Buffalo: The Nation's 4th Poorest City
Looks can be deceiving. Despite all of the waterfront development going on downtown, there are a growing number of Buffalonians who are not thinking about the next Canalside concert. Their conversations don’t include the towering cranes visible on Buffalo’s skyline. Instead of enjoying Food Truck Tuesday, they are standing in line at the soup kitchen.
According to the latest U.S. Census figures, only three other cities in America are poorer than the Queen City: Detroit, Cleveland and Rochester.
The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau also reveals that over 58,000 families live in Buffalo. Of those, more than 15,000 are living in poverty – that means 1 out of 4 families in Buffalo live in poverty.
In a segment titled "A look inside the 4th poorest U.S. city" WIVB shares a perspective that puts a face to those among us living in poverty.
In the video, we are introduced to Michael Morlock, a Buffalo resident and nursing school graduate, who is struggling to make ends meet and has found himself getting in line at soup kitchens and picking through canned items at local food panties.
As we revel in the excitement of a city currently amidst a "renaissance", let's not forget that a large segment of the population is feverishly awaiting for a good neighbor to lend a helping hand.
Social Media Commentary
Initial reaction to this story on social medial sites.
“The revitalization of the city of Buffalo has also caused an increase in rents in the downtown area. Unfortunately, wages have not increased at the same rate. The accompanying link on Buffalo being the 4th most dangerous city comes as no surprise. It’s a catch 22 situation.”
“Thank God for food banks and food pantries, but the problems are so much more deeply rooted.. how many of these people would love to find a job but have no knowledge of how to use a computer.. how many have no computer... have no internet.. have no marketable skills or simply give up when they find it takes 4 hours to fill out an on-line application? I’m all for technology, but the days of being able to walk into a place of business, fill out an application and leave hopeful is all but obsolete. My husband manages a local retail pharmacy.. not only did they take away his paper applications, the on-line process has now been out sourced. Should he need to hire someone, it might take him 2 or more months for this out source company to even set up an interview for him. This may not be relevant to your blog, but we’re in real trouble here.”
“I wish the people would wake up and take their blinders off to see the reality! What is not being done is devastating all of us! When anyone speaks against those in office...their voices are taken away. They may take it away now but, they all have one Less VOTE!!!!! WAKE UP BUFFALO!”
“Every time I hear this I cry because it is so true and then I read people post and sticking up for part of the problem yes jobs r coming but they r mostly for the higher degrees sorry this is buffalo there r a lot of people I know who didn’t even make it out of high school. Then u have places that use temp places where every 90 days they switch people so they don’t have to hire them or the part time only places. We need more of hire from your own community business and don’t hire because I back u or u scratch my back I will help u. It is time to wake up and tell buffalo don’t bring people from out of state to hire start hiring people from wny.”