Lake County at the Center of National Suburban Poverty Trend

"Truly amazing" is how I'd characterize our event last Tuesday with Dr. Scott Allard, Brookings Institution senior fellow, Associate Professor at the University of Chicago and author of the book "Out of Reach."

We hosted him at the beautiful Glen Rowen House at Lake Forest College for a wide-ranging conversation on suburban poverty, its impact on the most vulnerable residents in our community and what The Lake County Community Foundation is doing to meet their many needs.

Please read our full recap of Dr. Allard's enlightening presentation here and take a look at our pictures from the day here there are many eye-opening points that he made.

We at the Foundation can add three significant points to this conversation.

First is that we simply cannot overstate the importance of understanding the suburbanization of poverty and how it plays itself out in Lake County.

According to the Social IMPACT Research Center at Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, in 1990, about one-third of the Chicago region's poor population lived in the suburbs. By 2011, the share of the region's poor population living in the suburbs grew to half, meaning nearly equal numbers of people experiencing poverty live in the suburbs as in Chicago.

Second is that we are already making tremendous progress in addressing the needs of the county through our grant-making activities and through our work to help bring The Alliance for Human Services to life. But also, as Dr. Allard pointed out, through our work as a convener of traditionally siloed services and entities -- we are making multi-sector approaches to our issues a reality.

Third is that we are still just beginning. The Lake County Community Foundation will continue to bring leaders from all walks of life together to educate them on needs, work together towards solutions and, eventually, celebrate successes.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to be a part of these solutions and, in the meantime, please visit us at http://www.lakecountycf.org to learn more about what we're doing.

About The Lake County Community Foundation

Since 2003, The Lake County Community Foundation, an affiliate of The Chicago Community Trust, has partnered with donors to leverage and guide their philanthropy to help transform the lives of the most vulnerable people across our county. Together, we have contributed over $2.5 million to 80 nonprofit organizations that support basic human needs, community development, education and health throughout Lake County. By connecting the generosity of donors across Lake County with the most pressing needs of the community, we ensure that our county thrives today and for generations to come.

GROWING PHILANTHROPY, BUILDING COMMUNITY