By Laura Weber
Poverty and homelessness rates have been on the rise over the past several years in Michigan. That's according to an annual report on poverty from the Michigan League for Human Services.
The report says a quarter of kids in Michigan live in poverty, and one in ten kids lives in extreme poverty. "Extreme poverty" means a family makes less than 11-thousand dollars a year. Karen Holcomb-Merrill is with the league.
"The child poverty rate in Michigan is about 23 percent, and it's grown by over 50 percent in the past 10 years, which is really tremendous, and in a bad way."
Holcomb-Merrill said she hopes the Legislature will help lessen poverty rates by raising the Earned Income Tax Credit for working poor families. The credit was reduced earlier this year by lawmakers and Governor Rick Snyder. Holcomb-Merrill sayid lawmakers could also help families by making sure they have better access to cash and food assistance.
Copyright 2010, MPRN
Poverty and homelessness rates have been on the rise over the past several years in Michigan. That's according to an annual report on poverty from the Michigan League for Human Services.
The report says a quarter of kids in Michigan live in poverty, and one in ten kids lives in extreme poverty. "Extreme poverty" means a family makes less than 11-thousand dollars a year. Karen Holcomb-Merrill is with the league.
"The child poverty rate in Michigan is about 23 percent, and it's grown by over 50 percent in the past 10 years, which is really tremendous, and in a bad way."
Holcomb-Merrill said she hopes the Legislature will help lessen poverty rates by raising the Earned Income Tax Credit for working poor families. The credit was reduced earlier this year by lawmakers and Governor Rick Snyder. Holcomb-Merrill sayid lawmakers could also help families by making sure they have better access to cash and food assistance.
Copyright 2010, MPRN