Caring for the “Least of These” by Andrew Bennett I was in my office the other day when the executive director of our local community development center brought to my attention the recent citywide report on the state of children within our city. The report, Paterson Kids Count, was published in 2011 by Advocates for Children of New Jersey and contains a profile of child wellbeing in the city of Paterson. As I reviewed the report I was struck by the level of poverty that exists among thousands of children here in the city of Paterson, a level that is mirrored in cities across the nation. Among some of the most shocking findings: in 2010, 15,685 of the 40,333 children in the city were living below the poverty line. The 2011 figures show that while 33,590 were on Medicaid, a whopping 4,015 were still without adequate health insurance. What is even more appalling is the evident crisis within the public school district. The report reveals that in 2009-2010 only 52.8% of the 4th grade passed the grade-level tests in math and only 29.1% passed in language arts. What’s more, the graduation rate among high school students was only 50.4% in 2009-10 and 58.7% in 2010-11. There are over 350 churches in the city of Paterson. I believe that Paterson, NJ, may be a microcosm of many large urban communities. What would happen if the church within these communities began to view ministry more holistically and endeavor to pray and advocate for better care of “the least of these”? Check out these excellent resources for the answer to that question! In Hope for Children in Poverty: Profiles and Possibilities (Judson Press, 2007), Ron Sider and Heidi Unruh have drawn together the expertise of academics, activists, pastors, and social service professionals to consider the lives and special concerns of children living in poverty—biblically, educationally, physically, sociologically, politically. This comprehensive reader does more than just analyze the problems. It takes a giant step forward in exploring real solutions through public policy and faith-based organizations. Read the words of the children themselves in interviews, profiles, and poetry. And learn from those who are already making a difference in the lives of poor and low-income children. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Snapshot highlights newly available national, state, and city data that shows a 25 percent increase in the number of children residing in areas of concentrated poverty since 2000. The snapshot indicates how high-poverty communities are harmful to children, outlines regions in which concentrated poverty has grown the most, and offers recommendations to address these issues.
EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org/ePistle
Andrew Bennett is a Sider Scholar at the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy, Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University.
EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org/ePistle