The number of Philadelphians living in poverty in 2007 was 333,142, a 23.8 percent rate. The number in 2010 was 397,083, for the nearly 27 percent rate.
The hike last year was particularly steep. "A 1.7 percent increase from 25 percent to 26.7 percent poverty may not sound like a lot, but that's nearly 23,000 more children, parents, brothers, and sisters struggling to get by each and every day," said Kathy Fisher of Philadelphia's Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
Wary that legislators are considering cutting some programs that aid the poor, Fisher added, "Congress should consider [the 23,000] before making vast and steep cuts that will make their climb out of poverty even harder. Our city's economy won't fully recover if we leave more than a quarter of our people behind."
Making the Philadelphia numbers worse is the prospect of a continuing dismal outlook.
"There's nothing mitigating long-term trends," said David Elesh, urban sociologist at Temple University. "Without significant job growth, the poverty rate will not improve."
Elesh added that people were running out of resources, including unemployment insurance and savings. Eviction or foreclosure often follow.
"The saddest thing I've heard people tell me is, 'This is the last time you'll see me, they're taking my house,' " said Linda Freeman, director of the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in Prospect Park, Delaware County. The pantry fed 13,000 people last year, and will feed 15,000 by the end of this year, Freeman said.
The numbers - Freeman's and the census' - represent real people in deep trouble.
"I'm very stressed," said Nadina Patterson, 61, a divorced South Philadelphia mother of two grown children.
She was laid off from her job as a receptionist in a social service agency and is now clinging to part-time work. "I'm looking for jobs, and looking, and looking, and it's not happening," Patterson said. "Two or three years ago, I could find a new job in three months. But this is a different story.
"Doors close on me all the time. At this point, I'm very scared."
Contact staff writer Alfred Lubrano at 215-854-4969 or alubrano@phillynews.com.
