Latinos are a large part of Dallas’ growing poverty problem
*In Dallas, Texas, Latinos are 40 percent of the population, and 52 percent of the city’s poor. The city’s Mayor has formed a task force that, as Mercedes Olivera tells us, is trying to tackle this problem by suggesting a holistic, inter-governmental approach that involves everyone. VL
By Mercedes Olivera, Dallas Morning News
Construction cranes are everywhere in Dallas — a clear sign of growth, as office buildings and new homes go up all over the area.
But a more insidious growth is also occurring: poverty.
[pullquote][tweet_dis]Nearly 90 percent of DallaS ISD’s overall student population is on the free or reduced lunch program.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]And it’s not slowing down.
Dallas has the highest rate of children’s poverty among U.S. cities of 1 million or more residents. And Latinos, who tend to have larger families than any other group, represent the largest percentage of those poor — more than 52 percent.
Latinos now make up more than 40 percent of the city’s population. They go where the jobs are — in the construction, hospitality and restaurant industries. As a result, they live all over Dallas.
Ominous signs have been developing for a decade.
Since 2000, the Latino population has increased 22 percent. But the number of Hispanics living in poverty jumped more than 50 percent in the same period.
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[Photo by Bjorn/Flickr]
