in) is at or below $24,800. How is a family making $24,900 not below the poverty line? The poverty line is sometimes based off being able to live off $1 a day. If you can live off 1.10 a day, you're doing just fine! Crazy huh?!
I grew up in Midland, PA, population 3,137. It's part of Appalachia. It's outside of Pittsburgh, which is the 5th poorest big city in the US. In Midland, the median income for a FAMILY is $31,887.
I went to college in Athens County, OH. The counties population is 62,223. It's the poorest county in Ohio. The median income for a FAMILY is $39,785, 27% of the population is below the poverty line.
I currently live in Hillsborough, NJ. The population is 36,634. The median income for a family is $93,033. 2.1% of families are below the poverty line. Money magazine ranked it as the 23rd best place to live in the United States. Remember, I only live here because the family I work for can afford it! :)
With that being said, watching the 20/20 special made me really appreciate what I have and thankful that I've never lived the way others in Appalachia do. Living in Appalachia, you don't pay attention to what you see every day. It's just life. It wasn't until December, when I went to visit my father. who lives in East Palestine, Ohio, that I acknowledged the horrible living conditions of the area.
Mines well add East Palestine's statistics to the list. I don't want to change my FOOOOOREEEVVVVEEEERRR long blogs! :) It's population is 4,917. The median income for a family is $40,057. 10% of it's population is below the poverty line.
The day I arrived, we drove through the mountains from Pittsburgh to East Palestine. Yeah, the hills are beautiful but once you get into the towns, you see horrible living conditions. I completely forgot about what I grew up seeing every day. We went to a diner for lunch and I asked my father and step-mother if people actually lived in the houses across the street. They were filthy, looked abandoned and the front door to one of the houses was wide open. There was snow on the ground. My step-mother said she saw a baby outside in just a diaper the day before. Now, I think to myself, why didn't she call children's services? Because you are desensitized to it! It's not that crazy to see a baby outside, by itself, in just a diaper, in the winter!
Yeah, you think to yourself I've seen horrible living conditions in the projects. Or homeless people on the streets in the city. Yes, that's horrible too, Appalachia is a different environment. Or, I lived that way in college. Not even close! I just tried finding a picture but decided it's time for bed. Anyways, to sum this up, it just made me really look at life and hope for a better future for the children put into those situations. I really hope I don't forget where I came from and the horrendous conditions that too many children are living in.
2 comments:
Well, I have found your blog. I will read it but I'll probably never become a "follower". That is just how I roll. I noticed that people don't really comment on your blog. That is a shame because you say so much and you deserve some comments.
My comment is that I think I live below the poverty line. What is the income level for a family of three? I think some people are worse off than they need to be because of some of the decisions they make like cigarets, beer, gun shells, cookies. I spell worse than you do.
I just noticed that comment moderation has been enabled so maybe you get lots of comments and you just don't think they are worthy of making it onto your blog.
There are so many issues that go into a person or families circumstances. It really bothered me that I had forgotten what I once saw daily. I'm sorry, I'm not sure who wrote the comment... I'm guessing you were in the finance class at church today but I don't think there were any families of three. Add me to your blog and I'm sure I'll become a follower... :)
I accept all comments. :)
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