FromHardship
to Hope

With the newest data available to us, we know that 1 in 4 people – or 331,000 people in our 7-county region – are living in poverty or are facing hardship. They struggle to afford just the basics needed: food, housing, transportation, child care, and education.

There are an additional 154,000 individuals that live well above the poverty level but still have to make unimaginable choices between food on the table or prescriptions, gas in the tank or utility bills, going to the doctor or Wi-Fi for kids to do their homework. These are people we see every day: baristas, servers, cooks, delivery drivers, bank tellers, child care workers, and more.

In all, that’s 39% or almost 2 in 5 households in our seven-county region that are living in poverty or working, yet still struggle to afford basic necessities.

That’s where Metro United Way’s Hardship to Hope effort comes in.

Help us lift our neighbors from hardship to hope by raising $75 million by 2030 to ensure all kids and families have what they need so that we have thriving kids, strong households, and an equitable community.