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You stumble through darkness and step into a cold shower. Getting dressed, you realize you have no clean socks. The fridge is empty. Your kid needs bigger jeans. Your email won't come through on your cell, and you can't get your mind off the phone bill due date you blew last week. The trip to work takes longer than it should and, as usual, you won't make it home for dinner tonight. Rough day.

Now put that scenario on replay and you'll have some idea of what life near the poverty line is like.

The Basics

It can take jumping through hoops to put food on the table, and low-income families often do without toiletries, furniture, or a car as well. Other necessities can be equally difficult to come by, such as a health-care plan, gas or electricity to heat your place, internet so you can check in with your child's teacher or apply for a weekend job, an accessible washing machine that works. Keeping yourself and your children in underclothes is a question of, "How?"

Studies show that parents with limited household incomes often worry about their kids having enough socks and underwear to get through the week, and that kids who don't have proper clothing to wear are more likely to refuse to go to school. Add a likelihood that these kids won't have warm coats, sneakers, toothpaste or public transportation passes, and it's easy to understand why low-income kids often have poor attendance rates at school.

Heat or Eat

Parents tend to put their kids' needs first, but larger concerns loom, and utilities rate high among them. Families fighting to make ends meet may have one mobile phone to cover all of their communications needs. Some live in darkness after sundown. Some have to choose whether to "heat or eat."

Research from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health focuses on the concept of "energy insecurity," in which people exist in the cold or dark, suffer constant stress over utility bills, and live in fear of the shutoff. The lack of resources to cover energy costs can lead to the breakdown of mental and physical health, according to the research. In 2017, the Salvation Army provided energy assistance to 153,593 families.

When Finding a Job is a Job

For families between jobs, a seemingly unending cycle can develop. The lack of income from a job results in a lack of financial resources to pay for services like childcare. Without reliable childcare in place, parents find it difficult leave home for skills training or job interviews. The Salvation Army assists families like the Joneses, seen in the video below, determine the steps they need to take toward securing employment that will lead to more financial security.

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A Place to Lay Your Head

Of course, just waking up in your own bed in the morning puts you among the lucky. For families that are just scraping by, finding—and keeping—a roof to sleep under can be near impossible. "The stress and the panic you hear in a mother's voice when she says, 'We've just been evicted'—it's terrible," says Lt. Colonel Ron Busroe, the Salvation Army's National Community Relations and Development Secretary.

What if you had no place to go? A study by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness released in October 2017 counted a record number of 140,000 New York City students who have been homeless. Other ICPH data shows staggering numbers of kids on the street nationwide. "Children need a sense of order in their lives," Busroe says. "Being homeless makes providing that difficult, if not impossible." So far in 2017, The Salvation Army has provided housing assistance to nearly 50,000 families nationwide.

In the U.S., 43.1 million people live in poverty. Another 60 million are a crisis away from joining them. "Children born in poverty are 32 percent more likely to end up living in poverty," Busroe says. "The Salvation Army is working tirelessly to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty."

The Salvation Army fights for people in need through shelter and employment programs, meal assistance and access to the necessities they require most, including energy, medical care and clothing. The organization supported more than 24 million people last year. Your donations help The Salvation Army continue to fight for good in every zip code in America.