Poverty-stricken (5)
I believe the answer is:
needy
'poverty-stricken' is the definition.
(I know that poverty-stricken can be written as needy)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for needy that I've seen before include "Deprived" , "Distressed" , "Poor; wanting affection" , "Wanting attention" , "penniless" .)