Did you know that nearly 9 percent of Utahns live in poverty? That’s 279,435 people, including 88,324 children. These are people whose annual income is below the poverty threshold set by the government: a yearly income of $25,926 or less for a family of four in Utah. In Utah County, 9.7 percent of residents are living in poverty. For Wasatch and Summit counties, those numbers are 5 and 4.7 percent.
Chances are that, unless you’ve lived in poverty, you don’t really understand it. That’s why Community Action Services offers a monthly class—Bridges Out of Poverty—so people can learn about and understand poverty. Keep reading to find out more about the course and why you should attend.