Far too many people in California and across the nation live in poverty.

That’s the message being carried by two dozen bicyclists on a cross-country quest this summer to put the brakes on poverty.

The first official stop on their two-month journey was in Sacramento June 2-3, where they challenged people to think about poverty, talk about it and take action to eliminate it.

“Every 53 minutes in the United States a child dies from causes related to poverty. We need to do everything in our power to change that,” said John Molineaux of St. Ambrose Parish in Cheverly, Md., one of the bicyclists who spoke to about 100 people gathered at St. Anthony Parish in Sacramento June 2.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty program, is sponsoring the 3,838-mile “Brake the Cycle of Poverty” trip. The ride began in San Francisco June 1 will end in Washington, D.C. Aug. 1.

Riders range in age from 19 to 72 and include students, teachers, a seminarian, executives, retirees and two CCHD staff members.

The riders will participate in poverty education programs along their route, such as those at St. James Parish in Davis June 1 and at St. Anthony. The riders spent the evening with host families from each parish. One St. Anthony parishioner, Rich Fowler, was riding with the bicyclists as far as Utah.

Fowler, director of social ministry for the Diocese of Stockton, said he was participating because poverty “is still a reality in this country, and we don’t talk much about it.”

The local programs, hosted by parishes, schools and dioceses, will be aimed at helping people understand the causes and effects of poverty in the United States and promoting permanent solutions to break the cycle of poverty.

Mary Wright, organizer of the bike tour for CCHD and one of the cyclists, told St Anthony parishioners that although the participants are a mix of ages and backgrounds, “we all share one thing in common — our passion for educating people about solutions to poverty and injustice in America.”

Wright provided materials from CCHD detailing the extent of poverty based on the latest U.S. Census figures. Among the statistics:

ï Some 33 million people in the country live in poverty.

ï One in 10 families, one in eight Americans and one in six children live in poverty.

ï Every 43 seconds a child is born into poverty.

ï While the poverty threshold for a family of four is $18,250, most researchers agree that a basic family budget for a two-parent, two-child family ranges from $27,005 a year to $52,114, depending on the community.

On the steps of the state Capitol June 3, Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand and Stockton Bishop Stephen E. Blaire joined the cyclists for a press conference and then rode with them a short distance as they began their journey east.

Bishop Weigand said the percentage of Californians living in poverty — 13.1 percent — is higher than the national average of 11.7 percent.

Of the 20 counties in the Diocese of Sacramento, 13 have poverty rates higher than the statewide average, he said, and Sacramento County has one of the higher proportions of children in poverty of any county in the state.

“Something about the state of poverty is the same no matter where one looks ñ far too many people are living in it,” he said.

He said a typical Sacramento family of three, with a mother working at a full-time job with a living wage of $12 per hour, will still have a deficit at the end of the month for basic necessities.

“Which of these expenses should this mother cut?” he asked. “Health care, leaving her children uninsured? Child care, leaving her children unsupervised after school? Rent, leaving her family homeless?”

To survive, more of these families are relying on local social service agencies and churches, “which are trying desperately to provide a safety net under them,” the bishop said. “Emergency shelters are housing more and more working families. A local church which allows people to sleep on its steps reports that as many as half of those people are working.”

Bishop Blaire noted that in San Joaquin County, the largest in the Diocese of Stockton, about 150,000 people, or 25 percent, have no health insurance. They are among 7 million Californians without health coverage.

“It’s important to speak about the statistics and facts of poverty, or it’s possible to lose contact with this reality,” he said. “We as a church can do more to assist local communities to address the issue of poverty. I hope this ride will help to stir people’s consciences to action.”

During its 32-year history, CCHD has provided $260 million to fund more than 4,000 programs nationwide that help create jobs, improve neighborhoods, improve access to health care and allow people to find a permanent way out of poverty.

Beth White, associate director for social service ministry and CCHD coordinator for the Diocese of Sacramento, said four faith-based community organizations are currently funded by CCHD in the diocese, working with low-income people on affordable housing, access to child care and health care, and neighborhood development.

White, joined by Father Robert Vitello, CCHD executive director, toured one CCHD-funded project June 2, where members of St. Joseph Parish in Sacramento and Sacramento Area Congregations Together are transforming an illegal dumping site into a community garden.

The bicyclists are riding “for the millions of people in the United States who live in poverty, which is a scandal,” Father Vitello said. “Catholics believe that all persons have a right to human dignity. We hope that our overall mission may some day be realized — that no one will live in poverty.”

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