UTICA/ROME (WKTV) - The Utica-Rome area has a higher poverty rate than the national average according to the US Census Bureau.  That may sound discouraging, but local organizations are working to reduce the number of people living in poverty.

Ed Harvey has lived on Utica's west side for his entire life.  He says he's seen the area fall into a downward spiral because of poverty.  "Everywhere you look, there's homeless people sitting on the curb, sitting on stoops," Harvey said.  "Nobody cares about these people."

It is not just West Utica.  Throughout the Utica-Rome area more than 38,000 people are living below the poverty line.  That's almost 14% of our population.  In real dollars, that means a family of four is making $21,000 a year collectively.
 
Diane DiMeo of Catholic Charities says there are many faces of poverty.  "It's not just an urban situation, it's also a rural," DiMeo said.  "Many times it's people who are working, maybe multiple jobs. Oftentimes its single parents and then on the other end of the spectrum, we do see an increasing need by senior citizens."

That's why Catholic Charities nationwide has launched a campaign to slash the poverty rate in half by 2020.  There are plans in place to meet both short-term needs and to provide long-term assistance with things like literacy.

But Ed Harvey says that's just not enough.  "I still live in the ghetto," Harvey said.  "The west side is turning into the ghetto, and there's nothing for us anywhere."