Family-to-Family

Share Your Bounty

As went American industry in the 1970s and 80s, so went Braddock, Pennsylvania. As with so much of the “Rust Belt,” the town of 2,100 in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh has seen jobs largely dry up, and despite the spirited and sustained efforts of local workers to revitalize the local economy, its population remains a fraction of its peak in the early 20th century. Poverty today is rampant. 

  • 37% of Braddock residents lived below the federal poverty line
  • Half of those live in extreme poverty — below 50% of the poverty line. 

Poverty in Braddock reaches across racial and ethnic boundaries, affecting the town’s African American, Caucasian, Latino and mixed residents. In particular, children in Braddock experience poverty — around 50% of kids there live in poverty, almost triple the statewide average. 

Our community partner in Braddock is the nonprofit For Good PGH, an organization whose programs stress inclusivity in order to “create positive experiences for underserved populations” in greater Pittsburgh. Their convictions that “giving is much easier than we realize” and that “the impact is profound” are ones that Family-to-Family shares. We are proud to support their work.

Community Partner:

Kristen Michaels
For Good PGH
910 Braddock Avenue
Braddock, PA 15104

Data Sources:

Named for the Catholic patron saint of soldiers, the city of San Elizario lies on the banks of the Rio Grande in far western Texas, directly on the Mexican border. It’s an old town — first visited in 1598 by Spanish explorers, and permanently settled since 1789. The town changed hands often throughout its history — first belonging to colonial Spain, then Mexico, and finally an American town in 1848.

Its border town status shows in the town’s demographics. Roughly 35% of residents are foreign born, and over 98% identify as Latino. San Elizario experiences poverty at a startling rate: 

  • 35% of all residents live below the federal poverty line
  • the average household earns $36,203 before taxes 
  • only 11% of residents over the age of 25 have a college degree

Our community partner organization in San Elizario is Familias Triunfadoras, Inc. a women-led nonprofit founded in 2006 by a group of local community activists aiming to improve quality of life along the US/Texas border. Their mission is to empower women and families in this underserved region through programs emphasizing family strengthening, community unity, asset building, community development and economic self-sufficiency. 

Community Contact
Maria Ortiz
Familias Triunfadoras
PO Box 1352
San Elizario, TX 79849

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Data Sources:

https://cityofsanelizario.com/about/
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/sanelizariocitytexas
https://datausa.io/profile/geo/san-elizario-tx#about

Nestled amidst the largest metropolitan area in the U.S., Jersey City is one of the country’s most densely populated cities. A port city located on the Hudson River and New York Bay just across from Manhattan, it’s a landing place for a steady stream of immigrants, including significant communities from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Many of these immigrants struggle to find housing and employment, and the city’s poverty levels are well above the national average.

According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey on Jersey City:

  • Jersey City is diverse: 35.4% of the population is White, 28.8% Hispanic, 25.4% Asian and 24% African-American.
  • 18.7% of the city’s population lives below the poverty level, with significant racial disparities. 
  • 25.3% of the African-American population and 23.5% of the Hispanic population live in poverty.

Family-to-Family works with the immigrant aid organization Church World Service (CWS) in Jersey City, with CWS recommending refugee families in need to our refugee sponsorship program. The organization focuses on welcoming refugees and asylees to northern New Jersey and enabling them to become self-sufficient members of the community. Last year CWS Jersey City served more than 200 refugees and asylees with everything from home and community orientation, application assistance for public benefits and healthcare, job preparation, job placement, and basic needs support.

Jersey City refugee families sponsored through Family-to-Family receive a monthly grocery store gift card to a store near their home.

Community Contact:
Courtney Madsen
 Church World Service
26 Journal Square, Suite 600
Jersey City, N.J. 07036

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a refugee family!

Located on the shores of the Long Island Sound in New York’s Westchester County is the picturesque town of Mamaroneck. Typified by historic buildings and grassy lawns (the town’s Winged Foot Golf Course hosted the U.S. Open in 2020), it’s not a place one would expect to find poverty or food insecurity. Mamaroneck’s median household income is close to $100,000. 

But in spite of the prosperity experienced by most in the village, a significant number of families struggle against high costs of living — the median apartment rent is over $2,700 per month — and low wages. These issues pose tremendous challenges for the 8.1% of residents living below the poverty line, many of whom are recent immigrants from Latin America.

Our community partner on the ground is the Washingtonville Housing Alliance, a nonprofit that works to provide affordable housing to low income families and individuals within Mamaroneck and the surrounding area. To date, they have constructed or rehabilitated 115 apartments for those in need. Mamaroneck families sponsored through our program receive monthly grocery store gift cards, distributed by Bertha Gallo at Washington Housing Alliance.

Community Partner:
Bertha Gallo
Washingtonville Housing Alliance
136 Library Lane
Mamaroneck, N.Y. 10543  

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

While the prevailing stereotype of Boston is that of a cluster of tightly-knit, mostly white, working class neighborhoods, the reality is that recent decades have brought a sea change to the city’s racial and economic makeup. Boston is increasingly diverse racially (28% of Bostonians were born outside the U.S., one of the highest rates in the country), while also presenting startling levels of income inequality (it’s the 7th least equal city in the nation by some metrics).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau:

  • 25% of children in Boston under 18 years old live in poverty
  • 15% of Boston families have an annual income of less than $25,000, and 32% have an income of less than $50,000

Poverty, and the food insecurity it brings, is most keenly felt by those Bostonians born outside the United States. Almost one in three Asians live in poverty — more than double the rate of white Bostonians. Many of these impoverished recent immigrants are the families we help through our Boston partner organization, Josiah Quincy Elementary School (JQES), located in the downtown section of the city.  

The largest public elementary school in Boston; Josiah Quincy is an inner city school with a diverse student body with special programs for English Language Learners and Students with Multiple Disabilities. Over 83% of the students are considered high needs (current or former English Language Learners, Economically Disadvantaged, or Students with Disabilities). The mission of the school is to prepare students to be contributing global citizens, with an emphasis on international mindedness. 

Through our sponsorship program, economically struggling families recommended by our contact at Josiah Quincy, Ashley Alvarez, receive monthly grocery store gift cards to a local grocery store near their homes.

Community Contact

Ashley Alvarez
Josiah Quincy Elementary School
885 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111

Data Sources:
U.S. Census Bureau, 2018 American Community Survey
Impact — BCNC (Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center)
‘Atlas Of Inequality’ Shows Income Segregation Around Boston
http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/3e8bfacf-27c1-4b55-adee-29c5d79f4a38

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Best known for its wealthiest pockets (there are more than 5,200 people with over $30 million in assets in L.A.), sprawling Los Angeles County also suffers from severe poverty and economic inequality. Concentrated wealth and gentrification have led to exorbitant rent prices and a lack of affordable housing, adding to an acute homelessness problem. On an average night 55,000 people in L.A. County experience homelessness, many living in encampments. 

According to the Census Bureau’s 2013-2017 data on L.A. County:

  • 17.0 % of the population, or 1,688,505 individuals, lives below the federal poverty level
  • 19.6% of families with children live below the poverty level

Family-to-Family works with two community partners in L.A. — one supporting our Sponsor A Refugee program and one supporting our flagship Sponsor A Family program.

Families in need for Sponsor a Family are recommended by the non-profit organization FEAST in L.A. (Food, Education, Access, Support, Together), whose mission is to help families live healthier lives. FEAST offers wellness programs to low income families that focus on food and nutrition information, and offer access to fresh, healthy foods. Providing these families with monthly grocery gift cards through our sponsorship program enables them to purchase the kinds of healthy foods FEAST encourages for lifestyle changes.

Many L.A. families struggling in poverty are also part of the county’s large and diverse immigrant population, a group that makes up 36% of its total population.  

The city has voiced a strong commitment to supporting refugees — in 2019 the city council passed a resolution naming L.A. a sanctuary city and additionally declared L.A. a “welcoming city” for refugees. To provide support for impoverished refugees in the LA. area, Family-to-Family works with Human Rights First, a non-profit, international human rights organization that identifies families in need to our organization and acts as a liaison to the families we sponsor. 

Community Contacts:

Diana Diaz Madera
Human Rights First
3680 Wilshire Blvd. Ste PO4-414
Los Angeles, CA  90010

Amy Vu
FEAST
3655 South Grand Ave. #210
Los Angeles, CA 90007  

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a refugee family!