I’m glad I don’t have a wife or kids yet” (Frances Marion, personal communication, September 9, 2015). As for Mrs. Matthews, she lives comfortably on her and her husband’s retirement pensions and social security checks. Where Mrs. Matthews does see a large amount of poverty is from volunteering at the Bay Area Food Bank. Many individuals come in for food for their families and often Mrs. Matthews offers moral support. She consistently hears many stories of people living in insufficient circumstances and are struggling to support their families. “It breaks my heart to hear what some families have to go through to just survive. I’m very lucky and I thank God every day” (Sarah Matthews, personal communication, September 16, 2015). With the passing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, there has been a welfare reform and instated a period of intense research on poverty (Morgen, 2003, p. 316). Researchers found that one of the most consistent failures is the strategy of trying to escape poverty and most jobs does not provide living wages, health insurance, or job stability (Morgen, 2003, p. …show more content…
136). All three interviewees explained the high numbers of homeless people they encounter daily when traveling. Ms. Jacobus describes that she will occasionally give money to homeless people when she can spare a couple of dollars. “It may not be much, but it feels good to try to help someone” (Lori Jacobus, personal communities, September 4, 2015). As for Mr. Marion he has seen many homeless people, but also many con-artists whom pretend to be homeless. One incident, he recently experienced in the last few weeks was when he witness on his lunch break and he noticed a homeless across the street. After receiving some money from some people, the man gets up and gets into a newer vehicle. According to a waitress in the restaurant, the man was there for a couple hours and quite a few people stopped to give him money “One minute he was sitting there begging and then he is hopping into a Cadillac and driving away! Makes me wonder how many are truly homeless and not con artists” (Frances Marion, personal communication, September 9, 2015). Mrs. Matthews states that she has a great insight of the homeless population from volunteering at her church’s weekly soup kitchen. “Many have mental issues and just prefer living on the streets. I really wish there was more I can do to help them” (Sarah Matthews,