Ronald Sorrell never dreamed he would have to sleep in a tent in the woods by the White River, but that’s where he lived for two years after he lost his job at Argos Manufacturing in Anderson.

“I had like 20 blankets piled on me every night,” said Sorrell, eating a free meal of ravioli and salad at the Christian Center in downtown Anderson. “One night, it got down to 16 degrees below zero.”

Recently, he has found occasional work doing odd jobs, but he doesn’t get regular hours. He is living with a friend until he can find a full-time job to support himself.

Sorrell is one of many area residents living under or near the poverty line.

According to the most-recent data available — U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2005 to 2007 — 19.1 percent of Anderson’s residents live in poverty. That number is up from 13.4 percent in 2000.

In Madison County, the data show, an estimated 12.9 percent of the population falls below the poverty line.

And nationwide, 13.3 percent of the population is classified as being in poverty.

How is poverty defined?

The “poverty line” is currently set by the federal government at an annual income of $21,203 for a family of four. For a single person under the age of 65, the threshold is $10,590.

But that definition is troubling to some — particularly, perhaps, to those who work in the helping professions.

“In America, a family of four honestly can’t survive on $20,000,” said Brandon Mott, director of outreach at East Side Church of God. “The line is drawn way too low, and that is the line that so many things, like welfare support, are dependent on.”

The census estimates also revealed that 14.9 percent of Anderson families fell below the poverty threshold.  

However, with the economy’s recent turn for the worse, the numbers may have increased since the Census Bureau’s 2005-07 estimates.

“In the last five years, poverty has really started to cast a shadow over the city of Anderson because of the automotive industry leaving,” said Jeffery Cottrell, program director at the Urban League of Madison County.

In his view, the situation has gotten particularly difficult in the past two years.