At the same time that city leaders and proud citizens of Indianapolis boast about our economic development successes, a deadly cancer is spreading throughout the body of our city—poverty. Between 2000 and 2015 the rate of those living below the poverty level in Indianapolis more than doubled to exceed 20 percent of our city’s population,…Continue reading Poverty
Unemployment and underemployment are root causes of poverty. Although prior to the COVID pandemic our nation’s unemployment rate was at its lowest point in years, less than 4 percent, in some neighborhoods in Marion County the unemployment rate was more than 20 percent. That meant that one out of every five individuals in the labor…Continue reading Unemployment
According to U.S. News and World Report, Indianapolis has earned the designation of being the “12th Most Dangerous Place in the U.S. in 2020-21”. We talk about how dangerous cities like Chicago and New York are, but based on a comparison of murders and property crime rates per 100,000 people, the Windy City and the…Continue reading Violent Crime
According to Indiana University Public Policy Institute’s report, Homelessness in Indianapolis 2020 Marion County Point-In-Time Count, 1,588 people were counted as experiencing homelessness in Marion County on January 22, 2020. More than 80 percent were unemployed. With the increase in unemployment as a result of COVID pandemic layoffs, there has probably been a considerable increase…Continue reading Homelessness
According to Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University’s “Report of the Toll of Opioid Use in Indiana and Marion County”, in 2014, Marion County had the highest number of deaths due to drug overdose, 243, up 20% from 203 in 2013. Between 2010 and 2016 Indiana deaths caused by opioids have…Continue reading Substance Abuse
EMS reports that 14% of all runs for mental illness occur within 8 square miles, where poverty is concentrated throughout Indianapolis. More than 32% of Marion County’s homeless in 2015 were determined to be severely mentally ill. Mental illness also increases the chance that an individual will commit a crime if that illness remains untreated….Continue reading Mental Illness
Based on their family income, more than 75% of the 30,000 students in Indianapolis Public Schools qualified for free meals. According to the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger, the health of more than 15% of Americans over the age of 60 is jeopardized by the lack access to safe, affordable food at all times….Continue reading Hunger
The belief that one race, skin color, ethnicity or other group is superior to another in humanity constitutes racism. It’s a fact that our country has a history of racism. It’s also a fact that we can’t change what happened in the past; all we can do is—hopefully—learn from our mistakes. In order to do…Continue reading Racism
Much has been publicized about problems in our public educational system. Indianapolis Public Schools, which serve the most poverty-stricken areas of Indianapolis, has 10 A rated schools. Superintendent Lewis Ferebee put 11 schools on high alert because of consecutive F grades and either the district or the State of Indiana has been closely monitoring 38…Continue reading Urban Education
