Often the words “disabled” and “low-income” go together. According to a 2017 report published by Cornell University, the poverty rate of working-age individuals with disabilities in the U.S. was 26.1 percent—this compares to the 10.4 percent for working-aged people without a disability. Additionally, disabled people who are able to work are twice as likely to be unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If they are employed, disabled individuals make less money than their able-bodied peers.
Poverty can limit access to healthcare and increase the likelihood that a person lives and works in an environment that can harm their health outlook. Impoverished individuals are less likely to receive preventative care and health education. This lack of healthcare may cause a person to develop a disability that keeps them from being able to function in a traditional workplace.
Programs have been created to try to reduce this poverty gap for disabled individuals, but some of these problems are difficult to overcome.