Our Community's Neediest Citizens
William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, dedicated his life to helping individuals who were considered outcasts of society - the homeless, the hungry, the poor and the destitute. In England, where Booth started his work, he described the population of those living in poverty as the "Submerged Tenth" because the actual number represented 10-percent of the country's population - a number he said was "scandalously high." This segment of the population, Booth contended, was nominally free but actually enslaved.
The U.S. Census Bureau's latest estimate indicates that Dallas County has a poverty population of 276,124, which is 14-percent of the county's total population. The Bureau speculates that this number could be as high as 330,377, meaning that as many as 16.7-percent of people in Dallas County could be living in poverty.
If you accept William Booth's conclusion that one-tenth of the population living in poverty is scandalously high, what phrase should be used to describe nearly 17-percent? Booth also asked whether the Submerged Tenth of the population was beyond the reach of the nine-tenths of the people in the midst of whom they live. Certainly, The Salvation Army believes that individuals and families in our midst who are living in destitution and poverty can be reached and redeemed.
The Army offers a wide array of programs and services in the greater Dallas area to address the real and material needs of our community's neediest citizens.
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