10:30am | A community forum and briefing on the state of the recession and its effect on the working poor in Long Beach will be held from 3:00-5:00pm this Friday at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
The meeting will be based on statistics from recent census reports that showed over 40% of the Long Beach population lived in economic hardship in 2009. More than one in four full-time workers in the city lived below twice the federal poverty level.
The community forum, entitled “The Great Recession and Poverty in Long Beach” and completely open to the public, will use the census data as background but will focus mainly on stories and personal testimony from community residents who want to share their experiences. There will also be a discussion on the impacts of poverty on children.
The event is co-hosted by the Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community and the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, with support from the California Endowment.
“Nearly 26% of all full-time workers living in Long Beach earn less than $25,000 a year,” said Gary Hytrek, Professor of Sociology at CSULB and a Coalition member. “The Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community is working with community partners to ensure a sustained recovery built on a foundation of good jobs created by responsible development that will share our prosperity throughout all of Long Beach.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Park is located at 1950 Lemon Avenue. There is no need to RSVP if you are interested in attending.