Poverty rate expected to rise - Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather Sports

Poverty rate expected to rise

Experts predict the U.S. poverty rate will likely rise to levels this year, not seen since the 1960's.  

Poverty affects people across all walks of life, from those who lost their job because of the economy to suburban families that couldn't pay their mortgage.

Robert Jones, survives on a government check.  

It's a safety net...but it's not much more than that.

He previously lived in an apartment in Fort Wayne, but a higher calling brought him to live in Lima.

He's called the rescue mission home for more than a month while he looks for a more permanent home and seeks the spirituality here he couldn't find in the Summit City.

For these men living at the rescue mission, poverty has hit them squarely in the gut.

Many experts predict that the poverty level will rise to 15.2%, or higher, when numbers are released after the November election, that would make it the highest poverty rate since 1965.

The Lima Rescue Mission has been around since 1906 and has seen the highs and lows of the economy and its' effect on people throughout the years.

Director Chuck Ferguson says even with the bad economy, they still have room.

Ferguson says the Lima Rescue Mission is just one option for people suffering from poverty or homelessness.  

Washington politicians, like Senator Sherrod Brown believe that poverty can be overcome by rebuilding the nations industrial machine.