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The influence of poverty on child development
The influence of poverty on child development
The influence of poverty on child development
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Homelessness and Poverty and Their Impact on Child Development In Orlando, poverty and homelessness are problems that are often ignored by most individuals, or so it would seem. While there are many programs available to those who need them, many who need help are unaware that these programs exist and they fail to seek the help that is available. Many people who have not experienced homelessness or poverty may believe that these people brought these situations upon themselves, but that accusation is merely a myth. In Orlando, thirty-seven percent of the homeless are single men, while women, children and families make up an astounding sixty-three percent of the homeless population. The main contributors of these statistics are loss of income, low wages, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, domestic violence, addiction and mental illness.
Children who live in poverty and are homeless face a number of developmental issues not just during the ongoing crisis, but later in life as well. Socioemotional issues, such as depression, being disruptive at school, lack of initiative and socialization are just a few of the problems that lead to developmental issues that the majority of children living in a home with stable financial resources may never experience (Eamon, 2001). Research has shown that poverty can have damaging effects that may include poor cognitive outcomes and school performance, to a higher risk for antisocial behaviors and mental disorders caused by stress that hinders brain development (Stromberg, 2013). These stressors are more than anyone should have to endure, especially a child or the millions of children around the world who have had to carry this burden during years when their minds are in developmental stages that are the most important and
Whether you're white, African-American, or Hispanic, poverty for today's youth has many recurring themes. A recent article by Duncan and Brooks for The Education Digest points out some very discerning facts that face today's poor youth. "Low Income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence." (Duncan& Brooks, pg. 1). They also claim that low-income preschoolers show poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are exposed to fewer toys, books, and other brain-stimulating items at home than their higher-income classmates.
Although most people know what homelessness is and it occurs in most societies, it is important to define because the forces of displacement vary greatly, along with the arrangement and meaning of the resulting transient state. The Stewart B McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 defined a homeless person as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc.” Resent surveys conducted in the U.S. have confirmed that the homeless population in America is extremely diverse and includes representatives from all segments of society, including: the old and young, men and women, single people and families, city dwellers and rural residents, whites and people of color, employed and unemployed, able workers and people with serious health problems. The diversity among people that are homeless reflects how difficult it is to generalize the causes of homelessness and the needs of homeless people. Robert Rosenheck M.D., the author of Special Populations of Homeless Americans, explains the importance of studying homelessness based on subgroups, “each subgroup [of homeless people] has unique service needs and identifying these needs is critical for program planning and design.” Despite these diversities, homelessness is a devastating situation for all that experience it. Not only have homeless people lost their dwelling, but they have also lost their safety, privacy, control, and domestic comfort.
As a result of anti-poverty legislation being placed into effect all over the country to force workers back into the capitalist labour market, which has taken hold in neoliberalism, the number of families finding themselves on the brink of homeless is skyrocketing. Furthermore, with the reduction of social assistance programs these families are barely able to provide for themselves, therefore, numerous children are being physically impacted by homelessness. According to Jenny Hsu (2015) hunger and physical illness are effects children and youth may experience due to homelessness that greatly affect their development which is unacceptable for our government to allow this many young people to be negatively impacted. Thus, the links between these
Homelessness is primarily a poverty issue. The persistence of poverty in the United States reflects more than just an aggregation of individual failings. Structural factors, such as the way we understand and define poverty, the inherent features of our economic system that produce income inequality, social inequities and our policy responses to these problems shape current trends. Economic changes have had the strongest association with trends in overall rates, regardless of how poverty is measured. Poverty rate is high amongst minority groups, children and female-headed households (Iceland, 2003). According to professor Iceland’s research, rates of extreme poverty are higher among children and African-Americans and lower for whites, Asians and the elderly. Among families with children, married couples were less likely to be poor (6.9 %) than single parent male (17.5%) and single parent female (35.3%).
McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .
Homelessness can result from children running away, being abandoned by parents, extreme poverty within the family and/or unsafe/unstable living conditions. Being in situations where a child has worry about where they are going to sleep or where there next meal may come from gives them little time, if any, to focus or even think about attending school. In addition, attending school means a need for the upkeep of personal hygiene, having clean clothes and most importantly transportation to and from school, which can add more stress to a child outside of the fact they are homeless. Not having these things causes high levels of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Th...
‘Homelessness’ is when an individual or family cannot afford permanent housing. Homelessness is a common problem in human history. There are many reasons why people reached the state of homelessness such as; physical, economic, social and political. These problems continue to interfere with people’s lives. In the early stages of the American colonial settlement, homelessness became a huge problem in America. Most recently homelessness has been caused by the high cost of housing, alcoholism and drug addictions, mental health issues, joblessness and military veterans coming home. Many people who have jobs here in America still cannot afford permanent housing because the minimum wage which is $7.25 is not enough money to make a good living. The people who gets pay $7.25 an hour struggles because by the time they’re done paying all their bills they have very little to buy groceries, so most of the times people buy food for them and their family which means eventually they’re going to owe a lot of money for rent, which is going to lead to eviction. The United States needs a comprehensive plan to end homelessness in the richest country in the world once and for all.
Many people debate on weather homeless people should receive guidance or just be abandoned. Do homeless people deserve our service and to be supported, or are they just lazy individuals trying to take advantage of people? Homelessness is a growing dispute in cities. It has became an extensive problem for the community. Homelessness can not and should not be ignored. The number of homeless people in the United States is quickly growing. It seems like no one cares to help them. Even our heroes like police officers show no sympathy towards the homeless. “Homeless people appeared on the streets of Bucharest in 1990. Since then, their number and the problems created by this phenomenon have steadily increased in all major
It is estimated that, “each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children” (NLCHP). Clearly poverty and Homelessness come hand in hand, and the economy downfall has only contributed to this growing crisis. “Homelessness stems from a lack of affordable housing. Increasing rents, destruction of traditional low-income housing, and cuts in federal housing programs threaten affordable housing with extinction” (NLCHP). Most people in poverty have a housing affordability crisis, which means that they pay more than half of their income for rent, so therefore they have to buffer to deal with unforeseen expenses.
There are an estimated 2,981 homeless people in San Antonio each day. Out of these, 1,243 were unsheltered and a staggering 31% of those are people with families. In addition, the average age of a homeless child in San Antonio is 6 years old. An overall picture shows that homelessness has dropped nearly four percent from 2012 to 2013. Further, an average of 610,042 people are homeless across the United States on any given night. “Of that number, 36 percent – 222,197 people – were in families, representing a drop of 7 percent for that group” (Chappell, 2013, p. #). More than a third of these people were not found in shelters, abandoned buildings, cars, or under bridges. Although, there has been a small decline in homelessness, it’s still necessary to drastically change these statistics by solving the causes of homelessness. Sleeping in vacant buildings and under bridges is unacceptable. These statistics are very alarming and a solution needs to be found.
The homeless population in the United States does not only include the humans out on the streets, but also the ones in living in vehicles, emergency shelters, transitional housing, and other unstable environments. Over six-hundred thousand individuals are currently homeless in the U.S. In our current society, people often become homeless due to circumstances beyond their control. Humans often face abrupt personal and public challenges within their lives causing change and displacement in their housing status without notice nor a choice. In relation to personal reasons for homelessness, individuals who identify as LGBTQ and victims of domestic violence encounter many different situational problems leaving them displaced. Furthermore, there has been a sharp increase in unaffordable housing recently causing other people to suffer issues in a more public manner.
The police face many different issues while out on patrol every day. One issue is that of the homeless. In many cities, homelessness has been criminalized, but we, as a society, have to question if this is the right thing to do. Should people who have the misfortune of being homeless be punished further?
On a normal of our everyday life, we find ourselves going to work or heading somewhere to meet up with a friend. While on the way there we pass someone that we don’t know sitting down on the ground alongside with him is a cart from a store filled with old clothes that either found or got from someone, some trash, maybe something small to eat to help with his hungry stomach growling throughout the day. You wonder how he got themselves into a position like that? Yet sometimes we know how he got there, although, we don’t always know someone else’s story. You leave some money by his foot to help get himself somewhere for a short time. Homelessness has increased over the years, from 1990s up until now. I believe that we can help these get back into a better environment for their life with the help of local shelters, food banks, donations from churches and schools, and many more things we can do in Licking County.
People experiencing homelessness face violations of a wide range of human rights. The injustice in society can mean that they are subjected to discrimination and disadvantages in the form of financial and social as a result of their living situation. This report demonstrates the ways in which social injustice impacts on the life of the homeless population in the areas of criminal justice, education, socioeconomic status and health. In order to address this inequality, it needs to be recognised that Homelessness is not a choice but rather the result of disadvantage in the community, and one of the most important markers of social exclusion. Strategies must be put into place to ultimately reduce social inequality and increase opportunities for employment, economic participation, education and social inclusion.
Living in poverty exposes children to disadvantages that influence many aspects in their life that are linked to their ability to do well in school. In the United States of America there are an estimated 16.4 million children under the age of 18 living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). “The longer a child lives in poverty, the lower the educational attainment” (Kerbo, 2012). Children who are raised in low-income households are at risk of failing out before graduating high school (Black & Engle, 2008). U.S. children living in poverty face obstacles that interfere with their educational achievement. Recognizing the problems of living in poverty can help people reduce the consequences that prevent children from reaching their educational potential.