14.3% of the general population were considered poor in 2009. In 2008 over 15,000 children under the age of 18 were considered poor. Over the course of the last 70 years the poverty rate has gone done, but during that time the government, state and local, have put into place a number of programs to assist those in need. For instance, many churches and rec centers double as homeless shelters in the evenings, food stamps allow those with low income to buy necessary food and household items, and community service creates the help these people need to run the programs they depend on. Renew Civilization is a site that covers all of these programs, the effect on it’s participants, and the budget money the government has to offer.