Under The Alliance for Health Equity’s Community Voice Initiative, found here on our website, visitors can access data from our Community Report by category, including Health, Well-Being, Education, Housing, Economic Revitalization, and Employment. Breaking it down further, the current Employment Report in Coatesville targets specific workforce issues in the Greater Coatesville area, such as unemployment, living wage standards, and financial literacy. To inform local residents and the public, we are shining a spotlight on our findings and the steps we are taking to both address and overcome this ongoing hurdle.
Unemployment
In our recent blog article on poverty in America, we shared that the unemployment rate in our country was 3.5% in 2022, according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. This is slightly better than the 5% unemployment rate in years prior, due to recent government assistance fueled by the pandemic. Closer to home, our Employment Report shows that the percentage of unemployment varies among the cities and townships found within the Coatesville Area School District, ranging from less than 1% of residents in Thorndale on the low end of the spectrum, to over 8% of residents in Modena at the high end. In Coatesville, exactly 7.79% of the population are reported to be unemployed. This is well above the national average, as well as the averages in Chester County, the Philadelphia Metro Area, and the state of Pennsylvania as a whole. To access the complete data and a Census map, click here.
Living Wage & Financial Literacy
Per capita income in the city of Coatesville is $21,374. Citing our Employment Report, this equates to a wage of about $10 per hour. Looking at the MIT Living Wage Calculator, found here, an adult in Coatesville would have to earn between $17.87 and $59.73 an hour, depending on their number of children, in order to meet living wage standards. Only 47% of low-income earners are financially literate, and according to research found in the American Economic Review, financial literacy is strongly associated with wealth outcomes. Click here for more information and to access the full Employment Report on our website.
Collective Impact Initiative
Through our Collective Impact initiative, The Alliance for Health Equity is striving to help people live healthy and well by increasing employment, living wages, and housing stability for 18–24-year-old adult males and females of color living in Coatesville by 2026. Three primary goals were established to guide the work of the Coatesville Collective’s use of an evidenced-based model and tools.
The three primary goals are:
- Building community capacity to address homelessness and unemployment complexities among men and women of color aged between 18-24
- Creating iterative processes and feedback loops that facilitate integration and coordination of transparent cross-sector partnerships to leverage expertise, program and service delivery, and resources
- Developing a project management process
Implementation of The Collective Impact Initiative will focus on building capacity and setting strategic direction for Coatesville’s Collective with the intention to streamline, integrate, and reduce redundancy among service providers, by addressing the inequities within homelessness, unemployment, and case management services.
Let’s Talk Allyship: Community-Designed Solutions Challenge
For our Our Let’s Talk Allyship: Community-Designed Solutions Challenge, we are inviting the Greater Coatesville community to answer this question relating to employment: What is your idea(s) to give Greater Coatesville workers the support they need to earn higher wages and remain living in Greater Coatesville?
Financial awards range from $500 – $2,500 and will become available to the best presentations that will potentially be implemented by the government, the nonprofit sector, or the community.
Submission Deadlines are Jan. 20th, Feb. 17th, Mar. 17th, April. 21st, and May. 19th. Click here to learn more or to submit your ideas!
The Alliance for Health Equity (formerly Brandywine Health Foundation) is a philanthropic organization striving to advance a more equitable, resilient and healthy community for all residents of the Greater Coatesville area. We pursue our mission by providing grants and scholarships to local nonprofits and students that address health and economic disparities and social justice. We also build partnership programs and give voice to those often left out of community solution building to improve the overall health of their communities. 100% of contributions go directly to those in need.