The CHN office is always a flurry of activity. With a small staff and so much to do to protect and expand programs that help our low-income neighbors, there’s no time to sit still. This week is even busier as we take care of final preparations for our Human Needs Hero reception on Tuesday, July 19^th, where we hope you’ll join us, support our work, and honor Human Needs Heroes Ruth Flower and Wade Henderson.
As we prepare for our event, we’re reminded of the bringing together of the human needs community that’s at the heart of CHN’s work. We’re thinking about why we all do the work that we do together – both the challenges and the successes. So, in honor of our 13th annual Human Needs Hero event, here are just 13 of those many reasons:

• Child poverty rates top 40 percent in more than 150 U.S. counties, and child homelessness is at a historic high.

• Half of new jobs pay less than a living wage, and the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised in 7 years. Wage inequality grew in 2015 for the 35th year in a row.

• Households of color are 2.1 times more likely to live in poverty.

• The average American taxpayer pays $91 for nuclear weapons and $49 for the Head Start program.

• The U.S. incarceration rate is more than 6 times the average across developed nations. Black men are 6 times more likely and Latino men 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than white men.

• More than 100 big U.S. corporations used offshore tax havens to avoid $280 billion in taxes.

• 1 in 6 households in the U.S. is food insecure.

• Since FY2010, at least 139 important human needs programs have been cut, nearly half by 15 percent or more, and nearly one-third by 25 percent or more.

But…

• Safety net programs like SNAP, low-income tax credits, and Social Security cut poverty nearly in half in 2014, lifting 38 million people, including 8 million children, out of poverty.

• We can reduce child poverty in America by 60 percent through an investment equal to only 2 percent of the federal budget, if only we would choose to.

• Housing vouchers reduce family homelessness by 75 percent.

• Early childhood programs increase educational achievement and high school graduation rates.

• The Earned Income Tax Credit not only helps families with children get out of poverty, it increases women’s retirement income by boosting employment and earnings during their working years.

Many in Congress want to cut spending on the very programs that deliver these successes. That’s why spreading the word about the need for more investments in human needs programs is critical. To support CHN in this work, click here.

[Photo credit: Doug Kline via Flickr]