HEIGHT: a novel households expenses and income gap tool

Currently, the federal poverty line (FPL), which is used to determine eligibility for an array of assistance programs, is based on a set of factors that do not include critical elements that people now consider to be basic needs. The parameters to identify the FPL are not updated regularly, so we find a gap in assistance available for people who are currently considered the working poor. Living costs across the cities and regions of Arizona have increased significantly in the last decade. Families who belong to disadvantaged groups are finding it hard to stay afloat in these times. Governments often try to capture poverty based on cost of food alone. We need to consider a whole host of factors — housing, food, health care, child care, transportation, internet access — to determine what it really costs to live in Arizona and to accurately measure poverty.

Ronceria Ceballos created a tool that provides a more accurate snapshot of what the actual cost of living is compared to average earnings. To do so, she brought together datasets from sources like the US Census Bureau, the Council for Community & Economic Research, Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research, and the AZ Department of Economic Security to build a comprehensive index of living costs. She then designed an initial dashboard to visualize the data for eventual public use, to help individuals, communities, and policymakers determine a robust way of measuring the extent of poverty and hardship faced by local communities in Arizona. Knowing the gap between actual income needs and FPL definitions will allow state and philanthropic funders to make better decisions around funding, program development, service, and resource offerings.

We have not been telling the whole, or full, story when it comes to the true cost of living and who can actually be considered to be living in poverty. Since so much in terms of funding and resource allocation is based on the FPL, we have many individuals and families who aren't able to access certain types of help, who really should be able to. When funders, donors, and local governments can see an accurate snapshot of this gap, there is a greater chance of shrinking these gaps with targeted outreach and support. Ronceria Ceballos hopes this project will help inform funding decisions and program development by nonprofit, government, and for-profit entities. 

She notes that her project will have a significant impact on communities and potentially help shape new conversations around economic resilience. The ripple effects of people not having enough money to cover their basic needs mean there is greater stress on communities, families, and public institutions to help shore up these needs. When we are able to see, through data, how many of our citizens are actually in need of support to bridge current living costs with wages, then we can make stronger arguments and connections for specific outreach to shrink these gaps.