The High Rate of Poverty in Denver/ An Analysis of a Social Problem Impacting Urban Areas - Research Paper Example

Many are working poor and others are poor because of job loss. Many have lost their homes, their lifestyles, and their dignity because of the unemployment. Poverty is not only a matter of not having money or not having enough money: It is a matter of not having access to many things. According to Boston (2008), Colorado "has the 38th highest poverty rate in the United States" (p. 1). According to Waak (2009) in Denver this poverty statistic is attached to health care (p. 1). Some of the reason this is so is because families in poverty cannot pay for health care.

In a report from The Brookings Institute (2003), Denver also has a challenge because of its growth. The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is the criterion that measures the level of poverty and for Denver in 2007; this meant that 11.5% of the population lived at the poverty line or below it. The basic needs of food, housing, transportation, childcare, health care and utilities are not available to some of the poor in Denver because they cannot afford to pay for them (The Denver "Foundation, 2008, p. 2). Many of Denvers poor struggle to achieve self-sufficiency to move out of their poverty condition.

As the economy raises prices on every level and wages stay the same, many families find that they have to choose where they are going to put their resources and sometimes this means sacrificing healthcare, child care, housing or other basic needs (The Denver Foundation, p. 7). Many families must rely on food pantries and soup kitchens to make the additional food needs. Others rely on food stamps or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (The Denver Foundation, p. 7). Foreclosures have been on the rise in the nation and in Denver there was a 162% increase in foreclosures between the years of 1995-2004, and this continues today (The Denver Foundation, p. 8). Transportation is also difficult for poor families in Denver.

The average amount for transportation that Denver families