DATA & DEFINITIONS

MOUNTAIN LIFEWORKS believes meaningful communication must take place before difference making actions can be undertaken. Data shows depression (a mental illness) and poverty (a cost-of-living condition) are the two most common factors cited in over 50% of all suicides. Research identifies needs and measures results, but data can be interpreted in different ways. Influences like periods of high inflation and communities with a higher cost-of-living exacerbate these challenges. That means the cost-of-living contributes to the poverty-depression cycle in a community by requiring a greater median income to afford a basic standard of living.

Understanding Disabilities

According to the CDC almost 26% of Americans (61 million) have at least one disability. Data also shows in all 50 states the poverty rate is higher among families with a member with a disability than among families without. Disabilities impact 1 in 4 women, 2 in 5 adults 65 and over... that includes 20.1% or 851,596 adults over 18 in Colorado. Over 90% of disabilities are hidden, meaning individuals do not display observable symptoms or use obvious assistive devices like a wheelchair, cane, etc.

The definition of disability under the ADA is as follows: An individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; Has a record of such an impairment; or Is regarded as having such an impairment.

SOURCE: Disability Impacts All of Us Infographic | CDC

SOURCE: Disability & Health U.S. State Profile Data: Colorado | CDC

DEFINING poverty   

How Is Poverty Defined? In the United States, being in poverty is officially defined as having an income below a federally determined poverty threshold. Poverty thresholds were developed in the 1960s and are adjusted annually to account for inflation. They represent the Federal Government’s estimate of the point below which a family of a given size has cash income insufficient to meet basic needs. Any family/individual with total income less than an amount deemed to be sufficient to purchase food, shelter, clothing, and other essential goods and services is classified as poor. 

Relative poverty is present when household income is lower than median income. Thus, higher cost-of-living and higher median income levels, the level at which a household can be considered to be in a state of relative poverty are also higher. Those who fall into relative poverty are not necessarily deprived of all basic needs, but may not experience the same standard of living as the majority of their community.

Absolute poverty occurs when household income is below a defined level, thereby preventing members of that household from meeting their basic needs: safe drinking water, food, housing, healthcare, education, and so forth.

SOURCE: USDA ERS - Rural Poverty & Well-Being

SOURCE: Relative Poverty - Intelligent Economist

DEFINING the urban-rural gap  

The higher cost-of-living, substance abuse rates and isolation in resort communities can trigger the poverty-depression cycle exacerbating mental health conditions and fueling suicide rates. MOUNTAIN LIFEWORKS believes a balanced approach addresses both the root causes and the symptoms of the poverty-depression cycle by complementing existing systems with data centric expertise and solutions. Understanding that rural is defined by population density not geography is critical to addressing the local poverty-depression cycle.

Urban Area Delineation Criteria

The Census Bureau defines urban areas primarily based on housing unit density measured at the census block-level of geography. Three housing unit densities are used in the delineation—425 housing units per square mile (HPSM) to identify the initial core of urban block agglomerations and the cores of noncontiguous peripheral urban territory; 200 HPSM to expand the urban block agglomerations into less dense, but structurally connected portions of urban areas; and 1,275 HPSM to identify the presence of higher-density territory representing the urban nucleus.

The term “rural” encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.