Poverty.....

“Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.”( Britannica, 2011)

With the many changes to our economy, the US is seeing a lot of poverty stricken families. I work in an Early Head Start program where we serve low-income families. I have the opportunity work with a variety of cultures that are in poverty. One family in particular I worked with was extremely poverty stricken. They were a family of 5 and with 3 children under the age of 4. The mother struggled to maintain the living environment while the father looked for work in another state. The living condition was in a mobile home that needed to condemn from the lack of repaired needed, no heat, unsafe and clearly unlivable for the family. It is a rental, and the slum lord did not care about the living condition as long as he was getting the money. The mother had to find ways to keep her family safe and warm. She would have all kids sleep in their clothes at night with a space heater. For safety, she would put the dresser against the door and pray that no one would hurt them. The mother would very sad a lot because she came to this country for a better life and everything was not what she thought it was. Her children would see her cry a lot and she missed her husband. The children seem very happy at times, but I observed the children being sad when the mother would cry. At the ages of the children, they could sense something was different, especially with the father not there. The children medical needs where not being met because they were living in poverty. The mother did not take them to the doctor because she was not concern with that because of everything she was dealing. As being a part of the program, we worked with this family to better the situation. We connected the mother with resources in the community that could help her, and made a referral to the doctor for medical service. We connected the father to job resources where he was able to get a job and move the family. Also, we have a license mental health specialist on staff that was able to talk with a parent on improve their emotional health. Once the family moved, they happier and the children seem to be progressing developmentally. The mother was back working with her children. The children seem more responsive to the mother and happy that the father was there every day. This was such a success story for our program. From helping the family become self-sufficient, the child’s development had improved.

The poverty rate in Mexico is the #1 stressor. I’ve learned the children in Mexico are experiences the same stressor as the US. For kids, poor health from poverty meant affliction for life. The children were severely sick at an early age due to lack of medical treatment. Many common diseases cause the children death in Mexico. From poverty, I believe the children developmental domains become delayed. Having access to the basic needs such as food, safe shelter, and medical treatment will foster the development; along with the family being emotionally stable. What is being done to minimize poverty is creating a Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs. CCTs consists in cash rewards in exchange for investments in education, health or food. It should help fight child malnutrition and nurture social capital. The conditions can then vary from sending a child to school to looking for a job in order to receive that money.

Berrebi, D. (2011, July 07). Poverty in mexico: economic crises. Retrieved from http://www.poverties.org/index.html

Poverty in the United States - Britannica, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:// Britannica.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States