The Phenomenon of Poverty and its Impact upon Florida Children and Families
Poverty Levels for Children in Florida
A 2015 report from the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), with 1st representing the best state for children and 50th representing the worst state for children, New Hampshire ranks first, making it the state with the lowest percentage of children living in poverty. The same report ranks Mississippi at number 50; the state with not only the highest level of poverty experienced by children, but 50th in percentage of children living in households without access to adequate food. By comparison, this information sheds light on where Florida ranks. The state of Florida is listed as 37th for children living in poverty and 43rd in the percentage …show more content…
The general consensus is that the United States is privileged to enjoy high levels of access to food, shelter, clothing, health care and other resources that help define our country as wealthy. However affluent we may be perceived by developing nations, the United States continues to suffer from economic inequality. Disadvantaged groups and marginalized peoples, within city ghettos and rural areas, experience generalized poverty that is difficult to break away from. The idea that poverty is a dynamic process, with cyclical qualities, explains why poor families can become trapped in poverty for several consecutive generations (Boundless Sociology, 2015). These families are forced to endure the cycle of poverty until a combination of factors, including political and socio-economic events, which may be well beyond their control, line up to make it possible for the cycle to be …show more content…
I am not unique in these experiences. I am not the first person born into relative poverty, with limited resources, traumatic childhood experiences, and myriad circumstantial events that led to a continuation of a cycle of poverty. I am certainly not unique in the experience of losing parents and the devastating affects this has on one’s psyche. Nor am I the first addict to find solutions in recovery, and gratefully come to realize that I am a resilient survivor. As I move forward with reconstructing a better life for myself, I am keenly aware of how my set of experiences can serve to help others.
The process of gaining an education that will provide me with the tools that I will need in order to become a clinical social worker is already underway. I am currently faced with the challenge of combining my own personal life experiences together with the knowledge that I am acquiring so that I can position myself to be of service to others. Ideally, I would like to serve a population that is challenged with more than simply financial hardships. The beauty of feeling aligned with the energies that propel me to serve others, as they carve their paths toward a healthier, more prosperous future, lies in my awareness of the full-circle wholesomeness of it all. Today, I am able to implement the tools that I have collected along the way, for the sake of continuously generating more and more gratitude as I move forward
Poverty Levels for Children in Florida
A 2015 report from the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), with 1st representing the best state for children and 50th representing the worst state for children, New Hampshire ranks first, making it the state with the lowest percentage of children living in poverty. The same report ranks Mississippi at number 50; the state with not only the highest level of poverty experienced by children, but 50th in percentage of children living in households without access to adequate food. By comparison, this information sheds light on where Florida ranks. The state of Florida is listed as 37th for children living in poverty and 43rd in the percentage …show more content…
The general consensus is that the United States is privileged to enjoy high levels of access to food, shelter, clothing, health care and other resources that help define our country as wealthy. However affluent we may be perceived by developing nations, the United States continues to suffer from economic inequality. Disadvantaged groups and marginalized peoples, within city ghettos and rural areas, experience generalized poverty that is difficult to break away from. The idea that poverty is a dynamic process, with cyclical qualities, explains why poor families can become trapped in poverty for several consecutive generations (Boundless Sociology, 2015). These families are forced to endure the cycle of poverty until a combination of factors, including political and socio-economic events, which may be well beyond their control, line up to make it possible for the cycle to be …show more content…
I am not unique in these experiences. I am not the first person born into relative poverty, with limited resources, traumatic childhood experiences, and myriad circumstantial events that led to a continuation of a cycle of poverty. I am certainly not unique in the experience of losing parents and the devastating affects this has on one’s psyche. Nor am I the first addict to find solutions in recovery, and gratefully come to realize that I am a resilient survivor. As I move forward with reconstructing a better life for myself, I am keenly aware of how my set of experiences can serve to help others.
The process of gaining an education that will provide me with the tools that I will need in order to become a clinical social worker is already underway. I am currently faced with the challenge of combining my own personal life experiences together with the knowledge that I am acquiring so that I can position myself to be of service to others. Ideally, I would like to serve a population that is challenged with more than simply financial hardships. The beauty of feeling aligned with the energies that propel me to serve others, as they carve their paths toward a healthier, more prosperous future, lies in my awareness of the full-circle wholesomeness of it all. Today, I am able to implement the tools that I have collected along the way, for the sake of continuously generating more and more gratitude as I move forward