By Julian Aldana

When my grandparents were my age, they worked as migrant farm-workers who followed crops all across the country. They picked oranges in Florida, potatoes in Idaho and eventually settled in central California where they could farm year-round. They were immigrants who spoke little English, had minimal education with eight children to support on their humble income. Needless to say, they lived below the poverty line (in 1965 this was a family of ten living off $6,135 a year).

There were lots of working poor like my grandparents. But in the past decades and particularly since the Great Recession, we’re seeing millions more young people and their families earning below the poverty line, and fewer rising out of that poverty. The new Census Bureau numbers released this week show 17.6% of 18 to 35 year olds fall below the poverty line – too many.

Poverty rates have not always been so high for young people. Before the recession in 2007, 14.1% of young people aged 18-35 lived in poverty. Although this number is still too high, it demonstrates how devastating the recession has been to Millennials. In fact, there are 2.6 million more young people in poverty than there were before the recession.

The road to recovery will be a long one for Millennials. Although the job market is expected to improve in the coming years, many young folks will find themselves struggling longer than that to recover financially, especially when it comes to saving for retirement, and paying down debt. At the same time, all hope is not lost just yet.

My grandparents, like lots of grandparents, were tough people. They worked hard and although their younger years were difficult, they managed to purchase their own home and live comfortable, happy lives. Further, their children and grandchildren have prospered beyond their wildest dreams. Our generation certainly has the capacity to rise above and flourish despite the dire economic environment we’ve inherited. But to ensure that opportunity, we have to act. The time to start fighting for jobs and for our poor is now.