There are so many repercussions growing up in Poverty, it is estimated that one in five American children now live in families with incomes below the poverty line, and their futures look grim (Russell sage, 2016). Being underprivileged is statistically linked with a variety of unfortunate 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.
To address these problems it is not enough to know that money makes a difference; we need to understand how (Russell sage, 2016). In the clip, “Poverty in America”, it depicts a story about being poor in America. This is what being poor in America looks like for Leigh, a single mom in upstate New York. She earns only $19,000 a year from a job as a certified medical assistant which offers no benefits.
She receives no help from her daughter’s father and depends on Medicaid, food stamps, and a government subsidy for child care. She lives in her mother’s house and pays rent. Her car has over 200,000 miles on it and is in poor condition. It shows her struggle much like what many Americans deal with everyday day.
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Poverty has become a major concern in the United States because of the effects it has on the youth in our society. Countless young children are faced with lack of food, inadequate living conditions, and lack of parental guidance. Strains are placed on children living in poverty as young as the age of seven. According to The CSR organization (2018), children living in poverty typically are isolated from mainstream society, don’t have access to community organizations, poor schools, low self-esteem, depression, behavioral problems in school, and engage delinquent activities.
There is a strong link between poverty and crime that is diverse (Jargowsky and Bane, 1991). The reasons why people who are living in poverty commit criminal acts vary from crime being the only opportunity to achieve a higher level of socioeconomic status to enhance financial ability. People of all social classes commit crime for different reasons, but it has been proven over the years by different researchers that people living in poverty commit more crime than any other class (CSR, 2018). Statistically, poor children are not successful in school.
They have been found to be deficient in reading and mathematical skills (Beebe, 1993). Rewards from the school environment are limited by the lack of school success, therefore, the risk for delinquency is increase and a life is crime behavior is developed (Mofitt, 1981).
Growing up in an isolated poverty community such as the suburbs, children are told they cannot achieve high academics because of their living conditions. Many children are forced to withdraw from school because of attendance (CSR, 2018). Numerous school days are missed in high poverty areas because children lack decent or proper clothing for different types of weather, the lack transportation.
They may face interrupted utility services and over crowdedness in the home they may hinder their ability to attend school and learn. Consequently growing up in a poor family has a trickle-down effect, if children’s basic needs are not met, it ultimately leads to a lifetime of struggle.
