Children deeply affected by poverty and its repercussions are recorded saying: “They shoot somebody everyday”, “It’s like the violence is coming down a little closer”, “We don’t go outside a lot now”, and in response to a teacher’s request for field trip ideas “How about the cemetery”(Mccord). They do not live in the midst of violence in a war-torn country, they live in South Central Los Angeles, an area filled with victims of poverty. Poverty is defined as the “state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials to enjoy a minimum standard of life and well-being that’s considered acceptable in society” state in which over 26 million Americans live (Matthews). Poverty can be caused by overpopulation,
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They describe images of police patrolling the streets and children dodging bullets, but behind the imagery lies a community suffering from psychological wounds creating a new epidemic of traumatic stress. In Chicago’s Cook County Hospital, over 2,000 gunshot wounds are treated each year and 43% of patients screened displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD on the Rise). That is over 860 individuals suffering from traumatic stress every year in Chicago alone. This number does not include the witnesses and family members of the victims who are left with grief. A study of inner-city communities in Atlanta revealed that the traumatic stress shown in respondents is similar to that of veterans in the Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars. One-third of the participants showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress in their lifetime (Chen). Behind victims of the violence are the bystanders who are affected by co-victimization. Co-victims are often children who are always in danger, but never touched by violence, leaving them traumatized. Out of 536 African American school kids, 29% had seen a stabbing and 26% had witnessed a shooting, therefore, becoming co-victims (Bell and Jenkins). Although not harmed in the process, these children will be scarred by their experiences. Their brain may go into survival mode for a duration longer than that of the event causing post-traumatic stress disorder (Matthews). Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include: reliving, avoiding, and increased arousal (Matthews). Reliving is when victims continually live their traumatic experience through flashbacks, hallucinations, and nightmares. Avoiding occurs when the victim consciously avoids people, places, and events that bring back memories of their trauma leaving them feeling isolated. Increased arousal occurs when a victim is “having problems relating to
They describe images of police patrolling the streets and children dodging bullets, but behind the imagery lies a community suffering from psychological wounds creating a new epidemic of traumatic stress. In Chicago’s Cook County Hospital, over 2,000 gunshot wounds are treated each year and 43% of patients screened displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD on the Rise). That is over 860 individuals suffering from traumatic stress every year in Chicago alone. This number does not include the witnesses and family members of the victims who are left with grief. A study of inner-city communities in Atlanta revealed that the traumatic stress shown in respondents is similar to that of veterans in the Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars. One-third of the participants showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress in their lifetime (Chen). Behind victims of the violence are the bystanders who are affected by co-victimization. Co-victims are often children who are always in danger, but never touched by violence, leaving them traumatized. Out of 536 African American school kids, 29% had seen a stabbing and 26% had witnessed a shooting, therefore, becoming co-victims (Bell and Jenkins). Although not harmed in the process, these children will be scarred by their experiences. Their brain may go into survival mode for a duration longer than that of the event causing post-traumatic stress disorder (Matthews). Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include: reliving, avoiding, and increased arousal (Matthews). Reliving is when victims continually live their traumatic experience through flashbacks, hallucinations, and nightmares. Avoiding occurs when the victim consciously avoids people, places, and events that bring back memories of their trauma leaving them feeling isolated. Increased arousal occurs when a victim is “having problems relating to