Regular readers of this blog know the statistics: more than 46 million Americans living below the poverty line on less than $18,000 annually for a family of three. More than 1 in 3 of us—106 million Americans—living on less than $36,000 a year, struggling to afford the basics like food, housing, healthcare, and education.

Meanwhile, food stamps are under attack by both Republicans and Democrats despite the fact that 50 million Americans are struggling with hunger; cash assistance (TANF) reaches only 27 of every 100 families living in poverty; the minimum wage is a poverty wage, and there is a proliferation of low-wage work.

Our nation could reverse these trends if we wanted to—that’s one of the key motivations for The Nation in creating this blog—that it’s simply not true that “we don’t know what to do about poverty.”

Below are just some of the good groups that can help you get informed and get involved in the fight against poverty. If you were to regularly follow even a half dozen of them, you would probably know more about poverty than most Members of Congress.

Check them out, sign up for their e-mails, and get involved:

Alliance for a Just Society The Arc Broader, Bolder Approach to Education Caring Across Generations Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Center for Community Change Center for Court Innovation Center for Economic and Policy Research Center for Hunger-Free Communities/Witnesses to Hunger Center for Law and Social Policy Children’s Defense Fund Children’s HealthWatch Coalition on Human Needs
 Coalition of Immokalee Workers Community Action Partnership Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Social Security Task Force Demos Economic Policy Institute First Focus
 Food Research and Action Center
 Family Independence Initiative Half In Ten
 Home Defenders League Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness Interfaith Worker Justice Jewish Council for Public Affairs Jobs with Justice Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Legal Momentum LIFT
 National Council on Aging National Council of La Raza National Employment Law Project National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty National Low Income Housing Coalition National Partnership for Women and Families National Women’s Law Center NETWORK New York City Coalition Against Hunger Occupy Our Homes Poverty & Race Research Action Council PolicyLink Progressive States Network Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United RESULTS The Rural Assistance Center Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law Share Our Strength Spotlight on Poverty Urban Institute: MetroTrends

Western Center on Law & Poverty


This Week in Poverty posts here on Friday mornings, and again at Moyers & Company and AlterNet. You can e-mail me at WeekInPoverty@me.com and follow me on Twitter.