New Survey Dedicated to Pinpointing Nebraska Poverty

By: Chad Silber - Email

Updated: Tue 5:47 PM, Mar 13, 2012

The Community Action Partnership is constantly trying to alleviate poverty in Nebraska.

Last year, 26,000 families asked them for financial support.

Now, they're sharing the results from a recent survey meant to pinpoint the heart of the problem.

The results of this survey are significant because they reveal the challenges Nebraskans face when it comes to money and being financially successful. They also reveal what's keeping Nebraskans from living a debt-free life.

The survey, sent to 10,000 Nebraska families, shows why they weren't able to get out of the financial hole. Topping that list were high utility bills, rent, transportation troubles and one of the biggest issues: Medical bills.

Roger Furrer is the Executive Director of Community Action of Nebraska. He says, "Families with children are spending a huge portion of their money, their daily income, on medical care, on dental care, on eyeglasses. It's one of the number one issues keeping people from making advances."

Through meetings with city leaders and State Senators, the hope is to provide services to help alleviate the problems for good.

Rev. Dwight Ford is the Executive Director of the Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership. He says, "They have an ideal of what self-sufficiency should look like and what they really want more than anything else is someone to hold the ladder while they continue to climb out of crisis."

Officials say it's about anticipating change and getting ahead of the curve.

"We want to have a campaign of financial education as well and we are able now to taylor-make our programming to fit the community needs," said Ford.

Officials with the Community Action Partnership say they aren't too surprised by the results of this survey, but they're now faced with the challenge of making the system better and, in turn, improving the lives of Nebraskans.

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