Whereas despite the United States being a Nation of great wealth, 17,300,000 people still lived in deep poverty in 2018; Whereas the definition of deep poverty is having an income below half the Federal poverty line (in 2018 that equated to $6,392 or less for a single person; $12,850 or less for a family of 4); Whereas deep poverty is caused in large part by a continued history of structural inequalities that deepen economic hardship and limit opportunity; Whereas Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinos (and Latinas) disproportionately experience deep poverty in the United States (and high rates of deep poverty are also found among people with disabilities, women (particularly women-headed households), children, young adults, and people experiencing homelessness); Whereas poverty is dehumanizing and physically and psychologically harmful to children and adults, with negative effects that accumulate over time; Whereas children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to experiencing deep poverty; Whereas, in 2017, over 30 percent of all children in the United States (5,900,000) and 8.9 percent of those age 65 and older (1,700,000) live in families experiencing deep poverty; Whereas exiting deep poverty is especially difficult because of extreme material hardship, social exclusion, and cumulative disadvantage, all of which compromise health and well-being, reduce opportunities and life chances, and heighten the likelihood of experiencing poverty that is extreme and chronic; Whereas people living in poverty are widely stereotyped as not working, when in fact many low-income people work but do not earn enough to move out of poverty; Whereas negative attitudes and beliefs about low-income people and communities result in stigma, decreased empathy, social and cognitive distancing from people experiencing poverty, and lower support for poverty alleviation programs and policies