In Jefferson County alone, 13% of adults, an estimated 92,000 people, are considered functionally illiterate, reading below a fifth-grade level. Nine percent of adults lack health insurance, while an even higher percentage lack adequate access to care. While better healthcare, improved reading skills and a GED alone aren’t enough to pull people out of poverty, providing opportunities for these adults to move forward is vital to reversing the trend of generational poverty.
 

Generational poverty affects everyone. The Institute for Research on Poverty asserts that the costs associated with childhood poverty total about $500 billion per year. This is the summation of costs of unearned wages and productivity, high crime rates and poor health associated with adults who grew up in poverty-stricken households.
 

M-POWER´s work to eradicate poverty seeks to address the root causes of poverty, not just its symptoms. Education and health programs are our tools in addressing the systemic lack of resources that poverty creates – financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, relationships/role models, support system, and the knowledge of hidden class rules.