Findings | Sunlight Giving

housing stability

Nearly half of the estimated 365,000 households who left the Bay for the Central Valley between 2010 and 2016 earned less than $50,000 a year

economic opportunity

Low-income families in the United States tend to live in neighborhoods that offer limited opportunities for upward income mobility.

economic opportunity

Almost 20% of Californians lack enough resources to meet basic needs. Another one in five live very close to the poverty line.

Almost 20% of Californians lack enough resources to meet basic needs. Another one in five live very close to the poverty line

housing stability

“Adults and children in families make up about 33 percent of the homeless population.”

National Alliance to End Homelessness

safe spaces

“In a family with two working parents earning low wages, each parent would have to work 147 hours per week to avoid paying more than the federally recommended 7% of income on the cost of child care for their infant.”

The High Cost of Child Care Underscores the Need for Supporting Families With Children of All Ages

family support

Given the rise in the suburbanization of poverty, there is an increased need for inter‐jurisdictional coordination and capacity building among suburban nonprofits and foundations.

Suburbanization of Poverty in the Bay Area

housing stability

Since 2000, rents have risen while the number of renters needing affordable housing has increased. These two pressures make finding affordable housing even tougher for America’s poorest households.

Rental Housing Crisis

safe spaces

“Parents and caregivers are a child’s first exposure to the world around them. The quality of relationships between children and their parents and caregivers, and the environment in which those relationships develop, play a significant role in a child’s cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development.”

Essentials for Childhood: Creating Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments 

family support

Making Ends Meet is an interactive tool that shows the cost of supporting a family in different parts of the state.

Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Support a Family in California? 

housing stability

“[P]ublic investment in housing—including housing for homeless families and rental assistance for food-insecure families—improves the health outcomes of vulnerable infants and young children and lowers health care spending.”

Housing As A Health Care Investment

safe spaces

“In California, roughly 80 percent of young children ages birth to two and 40 percent of children ages birth to five are cared for by informal caregivers.”

Informal Child Care in California: Current Arrangements and Future Needs 

food security

One in six children in the U.S. live in food insecure households. In California, nearly one in five children are food insecure.

Map the Meal Gap 2018: Child Food Insecurity

housing stability

Investment in homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing programs and new housing opportunities stabilizes families and has cost savings.

Cost of Homelessness in the USA

safe spaces

“Play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood.”

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bond: Focus on Children in Poverty 

food security

"More than 1 of every 10 people in the Bay Area today are hungry."

Hidden Hunger: How Families Slip Through

health care access

1 in 2 children in California get health care through Medicaid. Medicaid allows 4.63 million Californian kids -- who would not otherwise have access to health care -- to see doctors when they get sick and to get the vaccinations and screenings they need to stay healthy.

Medicaid Works in California 

safe spaces

“The neighborhood context, in conjunction with other factors, such as child characteristics, parenting, and family resources, matters to the well-being of developing children.”

A Review of Neighborhood Effects and Early Child Development: How, Where, and for Whom, Do Neighborhoods Matter?

food security

In 2015, CalFresh moved roughly 800,000 Californians out of poverty.

Just the Facts: The CalFresh Food Assistance Program

health care access

"When everyone has the security that health insurance provides, our communities are stronger and our future is brighter."

A Golden Opportunity: California Celebrates Historic Rates Of Children's Health Coverage

family support

“When parents identify, seek, and receive respectful and timely concrete support in times of need, this helps to ensure they and their children receive the basic necessities everyone deserves in order to grow [. . .]”

The Strengthening Families Approach and Protective Factors Framework: Branching Out and Reaching Deeper

food security

Poverty, food insecurity, and poor nutrition have serious detrimental impacts on the health, development, and well-being of infants and young children in the short and long terms.

The Importance of the Federal Nutrition Programs for Infants and Toddlers

health care access

1 out of 6 Californians are served by community health centers

Community Health Center Data and Reports, California Primary Care Association

family support

In the absence of social safety net programs, it is estimated that the [2013-15] child poverty rate would have been 14 percentage points higher [from 23%] and the deep poverty rate 13 percentage points higher [from 5%] during this period.

Children in Poverty - California Poverty Measure, by Age Group (California Only)

food security

Participation in the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) leads to healthier babies, more nutritious diets for families, better health care for children, and higher academic achievement for students.

WIC Works

health care access

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." - Martin Luther King, Jr. in a speech to the Medical Committee for Human Rights, 1966

Think Cultural Health

family support

Safety net programs generally supplement earnings to help families avoid severe economic need. These programs—which include cash assistance, nutrition assistance, housing subsidies, and low-income tax credits—make up 44 percent of poor families’ resources statewide and substantially mitigate poverty.

Geography of Child Poverty in California

Reproductive Health

Explore data on women’s progress relating to reproductive rights in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States