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Penny Rich One in five North Carolina families earn too little to afford life's essentials and move up the economic ladder. Orange County, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in our region, has 15.5% of people living below the poverty level (Chapel Hill 23.1 %), with our children hit hard at 13.4 %. Many factors contribute to poverty: racial discrimination in education, jobs, housing and the criminal justice system are a factor, as well as government policies that disproportionately impact the poor. Some of these policies are implemented at the county level, such as urban and housing renewal policies that result in the poor paying greater portions of their income for substandard housing. Orange County is tackling the problem of poverty head on. Some of the tools we are using are: 1. Living Wage In 2015, Orange county commissioners approved a living wage of $12.76 for all county employees regardless of job status (full time, part time and seasonal employees). I led the collaboration with the non - profit "Orange County Living Wage Project" to recognize and certify Orange County as a Living Wage Employer, and encouraged our municipalities and schools to become certified as well. OCLWP encourages local business to pay the current living wage and has certified 53 businesses that do so (http: / /www.oran eg countylivingwage.org /certified_emplo_yers). It is important that Orange County lead by example, as the county government, both school systems, local governments and the university system are the largest employers in the county. I believe we can take this one step further by implementing a "fair housing wage" for all Orange County employees, which would provide the opportunity for county employees to live in Orange County. 2. HOME Consortium This program allows local governments to partner when applying for funding for affordable housing. The 2015 -2020 plan includes strategies to expand the supply of quality housing, increase housing choices, ensure equal opportunity, and enforce the "Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance" by investigating housing discrimination cases. While discussing the 2016 Bond Referendum, I insisted that we include funding for Affordable Housing. This was an uphill battle, but I did not let up and ultimately convinced my colleagues to include a 5 million dollar allocation. Although this is a small amount compared to the size of the problem, every dollar helps. 3. Work First This program provides temporary assistance to help individuals move off welfare and into jobs. It provides employment services and support services along with some funding for families with children under the age of 18. The county works with local business and Durham Technical Community College to identify possible employment opportunities and assist applicants with the application process. 4. Family Success Alliance This program is relatively new to our county that came out a long discussion about poverty in our 2013 commissioner retreat. The goal of the program is to improve a child's chance for educational and economic success by applying evidence -based programs, services and a support systems from cradle to career, and to to end the school -to- prison pipeline. We have identified two "zones" in the county to pilot the program: Zone 4 in central Orange, and Zone 6 that covers downtown Chapel Hill to Hwy 54. A representative from each zone serves on the FSA council, taking an active