The situation in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas caused by Hurricanes Katrina & Rita have put a stark face on issues of poverty in our country.

As disaster struck the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed in alarming detail that poverty in the United States not only exists but is growing.  The annual report, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004 stated that 37.0 million people live in poverty (12.7 percent) in 2004, up from 35.9 million (12.5 percent) in 2003.  These numbers are particularly painful and challenging as the nation responds to those most affected by the recent devastating hurricanes.

There is much work to be done. Episcopalians have long done their part to serve the least among us, but government must be a partner in that effort, now more than ever.