{"id":51,"date":"2021-01-07T02:26:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T02:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ydn.dtd.mybluehost.me\/wcpc\/?page_id=51"},"modified":"2023-06-12T16:39:39","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T16:39:39","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/westcoastpovertycenter.org\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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RFA for WCPC Mini-Grants to support researcher-practitioner collaboration<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The West Coast Poverty Center (WCPC) invites applications for mini-grants to support research collaborations between WCPC scholars and local non-profits on topics related to poverty, economic security, and individual or family financial well-being, broadly construed. These awards of up to $12,000 are intended to both help partner CBOs answer questions that are relevant to their work in the region and help academic partners inform or broaden research agendas. Prior projects have included pilot studies and data collection, initial data analyses, and the development of applications for larger sources of funding. \u00a0<\/p>

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Learn more HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Did Poverty Increase During the First Year of the Pandemic?<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It’s complicated…..According to new data from the US Census Bureau, the official poverty rate for the nation rose from 10.5% to 11.2% between 2019 and 2020<\/a>. This official measure does not capture the impact of safety net benefits such as Social Security and other income supports, nor does it attempt to account for variation in the cost of living or other expenses. When those benefits and geographic variation are considered in a separate metric known as the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), the estimated SPM poverty rate for 2020 is 9.1%<\/a> (down from 11.8% in 2019). This decline during the pandemic reflects the impacts of the government\u2019s temporary economic relief efforts including stimulus payments and expanded Unemployment Insurance payments.  For some analysis of measures of hardship in WA during this period of the pandemic, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Estimates of pandemic-related hardship in Washington State<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse survey, WCPC Director Jennie Romich and UW graduate student Callie Frietag find that nearly 1 in 6 Washingtonians faced food, housing, or financial hardship this winter. These hardship rates have remained relatively steady between April 2020 and early February 2021.\u00a0 Renters; households with children; Black, Hispanic, multiracial and other non-white Washingtonians were significantly more likely to experience at least one form of hardship relative to homeowners; households with children;<\/strong> and white and Asian Washingtonians, respectively. Read the full memo HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Poverty Forecast for Washington State amid COVID-19 Crisis<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How will the pandemic affect poverty rates in Washington State? <\/a>WCPC Director Jennie Romich and UW graduate student Ellie Terry recently examined what may happen to poverty rates in Washington State as a result of the Covid-19-related unemployment. In April, Washington\u2019s unemployment rate stood at 15.4%. If the relationship between poverty and unemployment maintains its recent historical relationship, this means that the state’s official poverty rate may soon stand at 15% with 3 in 10 Washingtonians falling below the broader poverty indicator favored by Governor Inslee\u2019s Poverty Reduction Work Group<\/a>. Read the full memo HERE.<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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WCPC Mini-Grant Awards Support Joint Academic-Practitioner Research Projects<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Recent collaborative mini-grant projects have included:<\/p>\n