ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – A new report from Washington University in St. Louis says that major differences in education and poverty levels in St. Louis cost the region $3.3 billion. The study says one in six deaths among African-American adults in 2011 was due to poverty and lack of education. Researchers say the loss of potential and life are factors that threaten global competitiveness.
The study says that in the last decade conditions have improved in the region. Access to healthcare is a major factor in these improvements. But, the study recommends public policy changes that would help the area’s African American population improve their well being. Some of these changes include reversing cuts to early childhood education, relaxing eligibility requirements for childcare subsidies for low-income families and expanding home visitation services for children.
This is the first in a group of five studies. They are about the well-being of African-American in St. Louis. The release coincides with the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s, “I have Dream” speech. King gave the speech during in the 1963 March on Washington, D.C.
Read the full study here: “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African-American in St. Louis”
