Blog 1 EXTRA CREDIT

 

Guest Speakers

        During our Hunger & Homeless course we had the great opportunity to listen to two guest speakers from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to listen to real life testimonies regarding the issues we are facing today such as hunger and homelessness. It really brings light to the subject and creates awareness, inspiration , and hope for many. Each speaker lived a different lifestyle and took a different path but both ended up in a stage of homelessness and desperation. However, homelessness as a previous speaker Gwen mentioned, is not what someone becomes, its a stage someone goes through, and both these individuals as well as Gwen proved that right. 

  

       The female speaker's stories was very emotional, much like the many we have heard. She suffered the loss of her mother and life took a toll on her there going forward. She much like many troubled teens went from relatives house to relatives house and eventually ending up in the streets. She gave us an insight of how it was to experience that. She also shared her attachment to the "family" she had created in the streets as a safety net. Luckily, she was able to surpass that stage in her life and was approved for a home through the agency. Its great to see when the system assists someone. She is now bringing awareness to the issue of homelessness and we greatly appreciate her testimony! 

       The male speaker showed up how he was a working man in society, unfortunately injured at work and his life took a toll from there. It was like every system designed to assist was creating hurdles that led to no where. He spoke to us about sleeping in his vehicle and being away from his family. He too was homeless, living at times with a family member or in his vehicle. He was able to finally attain employment and is rebuilding his future! With both speakers we see the system is very tricky , it fails you more times then not, but with perseverance its possible!

Blog 1 Post J

Peer Critique

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      I read Mike's blog. This was read on October 21 2014. I really enjoyed the blog , it was clearly written and a great amount of information was posed to the reader.I really enjoyed the humanistic touch to the literature. In example Mike stated upon reading the statistics for Illinois poverty he believed it was an error.This showed the astonishing affect of research. The only critique I can pose is need for visuals, but in my opinion his humanistic approach assists the reader in creating a visual for themselves.

 http://mikesworld21.wordpress.com/

     I read Ali's blog on October 21 2014. I very much enjoyed how his blog was set up as well as its content.The design of the blog was very sleek and the table of contents as well as the labeling was great! I also enjoyed Ali's personal imput in the blogs, for example when refecting on our guest speaker Gwen. It made the read not only factual but intresting as well. 

 http://aali93.wordpress.com/

Blog 1 Post I

Poverty's Vicious Cycle Can Affect Our Genes

Gobnik, Alison. "Poverty's Vicious Cycle Can Affect Our Gene." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://online.wsj.com/articles/genes-play-a-role-in-poverty-1411567833>.

 

           Through out the course of this class Hunger & Homelessness, as well as many of my Child Advocacy courses, we have discussed the affect poverty has on individuals, predominately children. I found this very intresting article by Alison Gobnik from The Wall Street Journal that posed a concept of how poverty can affect our genes. It may sound far fetched to some, but per knowledge obtained from many child developement courses, I completely agree with this concept. The article states high levels of stress is one of the main causes of developmental delay. An experiment with rats and their reactions to stress is conducted, this is to simulate children in poverty with high levels of stress due to hunger, no shelter, lack of money and resources, substance abuse, violence, unfortunately risks to children that are much higher in poverty areas. According to the research a gene is either methylated or demethylated which refers to molecules attaching or lacking to attach to the gene. This alters how the gene influences the cell. This experiment showed how care giving at early ages affected how much the gene was methylated. care giving at early ages is very difficult in homes of low income or homeless because of the amount of problems one is facing during that time, stress also alters how one interacts with other individuals. So children in impoverished areas were at a disadvantage and less care giving and high levels of stress affected their adult life and their development as shown by less genes being methylated.

Blog 1 Post H

 

         Shipler includes a story of a woman named Christie. I believe she represents the working woman in our society. Her story in my opinion is one of the most common on how the working people are living. As we discussed broken systems in class, it is depicted very well in this story. Christie works and makes a small amount that does not suffice, and this qualifies her for assistance such as the food stamp program. The problem with that is the amount she is given is low therefore she opts for junk food as it is of much lower price, so her priorities were questionable. However, if she would work more and have more income she would fall out of the bracket for government assistance, and therefore still struggle, perhaps more. This depicts how the system is built so the poor stay poor. This is one of the topics that angers many such as myself. As a college student looking for financial aid, I can relate to the failure of the system, one is declined when working and when not working. These programs were designed to aid those in need yet it fails majority of the time.

Shipler, D. K. (2004). The working poor: Invisible in America. New York: Knopf.

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Business VS People 

      In Chapter 2, Shipler brings to light many large corporations and how they take advantage of poor people. The main legal way discussed is fees. Fees are charged by almost entirely every large corporation we can think of. The fees as Shipler states are often miniscule to the working class individually, but they compose large sum gains for corporations. As consumers we assume that this is acceptable because they are stated in legitimate ways, however the fees may not always be ethical. Another way companies take advantage of people is by utilizing vocabulary that is not at the educational attainment of the poor. These two startegies work hand in hand to ensure profitable income. Employees of such companies are trained to preform in such manner as well.They utilize business with the poor as a psychological scheme. Shipler utilizes H&R BLOCK and a prime example to depict this notion. The " Rapid Refund" loan was posed to consumers with verbiage they did not always understand and extremely high interest rates. Tax refunds were offered in ATM card form with withdraw charges. Temporary accounts were provided with fees as well. In essence the way these companies are legitimizing such actions is due to the lack of knowledge from the consumer. Lack of knowledge is due to lack of resources as well. For example Shipler discusses employee rights and how they are taken advantage of daily. Abuse and inaccurate payroll are the main ways employers perform this advantage. The homeless and or the poor are main victims of such abuse, for lack of education , lack of resources and for fear. Many are afraid to report such abuse because they rely on the employment for survival. 

http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/field/image/stop-corporate_greed.jpg

Shipler, D. K. (2004). The working poor: Invisible in America. New York: Knopf.

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Components to Avoid Ending Up in Poverty

        There are many components to keep someone from ending up in poverty. Shipler focuses his introduction on discussing such components. He poses the question "Why are the poor poor?", and he suggests three crucial components to avoid ending up in poverty.These three components all work hand in hand with each other.

1.) A desirable set of skills

2.) Occupation with a good wage

3.) Job with promotion opportunity

       We can think of these three factors in a very simplistic way. When one has a set of desirable skills, you are more likely to obtain a stable occupation with a good wage, and stable companies that can afford to pay their employees well typically offer more room for growth. 

        The componenets discussed above focus on employment aspects only, however Shipler states we should also consider self care as a component. Purpose, courageous self-esteem, and low debt were the secondary group of components Shipler declared one must poses. Beginning with purpose, one can not strive if there is no belief of a purpose.With out belief of a purpose it is merely impossible to set goals, therefore achieve and progress. Courageous self-esteem provides the ability to believe one can achieve, this virtue is necessary in every aspect of life including the work life and home life. Lastly, low debt, which is pretty self explanatory. For example an individual with high debt will be less motivated to succeed because of the depression that may come along with debt which can lead to other health issues. An individual with high debt is also not as motivated , in my opinion, because they are working to pay off debt not for exciting purposes, or purposes that are immediately visible. High debt can limit ones resources, in example the college you attend or how much one can invest. 

          The attainment of all the above components in my opinion seems extremely difficult to attain. We must consider the circumstances of every individual and then realize that the lack of even one of these components can land one in poverty.  

 

Blog 1 Post E

 

Washington D.C

    Washington DC has a population of 632.323 according to mayors.org report.18.2% of the Washington DC population lives under the poverty line. This is a number that is significantly increasing year after year. According to the report, the number of homeless families increased by 7.4 % and 8.5 % for individuals over the course of a year. An approximate 12,000 people were homeless in January according to the findings of  Metropolitan Washington Council of Goverment. This data was concluded based on head counts of people sleeping in the open and shelters, according to Chole Morello in a Washington Post article. Per preforming research many statistics largely differed. The reason for this inaccuracy is we have to take into consideration many of these are head counts and a large portion of the "homeless" may not identify themselves as homeless for a variety of reasons. Also these head counts in vast consist of individuals receiving services, however someone who is "couch" surfing is also homeless but not included in head count because they do not receive services.The faults in measurement largely affect many aspects of alleviating hunger. If we fail to know how many individuals need assistance, how do we know how many services we need to provide? 

       

           The largest shelter available in Washington DC is Federal City CCNV. This particular site contains 1350 available beds. It also provides many other services to about 2500 individuals in need. Motel beds are also an innovative way to provide beds for the homeless. Currently about 280 families are sleeping in motel beds on the city's expenses according to Morello. Approximately 300 families are also residing in an emergency shelter that was previously DC General Hospital complex. 

          As previously discussed, the lack of accurate measurement of the homeless is an area that needs improvement in order to alleviate homelessness. Accurate measurement would bring more light to the issue and perhaps encourage more organizations and goverment officials to prioritize this issue. Prioritizing is one of the largest problems in issues such as hunger and homelessness. Washington D.C has changed aspects such as increasing the minimum wage every year, however it is not enough. Priority is key, if enough priority would be placed on these issues the state would have the drive to be innovative and create more programs to efficiently alleviate homelessness.

 http://foxtravelandtours.com/old-ref/New%20Folder/assets/washington%207.jpg

 http://mayors.org/pressreleases/uploads/2013/1210-report-HH.pdf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/number-of-homeless-in-dc-region-rises-as-rents-increase/2014/05/14/db4638e4-dac4-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html

 

 

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 Gwen

      What does homeless look like? The answer is, like you and me. From the perspective of a college student from a middle class family, one never assumes we would become homeless. We contribute to society in the ways society expects us to. So how is it that if we could fall into positions such as homeless? This is a question that Gwen posed to us, and really made us not only appreciate the position in which currently are in, but also re evaluate our perception of the homeless. 

            Gwen, a middle class educated woman, with a masters became homeless. As she would like to state, homeless is not what something you become, it is something you go through. A very powerful lesson. The way we treat and presume the homeless to be is so unfair in my opinion. Gwen stated the best we can do to a homeless person is not pity but rather treat and respect like a human being. Reason being is a person is not homeless because they desire to be, a system along the way has failed them. She discusses many systems such as the marital court, employment and such, and most importantly she explains the "homeless system".  Gwen describes this system as designed to prevent you from getting out of it. It's all a give or take and many times you loose belongings, opportunities, and dignity. She advices in order to "survive" you must blend in, therefore she would not advice anyone of her educational accomplishments and such. All homeless people desire is to be treated like normal human beings, because they are, homelessness is just a stage they are going through.

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Poverty in Illinois: Effects of Poverty on Children 

 

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     According to voices4kids.org 605,000 Illinoisan children lived below the poverty line in 2013, this is a number that has increased through out the years.  Per my class notes from course Introduction to CAST at NEIU, in Illinois, year 2012, 21% of Illinois children were living in poverty. The statistics are as follows, 44% were African American, 28% were Latino

and 11% were white. 

     

       Poverty affects children in every aspect of their life. It affects their development, and their adult life. Hart & Risely conducted a research study that included 42 families with newborns for  two and a half years. These families were poor, working, and professionals. They measured after  2.5 years the children's IQ and words spoken. The results stated, children from poor families averaged a vocabulary of 525 words, as opposed to children from professional families whose children averaged 1100 words. In reference to IQ, children from poor families average IQ was 79 and children from professional families IQ was 117. The results showed a correlation between a child's stand in our economic system and their ability to develop. Behavioral, social and emotional issues are more likely to be developed.

 

 

 

Image: http://wckg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/child-poverty-rates-rise.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog 1 Post B

Picture: http://blog.debate.org/

1 B) Article Reflection 

The article "How Poor Are America's Poorest? U.S $2 A Day Poverty In A Global Context."was a very interesting read. It thoroughly educates the reader on not only poverty in our country, as well as the governmental flaws regarding this growing issue. I found it very interesting how the article posed the problem of defining poverty. Poverty is measured in a variety of ways depending on the country and many other factors. Other factors include how exactly it is measured. This is a concept I previously had not considered in such depth. The article educated me on how the methodologies for measuring poverty differ as well as how reliable these measurements really are. It suggests we must define poverty first and this would allow a fair comparison. Poverty is something that has always been discussed in many of my course but prior to this article I did not place that large of an importance to defining the term and analyzing how its defintion is working against the issue instead of alleviating it.

A secondary point of discussion that was of great interest to me from this article was referencing the global context.  The United States is a country known for its possibility of success, however this article brought to light that is is also the country with the highest inequality. Per my social, class, and gender course, this topic was discussed as well. If we look at the amount of debt this country owes for wars versus the amount of funding they provide to alleviate issues such as poverty; the gaps are large. The article listed numerous countries such as Russia, Jordan, Albania, Argentina, Thailand and China, in which this country provides American Foreign Aid. This was baffling to me because upon some basic research, it appears as though some of the countries America assists have lower poverty rates yet are recipients of aid. 
 

Article: Chandy, Laurence, and Cory Smith. "How Poor Are America's Poorest? U.S $2 A Day Poverty In A Global Context." Aug. 2014:Print.

Blog 1 Post A

1 A) September Articles

Chandy, Laurence, and Cory Smith. "How Poor Are America's Poorest? U.S $2 A Day Poverty In A Global Context." Aug. 2014:Print.

This article discusses where the United States stands in reference to the national poverty line and exactly where in the poverty line most of Americans fall. Per a study conducted, it was concluded that millions of Americans live on $2 a day standard. This article also brings light to the methodologies of how poverty is measured and its negative effects. It suggests we develop a fair measure of comparison. As an affluent country, United States still leads in highest inequality. However, it assists other countries in foreign aid. 

Clark, Megan. "US Poverty Growing Faster In Suburbs Than Big Cities." International Business Times 4 Aug. 2014: Print.

This article states that poverty in the United States has experienced a shift from poverty in the big cities to poverty in suburban areas. Per a study conducted by Brookings Institution, poverty has increased by 78% over the past twelve years and the growth has occurred in suburban areas. The article emphasizes the enormous problem with this shift is that suburban areas are not equipped to cope or service this issue.