KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – While the latest census data shows the poverty gaps is improving in the City of Kalamazoo, local leaders met this week to talk about to improve the situation even further.
Representatives from the Kalamazoo Promise, Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo, the Northside Association for Community Development, and the United Way of South Central Michigan participated in the event Wednesday hosted by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Officials say Kalamazoo’s poverty rate consistently exceeds that of the U.S., with 26.8% of the population living below the poverty line in 2022.
According to the United Way, a family with two parents and two children in childcare needs a combined income of $31.45 an hour for 40 hours a week to get by in Kalamazoo County.
Also discussed were poverty disparities between the county and the city, across racial groups, and in different neighborhoods.
Panelists for the discussion were Chris Sargent of United Way, Elizabeth Washington of the Northside Association for Community Development, Kevin Ford, of Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo, and Sarah Klerk, of the Kalamazoo Promise. The talk was moderated by Michael Horrigan, President of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, and took place at the Catalyst Center in Kalamazoo.
Sargent said job creation alone isn’t the answer, because there needs to be jobs that provide living, sustainable wages, with benefits.
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