FOX Reporter Ti-Hua Chang explores Asian Americans and poverty in New York City. This report boggles our minds. When you think Asian Americans you tend to think model minority rather than poverty. A couple points that are quite shocking:

• Every night at every supermarket in Chinatown, Asian Americans still pick through garbage looking for food.
• though 12% of New York City’s population, Asians receive just about 1% of government and private foundation aid.
• The poorest of the poor, are senior citizens who live alone

Recently, a New York City study found the poverty rate among Asian Americans are quite high. Here’s a quote from the study:

“Asian American poverty in New York City is a serious, growing issue although it is largely unknown to the general public. The New York metropolitan area has the highest Asian poverty rate among the 10 metro areas with the most Asian residents, according to 2006 census information. The number of poor Asian New Yorkers also is increasing, as Asians are the fastest-growing major race or ethnic group in the city.”

You can see the report from the Asian American Federation Census Information Center here. Great piece of reporting by Ti-Hua Chang.

Asian Americans and Poverty in NYC