We must wake up and step up
I recently moved here to Lancaster, S.C. As I have been exploring the city, and its rich history with the Civil War, I also sadly found a community in which many suffer from poverty.
I found that 12.1% of the county’s population lived below the poverty level in 2021. Also, there are severe housing problems present as well. As of 2022, 11.3% were unable to afford decent housing (according to DataUSA), due to unemployment, disabilities and such.
Last year, volunteers counted 77 people experiencing homelessness in Lancaster County. That is a large number for an area of this size. It might not sound bad as it is not in the thousands like some major cities are, but it is still a very serious problem.
In the county, 14.1% were on Medicaid and 8.48% had no health insurance at all in 2021. The number of kids living in poverty was 14.2% in 2022, as quoted by DataUSA. This is alarming, to say the least.
The question is how do we help to get these numbers down?
First, I suggest we wake up and see the problem as it is. The second is to step up.
Set up roadside food banks to serve different areas every month. Many people who live far from town could benefit from this, as well as more public gardening areas to plant food. Lobby social services to set up a campaign to get more resources out where people can learn more about what is available.
If we put our hearts and heads together, I feel like we will find many resources to reduce these numbers and help so many people. Let’s work it out together as a community!
