ENLIGHTEN YOURSELF
Watch the local news. Read the newspapers. Look for stories about poverty in your community - and be aware of policies and programs in your area affecting poor and low-income families, including those related to affordable housing, access to health care, public transportation, and good quality education.

Enlighten yourself about programs that really work to end poverty-starting with these CCHD-sponsored projects.

Read through the Poverty Facts pages here at povertyusa.org. This site contains a wealth of current data on the state of poverty in America, including official U.S. Census figures, other federal statistics and unbiased reporting on many issues involving low-income families in the United States. For data regarding American children in poverty, visit the Web site of the National Center for Children in Poverty (www.nccp.org).

Check out one of the many books published about poverty in America. Recommended activities and readings for elementary and secondary education students as well as adults can be found in this Web site's Education Center.

Listening to those who are working to improve their own circumstances is an excellent way to learn more. To begin connecting with poor and low-income people, contact a self-help, community based organization in your local area. You can find more information about such organizations by visiting www.usccb.org/cchd/02fund.htm.

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INFORM OTHERS
After familiarizing yourself with the facts about poverty in the United States, share what you've learned with others - at home, school, work, church, or wherever else opportunities arise. Others in your community will benefit from your informed viewpoint. An honest, open dialogue is a good step toward addressing the problem.

Be aware of how you speak about the poor in America. Using derogatory terms when talking about low-income families or others experiencing poverty only serves to de-humanize the very real people struggling with economically difficult situations. And if you encounter someone else speaking in an insulting manner about people in poverty, use the information you've learned to share your understanding and compassion.

If you are a parent, talk to your children about poverty in America, about its causes and what we as individuals and as a nation should and can do to help those in need find permanent solutions to the problem. Suggest that your children's school incorporate materials from the resources found in the povertyusa.org Education Center into the curriculum.

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SHARE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Invite a representative from a local anti-poverty organization to speak to your PTA meeting, community group, church congregation or professional association, to talk about what's being done to combat poverty in your area. For more information about local self-help, community based organizations, visit www.usccb.org/cchd/02fund.htm.

Learn more about community-based programs that help young people in poverty by reading this CCHD success story.

Arrange for your local group to view the CCHD documentary, "Among the People: Facing Poverty in America," a powerful video that puts a face on American poverty, personalizes the problem and inspires action. Copies are available here.

If you are a teacher, youth group organizer or adult education leader, use the curriculum materials found in the povertyusa.org Education Center to raise awareness of the problems and solutions among your students.

Hold a school debate on living wage laws, affordable housing, gun control or drug control laws or other issues that have an impact on the lives of people living in poor communities. Such point-counterpoint dialogues can be a positive means of opening new avenues of greater insight into the problems of poverty - and of discovering new pathways to solutions.

There are a number of self-help community based organizations that work to address the needs and concerns of young people living in poverty. Learn more about their work, as well as stories from other successful efforts to break the cycle of poverty by visiting the CCHD success stories.

Assist in helping low-income students find college funding sources. There may be sources in your own community, or that you can find through research in libraries or on the internet. One such example is the Horatio Alger Association. Contact: The Horatio Alger Association, 99 Canal Center Plaza, Alexandria, VA 22314, Tel (703) 684-9444.

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For more information about the state of poverty in America or its residents, or to help support CCHD, send us an email or write to us at:

Catholic Campaign for Human Development
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20017-1194

To find out about or get involved with CCHD projects in your community, contact the CCHD director in your local Catholic diocese.