Poverty

Life In Poverty

            Poverty is the scarcity or state of one who lacks a certain amount of material goods or money. Absolute poverty is the deprivation of basic needs. Such as food, water, sanitation, clothing, and shelter. We live in one of the world’s wealthiest nations, however nearly 49 million Americans, including 16 million children struggle with how they are going to eat every day. That is nearly 15 percent of America’s population that struggles each day.

            The House on Mango Street tells the story of a Latin family living in the slums of Chicago. While reading, I came to the realization that many Americans are unaware of the life that citizens live in poverty. “People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on earth” (Cisneros, 86).

            In many cases the reasoning for families going into poverty is because of the lack of employment. Poverty is a serious, it is not an issue that should be handled lightly. The question is whether enough is being done to help those who are struggling. Is the government doing enough to help those families that are in need and help to prevent others from falling into the cycle?

            As of the year 2012 more than 46 million American citizens live in poverty. That is roughly 1 in 6 American households struggle with paying the costs of everyday life.  With the continuous rise of unemployment and increasing costs of living, more and more families have to choose between necessities like health care, child care, and even food. Those in poverty is not just restricted to low income families. It also includes senior citizens, minimum wage earners, disabled people, veterans and young adults. 

Skid Row

            Many fail to realize the severity of poverty even in their own city. In Los Angeles there are approximately 3 million people that live in poverty. 1 in 4 of them are children. That is a significant rise from the 1.9 million people in 1990. Resulting in a 69 percent increase. The goal should always be to lower the amount of people that are struggling with day to day life and it should not increase. The increase in the amount of people now in poverty is truly scary and more should be concerned with the well being of the people that are struggling to keep their lights on and put food on the table.

         1 out of 3 citizens of Illinois live in or near poverty, 1 in 5 are children. That is a twelve percent increase from the 25 percent in the year 2000. 629, 464 residents in the city of Chicago are living at or below the line of poverty. 31 percent of the African Americans, over 22 percent of Latin Americans throughout the state live in poverty. Illinois is one of the more poverty stricken states in the United States.

William and Catherine Booth

            There are many different organizations and charities that have dedicated themselves to helping those in need. One of the biggest organizations is the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is a Christian denominational church and international charitable organization. The Salvation Army was founded by Catherine and William Booth who sought to bring salvation to the poor. Its members are known as the Salvationists. The Salvation Army serves 60 million meals to anyone in need and family shelters. They are most famous for the work that they do during the holidays. Their traditional red kettle is an important part of the Christmas scene, each year millions of dollars are donated to help needy families and the homeless. There are over a dozen locations in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas.

            There are various local charities that also help to fight poverty in their own neighborhood. Help Ease Local Poverty Inc. also known as HELP is located in Chicago. Their mission is to provide food, health services, shelter and employment.

Volunteers at HELP in Chicago

  Every Wednesday evening, they provide over 130 meals to the homeless and underprivileged from the North side of Chicago. Poverty Solutions Inc. is a Los Angeles based organization that helps empower low income families and individuals to permanently be rid of poverty. They offer poverty fighting programs that include education courses and help with the search of employment. The program is meant to help veterans, at risk youths, disadvantaged young adults, unemployed, and female victims that live in the rough neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

            The government also provides services and has many different programs that are meant to help with providing assistance. These programs are a part of the government’s welfare system. Welfare is state aid, to help those in need. The welfare was created during the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The type of aid and the amount available varies from each state. Most states offer basic aid such as health care, food stamps, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid and housing assistance. The types of aid in Illinois and California are very similar. Both states off help with the search of employment, cash aid, food, and day care.

            Assistance with food is one of the most demanding. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible low income individuals and families. They distribute EBT cards and disburse a set amount of money on the card each month. Available for use at any places that accept EBT. SNAP also helps with providing economic benefits to communities.

            On February 13, 2009 Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus package. The Act is a response to the economic crisis. The goals of the Recovery Act include helping to fight hunger, to help keep families in their homes, and increase job training funds. All things beneficial to those in dire need.

            Although there are many people living in poverty today, America has enacted many different programs ranging from Social Security to food stamps to help to keep 40 million people out of poverty today. The only true solution to ending poverty is being able to provide jobs at decent wages. In 1988 President Ronald Reagan was quoted saying, “In the sixties we waged a war on poverty, and poverty won”. The nation’s official poverty rate increased for the third year. In the last three years, the rate of poverty has risen faster than any other three year period since the early 1980s .

            Despite the government, private organizations, local charities and private citizens making an effort each year to help those in need the growth of those who need help is continuing to grow. The war on poverty will continue to be fought until there is not a single person not having to worry about how they are going to be able to feed themselves, or how they are going to be able to keep their lights on every month. 

Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. "Bums in the Attic." The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage, 2009. 86. Print.