Recap and Video: Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area

Earlier this week, the kidsdata team participated in a forum for the media, “Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area.” The San Francisco forum, hosted by New America Media, began with a presentation from our foundation’s Andy Krackov, who covered data on childhood poverty in California and the Bay Area. The data tell a compelling story of the rising levels of poverty and decreases in median family income in the Bay Area, all alongside increases in the cost of rent for housing.

After the data presentation, New America Media showcased a number of youth-created videos that took an in-depth look at the face of childhood poverty in the Bay Area. One video chronicles a family’s fight to survive after the primary bread-winners are deported. Another video chronicles an East Palo Alto mother’s struggle to feed her family healthful meals on a tight budget. The video below documents a day in the life of a young baby in San Francisco’s Hunters Point neighborhood, whose family struggles daily to make ends meet.

Tying data together with personal stories like these helps bring a human face to the numbers. Our foundation will be part of another “Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area” session with New America Media, this time in San Jose. Details will be posted on this blog.

Posted by Jordan Handcox

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