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Monday, October 20, 2025

New proposals, plans to help impoverished citizens

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I have made it no secret that my mother had me at the age of 16.  Growing up in Columbus, I watched my mother struggle as she worked two, sometimes three jobs in order to ensure that my younger brother and I had everything we needed.  My mother was a fighter and she worked hard. She always made sure we had a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and trust me when I say we had our fair share of toys. It wasn’t easy and heaven knows the odds were not in her favor but my mother – Nessa – as she is affectionately known, worked hard, and I never wanted for anything. So imagine my shock after leaving home for college when I found out we were poor. 

My situation is not unique. On any given day, on any given street, you will find or overhear a similar version of an impoverished upbringing story. The characters may change but the ending is the same. We have all heard that children born into poverty are destined to grow up and live in poverty. The story goes on to say so will their children and their children’s children. Some people believe it’s generational. We’ve all seen the data. But my story flipped the data. While I grew up poor, my mother vowed the cycle would end with me. For as long as I can remember my mother always told me I was called to do great things – and I believed her.  She lit a fire in my soul that inspired me to aim high and to use my childhood as source of inspiration.

Although I was able to break the cycle of poverty in my family, there are many who cannot.  I’ve spent my entire career advocating for families in our city who can barely make ends meet. Indianapolis, labeled as the “Crossroads of America” is experiencing one of the largest economic development growth periods in our history yet 20.8 percent of Marion County residents live below the poverty line compared to 14.5 percent across the state?  In my opinion this is unacceptable. And you know what else? Spoiler alert! Poverty discriminates!

Don’t believe me? Let’s talk numbers. Of the 27.8 percent of African-Americans living in our community 21.7 percent are more than likely to live in poverty along with 35.7 percent of our Latino families. We have a child poverty rate of 32.2 percent in Marion County alone. With numbers like these the handwriting is on the wall. The cycle of poverty is more than likely to severely impact Indianapolis’ next generation if we don’t take the time now to put in place measures to combat this issue. 

If this doesn’t convince you that we have a problem with poverty in our community let me share a little more information with you, 10 percent of employed residents live below the poverty level. That means there are a large number of families living within Marion County that can be defined as “the working poor”.  Just over four out of ten Marion County residents (42.3 percent) live below economic self-sufficiency, meaning they don’t earn enough to afford life’s basic costs, such as food, housing, childcare, transportation, etc.  

According to the Indiana Institute for Working Families 2016 Self-Sufficiency Standard Report a single adult in Marion County needs to earn about $10 per hour to meet their basic needs.  A household with one adult and one school-aged teenager needs to earn at least $16 per hour. A household with one adult and one preschooler needs to earn a little over $19 per hour.  These are just households with one parent and one child. What happens to this number in larger households? You do the math.

Look, I grew up poor. I do not need to be schooled on the term “poverty” or what it means to live paycheck-to-paycheck.  I remember using a real paper food stamp before the EBT card. So, trust me when I say, I get it.

This is why when Vice President Adamson, Chairman Robinson Chairman Osili and Councillor Evans approached me about a conversation involving paying a livable wage for our city-county employees I was more than ready to take a seat at the table. More importantly, I was ready to act!

We knew this would be a hot topic because if there is one thing I have learned over time, we elected folks love two things – statistics and a great debate (myself included)! 

Last week with much excitement we introduced Proposal 92, which raises the starting wage for all city-county jobs to $13.00 per hour.  The Proposal will positively impact the lives of 365 of our employees.  Now we recognize that $13.00 an hour is not the silver bullet. But it’s a start. It’s a start that we believe will place our city-county employees on a path to self-sufficiency.

Isn’t that what we want for our fellow brothers and sisters? The opportunity to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and live the American Dream?  Well, I’m hear to tell you the $9.45 an hour which is what many of those employees are earning makes the American Dream more like a nightmare.

The time has come and we must make a change. I want to invite you to join in the conversation and follow Proposal 92 through the system.  Next stop: Rules and Public Policy Committee Hearing on Tuesday, May 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the City-County Building, Room 260.

Let the debate begin! 

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