Please visit the official Pima county page here!
The Prosperity Initiative is a regional partnership working to reduce generational poverty. Our vision is that every child in every community of Pima County reach adulthood with the skills, tools, and resources for economic stability. The goal of the Initiative is to help individuals break the cycle of poverty by using evidence-based approaches.
Generational poverty occurs when children who grow up in families with incomes below or near the poverty line continue to experience low-income status into adulthood. Research shows that certain practices and investments not only assist those in poverty, but also reduce costs to the overall community. The first phase of the initiative included research on evidence-based practices applicable at the city, town and county level, which Pima County and the City of Tucson then adopted as a series of policies to guide future decisions of the Board of Supervisors and Mayor and Council. This first phase included input from all of the cities and towns in Pima County, and more than 180 meetings with non-profit, education, business and faith-based organizations, and those with lived experience.
The Prosperity Initiative focuses on addressing the underlying factors (“root causes”) of poverty, and is intentionally focused on removing unfair barriers. That focus directs our efforts toward families who are living in high-poverty, low-opportunity areas.
For any questions, contact, Helen Schaffer, Helen.Schaffer@pima.gov.