We Need More Tables

Poverty isn’t always a jumble of appalling statistics. Sometimes there are names, faces and stories to the numbers. It’s a cousin who’s finished high school but doesn’t have enough money to job hunt. It’s a colleague whose hand to mouth living still only gets her through half the month because her salary is just not enough. It’s a grandfather who worked for decades and got a retirement package so paltry he can’t pay his monthly bills. When people you know and love are behind the data of impoverishment, it can be hard to determine how to help. It can be even harder to settle on how much to help without compromising on your own quality of life.