For several years, the California Economic Summit has been addressing the real divide in California—those who are doing well and those who aren’t.
Eighteen million Californians live in or near poverty—and a journey to the middle class and the California Dream looks more arduous than ever.
It’s why the Summit launched Elevate CA: to raise the conversation about economic insecurity and the accompanying lack of upward mobility in California. They are, quite simply, the issues of our time.
The head of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, and former Summit Steering Committee Co-Chair, Paul Granillo once said, “What does poverty look like? It’s a single mom with two kids.”
Implied in that comment is that many California children live in poverty. California, a state of many accomplishments and a booming economy that is the fifth largest in the world, also has the highest child poverty rate in the country. We have nearly two million kids living in poverty.
And for those children, well, quite frankly the odds are stacked against them. Poorer children and teens are at greater risk for negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and socioemotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental delays.
We must do better.
There’s a dynamic nonprofit—called Grace, Inc.—that is trying to mobilize 100,000 Californians to work on this issue.
I just signed up. If you want to also, click here.
Grace, Inc. was founded by the Catholic order of the Daughters of Charity who started the organization because they know that political advocacy and government action is crucial in pushing for real change.
That’s why the group also invited leading California gubernatorial candidates to address the issue of child poverty. Three have responded thus far: John Chiang, Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa.
The video is provided and paid for by End Child Poverty California Action. You can also sign a petition urging the next Governor to work on the issue:
VIDEO: CA Gubernatorial Candidates Are Talking About Child Poverty
