Faced with data showing nearly 1 in 5 people live in poverty in the Inland Empire, a group of local leaders are creating a plan to reduce that number by bringing together agencies that want to help.

The Inland Empire Economic Partnership business advocacy group, led by local business leaders, hopes to soon begin official planning for the “Launch Initiative,” which aims to bring together local businesses, government agencies, schools and non-profits to fight poverty in the region.

John Husing, chief IEEP economist, said local efforts to address poverty have focused on different pieces of the larger problem. Local groups in the fields of education, economic development, housing advocacy, public health, and human services, have each addressed the issue separately, each with their own process for qualification, and personal or family counseling, he said.

About 18 percent of people in the Inland Empire — the population of San Bernardino and Riverside counties — are living in poverty, according to 2013 data from American Community Survey. About 25 percent of children under the age of 18 living in the Inland Empire, or 1 in 4 children, are living in poverty, Husing said.

In Los Angeles County, about 19 percent live in poverty, while in Orange County, 14 percent live in poverty.

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