Just 20 minutes north of Birmingham, the town of Brookside (population 1,363) is a small pocket of nature and beauty next to the big city. The town sits on six square miles along the bank of Five Mile Creek, hence the name Brookside. A former mining town, it grew up around the Brookside Coal Mine, which opened in 1886. Original settlers were eastern European immigrants who flocked there in order to work in the mines. When the mines closed in the 1920s, Brookside saw economic troubles that have persisted ever since.

According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2013-2017 data:

• 41% of Brookside children live below the federal poverty line
• 45% of adults 25 or older do not have a high school diploma
• 33% of families have an annual income of less than $15,000 a year

Family-to-Family’s contact in Brookside is Kara Miller of the Boys and Girls Club of Brookside.  The club provides extensive after-school programs, including homework help and tutoring.  When the school year is over, the club runs summer programs to keep area kids busy, healthy, fit, and happy.

A large number of the children served by the Brookside Boys and Girls Club live in poverty, with an estimated 80% qualifying for free lunch at school.  Many are being raised by single mothers or grandparents, and live in public housing.

In Brookside, we work with the local Publix Super Market to provide monthly groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Liaison:
Kara Miller
Brookside Boys & Girls Club
4199 Municipal Drive
Brookside, AL 35036

Data Source: Poverty & Education statistics – U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Located midway between Austin and Dallas, the city of Waco was built around the Waco Suspension Bridge along the Brazos River.  A small city in McLennan County with a population of 127,796 people, Waco has significant economic problems.

23% of adults over 25 have no high school diploma, and for this group in particular, jobs paying more than minimum wage are hard to find.  Although Waco is home to three Texas colleges and universities, jobs for graduates are sparse and job seekers travel to Austin and Dallas for better employment.

Without a car commuting is difficult, because public transportation is inadequate and local bus service ends at 7pm.

Divided into three sectors, the sector of East Waco has the poorest population.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in East Waco:

• Median annual household income is $15,190
• 34.9% of households have a single female head of household (mainly single mothers)
• Median household income is lower than 70% of the median household income for all of Texas

In all of Waco:

• 29.4% of individuals live below the poverty level.
• 30.9% of families with children under 18 live below the poverty level.

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Rate 2008 data, Waco has a crime rate of 59 per one thousand residents, one of the highest crime rates in the U.S.  The chances of becoming a victim of either a violent crime or a property crime in Waco is one in 17.

George Washington Carver Middle School in Waco is Family-to-Family’s partner organization in Waco. Shirley Langston, a Family Support Specialist at the school, recommends families in need to our program, and acts as a liaison with the families.

In Waco, Family-to-Family partners with H-E-B markets to provide grocery gift cards for our sponsored families.

Community Contact:
Shirley Langston
George Washington Carver Middle School
1601 JJ Flewellen Road
Waco, Texas 76704

Learn more about poverty in the Waco community.

Waco: People witness poverty first hand during simulation

Sources: Waco Texas Executive Study; US Census Bureau, 2010 Census; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

In northwestern New Mexico near the Arizona border is the city of Gallup, which abuts lands belonging to the Navajo Nation. A substantial part of Gallup’s population is Native American, including some Hopi, Zuni and a large number of Navajos. Gallup is also the location of The Community Pantry, which provides food to impoverished Navajo families and serves as our coordinating agency and link to the Navajo families we serve.

While some official statistics put Gallup’s unemployment rate at 20% in 2016, many of the “jobs” counted include self-employed individuals who create and sell handmade goods and provide services for very little money. According to the Navajo Nation, excluding these low-earning individuals would bring the true unemployment rate to just over 57%. Other issues add to the economic blight. Businesses stay away from the region because roads are unpaved, and electricity, water and telecommunications services are minimal to non-existent, although access has improved since 2000. Police and fire services are similarly limited.

According to 2010 census data (the latest available):

• Just over 46% of Navajo Nation homes had no telephones.
• Over 21% of homes had incomplete plumbing.
• 87% of the 9,286 miles of reservation roads were unpaved.
• 44% of people under the age of 18 in the Navajo Nation lived below the poverty level.

• Almost 32% of all households in the Navajo Nation had annual incomes below $15,000.

Outreach workers helping the Navajo families who use the Community Pantry say living conditions are extreme. “We have families with 4-7 children that live in one room — 20’x 20’ un-insulated, plywood shacks — with no utilities (maybe an extension cord strung from the one electrical meter located in the camp) and a wood stove. One ‘camp’ outhouse is for all families. Other families live in traditional Hogans (8-sided one room log/mud homes) with chunks of mud missing in the walls and cardboard or blankets stuffed in windows. Wind and dirt blow under the door. Soot from the wood stove accumulates, making air quality dangerous.”

Many families have no available transportation; cars are old and often broken-down, and public transportation is minimal or nonexistent. Distances are vast; without phones or transportation, communication is difficult and families are isolated.

Hilda Kendall, the chief operating officer at the Gallup Community Pantry, is our community contact in Gallup. The Pantry’s Emergency Food Assistance Program provides food to about 1,500 families every month.

Community Contact:
Hilda Kendall
The Community Pantry
PO Box 520
Gallup, New Mexico 87305

To learn more about the Navajo Nation in New Mexico:

• “On Parched Navajo Reservation, Truck-Driving ‘Water Lady’ Brings Liquid Gold”
• “Confronting a long tradition of silence”

Data Sources: Navajo Nation Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2018; Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development; Demographic Analysis of the Navajo Nation Using 2010 Census and 2016-2017 American Community Survey Estimates

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

In the heart of Appalachia’s Cumberland Mountains, the town of Beverly is home to Red Bird Mission, a poverty relief organization that serves a remote, impoverished population in Bell, Clay, and Leslie counties in southeastern Kentucky. Access to the region can be difficult, depending on the weather and time of year. Public services and infrastructure are minimal, and lack of education is a significant issue. In Clay County, for example, 36% of adults over age 25 didn’t complete high school. Public water is inadequate and there’s no public sewer. Telephone and electricity service are unreliable during bad weather.

According to the 2016 Census data:

• Whites make up over 95% of the population.
• In Clay County, the poorest in Kentucky, close to 48% of all children live below the poverty level, and over 72% of single mothers and their children live in poverty.
• A little over one third of Clay County households have an annual income under $15,000.
• In Bell County, roughly 26% of families live in poverty, and Leslie County is similarly economically distressed.

Red Bird Mission is the local coordinating agency that refers families in need and distributes groceries purchased by Family-to-Family donating families. Red Bird is a National Mission Institution of The United Methodist Church, and since 1921, it has provided educational, medical, and community outreach programs for residents of the Red Bird River Valley.

In addition to its regular sponsorship program to help families living under the poverty line, Family-to-Family also supports “The Gap Pantry” at Red Bird Mission, which provides food to struggling families with incomes just over the poverty line. Through this sponsorship program, low income, working families can “shop” (no funds needed), for the foods they most need at the “Gap” pantry. Read more about “Gap” family sponsorship here.

Community Contact
Candace Collins
Red Bird Mission
70 Queendale Center
Beverly, KY 40913

To learn more about the area:

• What’s the Matter With Eastern Kentucky?
• In Depressed Rural Kentucky, Worries Mount Over Medicaid Cutbacks
• Poverty in Clay County: How Poverty Came About

Data Sources: Poverty & Education statistics – U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey; Red Bird Mission

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!