Poverty Summary
Imagine you have a house, filled with six people. Now this house is not something that is suitable at all for your family, as the size does not fit for your family. Yet it is a roof over your head. You can put food on the table every night and you have the check to mouth kind of budget. You drive a vehicle, whether or not it is the newest and greatest does not matter to you. You make sure your kids eat first, and have what they need first before you ever think about yourself. You are trying to keep ahead of your mortgage, but it always seems like life is against you. Consider yourself lucky. Your kids are luckier than 22% of the children in America who have to search for their food and go hungry (Doc A). How can we as a society keep on accepting this number? Does it not seem like it is a little arrogant of us to keep this number so high? America each year wastes about 40% of its food as it goes uneaten (Doc B). That is absurd.
Now some may say that we are alright compared to the average poverty level of other countries in the world. Some believe that it is not their responsibility to take care of these children who go hungry and although, they are right in a sense they are wrong as well. We are all called to love our neighbors as our self. But how can a child find food if it has no one to look up too? A child is suppose to be innocent, and learn to be an adult through controlled experiences, which are needed for proper development into adulthood. When we thought of a public high school, or a private school for that matter, we never would have dreamed how much poverty existed, “In 2013 more that half the students attending public schools lived in poverty” (Doc C) . We thought about this staggering number and we were perplexed. How on earth could that be true, was our initial reaction. Never in a million years would we have thought that. Well we know it is true, but how. It is because people are good hiders. We found through our first interview with Steve Budnack, Head of Volunteers at the Parker Task Force, as he said that people will try to act normal and not make it seem like they need help. He also explained that many families we know come into the food bank for help. But we would never know because they would go during the day, Budnack told us. While also at the task force we found a member from the county (Douglas County) who helps with poverty, and he explained that they had a kid going to Ponderosa High School, who lived in his car. He would take a shower early in the morning and stay as late as he could at school to do his homework. This entry event lead us to truly ponder the idea of poverty. My fellow colleagues and I had no idea that poverty existed in such a high middle class area. The average median income in Parker is about $90,000. Hard to believe we have poverty.
After that interview we all took some time aside and really pondered the idea of how can we get this issue solved. First we had to realize, that it can’t be solved. We are three high school students, and we do not pull enough weight in society, let alone the government of the United States, in order to change this issue. So what we found through our research is that this issue just gets a short glimpse by society and people donate on the holidays, and then nothing happens. Sure we have food banks, and resources like the backpack program,(food banks fill backpacks and send it home with kids), and then we have the resources like food stamps and things of that nature. This program has had much success as it makes sure that kids do not go hungry over the weekend. While this entry event was very helpful and insightful, it allowed for a door to open and bring us a great insight.
Next came the research. Here we found that there are so many ways in which poverty can affect the world around us. We researched website after website and it was clear that Americans do not know what is going on around them. Here alone in Colorado, 12.2% of Coloradans are living in poverty. Then through the information from Mr. Budnack, we found out another problem with people in poverty. People move into these neighborhoods where they cannot afford to live, most of their money, if not all of it, goes toward paying for rent and electricity each month. Thus making it impossible for them to have enough money to move out and find cheaper places to live. There is an increase in this as more of the high class neighborhoods have better schools, and parents want their kids in them and they make sacrifice for education rather than food. Not only is this a bad thing, but they have no education programs or support systems to help make their life decisions on what they can and cannot afford.
Next was the research on how poverty affected America. We looked up enough statistics to show that poverty is way too high for America. We then looked into how poverty plays a role in race. We found that the race with the most people living in poverty are the African Americans with 27.2% while the hispanics followed with 23.5% (Doc D). So what we concluded from this was that things need to change with how America sees and needs to have more control on Americans and the races in which make up poverty. Then we saw the need for more help. We need systems to provide food and meals for the poor, not just food banks. This then would allow for more and more to be reached and able to gain the best form of nutrition. Then we looked into the child poverty. The good news we found was that the child poverty level fell from 21.8% to 19.9% in 2013( Doc E). So now, all we have to do is keep this trend going. We have to make sure, that this trend keeps going down and down.
So how do we keep this trend going down? Well, we need American society to work hard at making sure nobody goes hungry. We found that giving to local food banks, or even a donation can go far to provide not only meals, but education on how to work with the income you have. We found that with education comes the idea of making every dollar count. It is making sure that when these families buy food, they are not buying junk, but quality food that can nourish. According to one article, “Results Non-Hispanic whites had the highest prevalence of salty snacks (51.1%±1.5%) and fat-free/low-fat milk (39.2%±1.7%) always available. High-income homes had the highest prevalence of fruits (75.4%±2.4%) and fat-free/low-fat milk (38.4%±2.1%) always available”(Doc F). This shows that many of these middle class citizens are buying what is cheaper because they can buy more for their family. While this is good, we as America then face many more challenges such as obesity or families developing unhealthy eating habits. “Still, there are some recent signs of hope for the middle class. The economy is improving and more jobs are being created, many of them in better-paying categories like professional services, healthcare and even a reviving manufacturing sector.”(Doc G). With the economy turning around, many unemployed are able to find some sort of work to provide some sort of income. With all this research, we know of many ways in order to help and get this global issue in control.
Although we know we cannot bring down the poverty level in which we hoped, (from 14.5% to 5%), we still gained great knowledge of this subject. We found out that nothing is as easy as it looks. It is simply an issue that certainly needs more publicity. We as a society need to feel uncomfortable with the situation before we can change it. We have to know the ugly side of things before we can find a solution. With us researching this “ugly side” we realized a lot is being done, but it is still not enough. The US still ranks second to the top for how many adolescents live in poverty(Doc I). From this project we came away with a new profound way of thinking. Although we knew and were not successful in finding a way to bring the number of people in poverty down, we understand the problem. With this understanding we are able to come to the conclusion that many are still going hungry, and soon in the near future things will be changing for the better. With more education and plans put in place, people with little money can learn how to spend it more effectively. The focus on childhood hunger should be done by each state doing a fundraiser and creating a person plan for their state to provide for the poor residing.
Imagine you have a house, filled with six people. Now this house is not something that is suitable at all for your family, as the size does not fit for your family. Yet it is a roof over your head. You can put food on the table every night and you have the check to mouth kind of budget. You drive a vehicle, whether or not it is the newest and greatest does not matter to you. You make sure your kids eat first, and have what they need first before you ever think about yourself. You are trying to keep ahead of your mortgage, but it always seems like life is against you. Consider yourself lucky. Your kids are luckier than 22% of the children in America who have to search for their food and go hungry (Doc A). How can we as a society keep on accepting this number? Does it not seem like it is a little arrogant of us to keep this number so high? America each year wastes about 40% of its food as it goes uneaten (Doc B). That is absurd.
Now some may say that we are alright compared to the average poverty level of other countries in the world. Some believe that it is not their responsibility to take care of these children who go hungry and although, they are right in a sense they are wrong as well. We are all called to love our neighbors as our self. But how can a child find food if it has no one to look up too? A child is suppose to be innocent, and learn to be an adult through controlled experiences, which are needed for proper development into adulthood. When we thought of a public high school, or a private school for that matter, we never would have dreamed how much poverty existed, “In 2013 more that half the students attending public schools lived in poverty” (Doc C) . We thought about this staggering number and we were perplexed. How on earth could that be true, was our initial reaction. Never in a million years would we have thought that. Well we know it is true, but how. It is because people are good hiders. We found through our first interview with Steve Budnack, Head of Volunteers at the Parker Task Force, as he said that people will try to act normal and not make it seem like they need help. He also explained that many families we know come into the food bank for help. But we would never know because they would go during the day, Budnack told us. While also at the task force we found a member from the county (Douglas County) who helps with poverty, and he explained that they had a kid going to Ponderosa High School, who lived in his car. He would take a shower early in the morning and stay as late as he could at school to do his homework. This entry event lead us to truly ponder the idea of poverty. My fellow colleagues and I had no idea that poverty existed in such a high middle class area. The average median income in Parker is about $90,000. Hard to believe we have poverty.
After that interview we all took some time aside and really pondered the idea of how can we get this issue solved. First we had to realize, that it can’t be solved. We are three high school students, and we do not pull enough weight in society, let alone the government of the United States, in order to change this issue. So what we found through our research is that this issue just gets a short glimpse by society and people donate on the holidays, and then nothing happens. Sure we have food banks, and resources like the backpack program,(food banks fill backpacks and send it home with kids), and then we have the resources like food stamps and things of that nature. This program has had much success as it makes sure that kids do not go hungry over the weekend. While this entry event was very helpful and insightful, it allowed for a door to open and bring us a great insight.
Next came the research. Here we found that there are so many ways in which poverty can affect the world around us. We researched website after website and it was clear that Americans do not know what is going on around them. Here alone in Colorado, 12.2% of Coloradans are living in poverty. Then through the information from Mr. Budnack, we found out another problem with people in poverty. People move into these neighborhoods where they cannot afford to live, most of their money, if not all of it, goes toward paying for rent and electricity each month. Thus making it impossible for them to have enough money to move out and find cheaper places to live. There is an increase in this as more of the high class neighborhoods have better schools, and parents want their kids in them and they make sacrifice for education rather than food. Not only is this a bad thing, but they have no education programs or support systems to help make their life decisions on what they can and cannot afford.
Next was the research on how poverty affected America. We looked up enough statistics to show that poverty is way too high for America. We then looked into how poverty plays a role in race. We found that the race with the most people living in poverty are the African Americans with 27.2% while the hispanics followed with 23.5% (Doc D). So what we concluded from this was that things need to change with how America sees and needs to have more control on Americans and the races in which make up poverty. Then we saw the need for more help. We need systems to provide food and meals for the poor, not just food banks. This then would allow for more and more to be reached and able to gain the best form of nutrition. Then we looked into the child poverty. The good news we found was that the child poverty level fell from 21.8% to 19.9% in 2013( Doc E). So now, all we have to do is keep this trend going. We have to make sure, that this trend keeps going down and down.
So how do we keep this trend going down? Well, we need American society to work hard at making sure nobody goes hungry. We found that giving to local food banks, or even a donation can go far to provide not only meals, but education on how to work with the income you have. We found that with education comes the idea of making every dollar count. It is making sure that when these families buy food, they are not buying junk, but quality food that can nourish. According to one article, “Results Non-Hispanic whites had the highest prevalence of salty snacks (51.1%±1.5%) and fat-free/low-fat milk (39.2%±1.7%) always available. High-income homes had the highest prevalence of fruits (75.4%±2.4%) and fat-free/low-fat milk (38.4%±2.1%) always available”(Doc F). This shows that many of these middle class citizens are buying what is cheaper because they can buy more for their family. While this is good, we as America then face many more challenges such as obesity or families developing unhealthy eating habits. “Still, there are some recent signs of hope for the middle class. The economy is improving and more jobs are being created, many of them in better-paying categories like professional services, healthcare and even a reviving manufacturing sector.”(Doc G). With the economy turning around, many unemployed are able to find some sort of work to provide some sort of income. With all this research, we know of many ways in order to help and get this global issue in control.
Although we know we cannot bring down the poverty level in which we hoped, (from 14.5% to 5%), we still gained great knowledge of this subject. We found out that nothing is as easy as it looks. It is simply an issue that certainly needs more publicity. We as a society need to feel uncomfortable with the situation before we can change it. We have to know the ugly side of things before we can find a solution. With us researching this “ugly side” we realized a lot is being done, but it is still not enough. The US still ranks second to the top for how many adolescents live in poverty(Doc I). From this project we came away with a new profound way of thinking. Although we knew and were not successful in finding a way to bring the number of people in poverty down, we understand the problem. With this understanding we are able to come to the conclusion that many are still going hungry, and soon in the near future things will be changing for the better. With more education and plans put in place, people with little money can learn how to spend it more effectively. The focus on childhood hunger should be done by each state doing a fundraiser and creating a person plan for their state to provide for the poor residing.
- Doc A "Child Poverty." NCCP. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
- Doc B Plumer, Brad. "How the U.S. Manages to Waste $165 Billion in Food Each Year." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
- Doc C More than Half of US Public School Students Live in Poverty, Report Finds."The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web.
- Doc D Rogers, Simon. "America's Poorest Poor: The Best and Worst Cities." The Guardian. N.p., 4 Nov. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2015
- Doc E Gentleman, Amelia. “Child Poverty Statistics. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 11 Sep. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2015
- Doc F Raphael, Steven. "Immigration and Poverty in the United States." The American Economic Review 99.2, Papers and Proceedings of the One Hundred Twenty-First Meeting of the American Economic Association (2009): 41-44. Web.
- Doc G Rogers, Simon. “US Poverty Mapped-Interactive.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 15 Sep. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2015
- Doc H Searcey, Dionne, and Robert Gebeloff. "Middle Class Shrinks Further as More Fall Out Instead of Climbing Up." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
- Doc I "The U.S. Ranks 2nd in Child Poverty." Ranking America. N.p., 05 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2015.
- Steve Budnack Parker Task Force Director of Volunteers