African American Single Mothers in Poverty and Homelessness

Introduction

Throughout this class we have explored the depth and impacts of homelessness and poverty on various populations across the nation. Examining some of the causes and discussing the closeness that the minimum wage gaps leaves many Americans in financial situations that could land them in homelessness. Understanding the intersections of being black, poor and a woman without a home is ultimate invisibility within society. This paper will explore the intersections of being poor, black and a woman specifically looking at single black mothers also addressing the mental health.

Target Group

African American families encompass an estimated 9,808,000 households across the nation, 37% of which are led by single mothers raising their own children (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013). Between 2010-2011 single African American women gave birth at rates twice as high as then- married peers (U. S. Census, 2012), resulting in over 51% of these 11,086,000 children residing in single-mothered households (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013). These mothers, averaging 38.4 years of age (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013), unquestionably bear the brunt of raising the African American progeny.

The inequalities between ethnicities in the U.S. population and the homeless population are alarming and show the need for improvement, data has found that 40 percent of homeless population is African American, while African Americans just make up 12.6 percent of the entire country’s population. In 2007, the homeless population was 47% African-American, though African-American people made up only 12% U.S. adult population (US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2015). The homeless population was only 35% white, though white people made up about 76% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003; U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2007). Such statistics show the disproportionate rates at which African Americans enter homelessness in this country.

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African American women’s identities live within the intersections of race, gender, class and religion, just to mention a few of the multi-intersectional identities. Black women within the academy have pushed for issues of race, class and gender in ways of understanding and bringing awareness to their social, cultural, and historical experiences.

Womanist theology can be defined as a by black women for black women with specific way of expressing personal insights from the perspective of Black women. Directly engaging on the unique black women’s experience with sexism, racism and classism while aiming to empower Black women to engage in the destruction of the overlapping oppressions (Heath, 2006). The intersections of black womanhood offer unique experiences in which unique services are necessary to understand such levels of daily oppression.

Belle and Doucet, 2003, found that poverty is one of the most consistent factors of depression in women. This depression occurs from high stress and limited social support. With existing economic inequalities directly impact physical health negatively and research has shown the mental health impacts.

Local Resources & Social Worker

The Handbook for African American Health notes that health psychologist must be open to individuals’ personal testimonies of healing from spiritual experiences. This acceptance could lead to trust and building healthy health care relationships. Cultural competence within services would require knowledge, skills and acceptance of unique lived experiences and values in which African American women would present throughout the therapeutic process.

Understanding that cultural competence training can be useful, the removal of personal bias must be included before interacting and while offering continual treatment to clients. Cultural competence must be understood as a continual evolving process shaped with events that impact African American women.

The collaboration of black churches with mental health agencies has deemed to be more effective in overall service utilization changes. The mere presence of mental health agencies at health fairs shows the churches commitment to the mental health of the members. Statistics have presented African Americans are less likely to engage in group therapy and discussion based mental health practices, yet will support mental health events hosted and supported by the Black church (Dempsey et. al, 2016).

Agencies have attempted to establish and maintain culturally inclusive and competent services that are designed to break down historical mistrust. The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) aims to offer free of charge services in which they have accepted and incorporated the importance of spiritually within mental health services for African American communities. NAMI has seen an increasing number of African American participation within the stigma-free campaign.

This model, Copeland & Butler, 2007, provides a strength-based approach that recognizes and addresses the intersectional realities of Black women’s lives within therapy. Including beliefs, external impacts, and health behaviors to provide the most consumer satisfaction and best outcome. This model is not flawless and most evolve as the experiences of black women evolve. The UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities Report, a community leader states, “There are things in the world that cause mental illness and depression. … Poverty affects mental health.” (Building Partnerships, n.d.) Studies have found higher levels of racial disparities in mental health services in areas of high poverty (Chow et al, 2004).

Non-Profit Manager

Following intensive research and community engagement as the manager of a Non-Profit I would model services after the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

“The Parent Trap: The Economic Insecurity of Families with Young Children,” published by the Demos organization, does an exceptional job of laying out the hits to their income that parents of young children (under five years old) take simply by having young children, but then as they add in other factors — if you’re a single parent, if you’re a single mother, or a single mother of color, or less educated— the problem just gets more intense: “For single parents, who earn on average $22,026 compared to $35,042 (single adults with no children) and $33,179 (single adults with older children), being black or Hispanic as single mothers as black or Hispanic means earning $5,309 (black) and $1,304 (Hispanic) less than single white mothers.”

The topic is important because, as they point out, “women comprise 89 percent of single parent households with young children.” In fact, according to the National Women’s Law Center, more than one in three single mother families lived in poverty in 2015, with higher figures for single-mother families headed by women of color, including Native Americans (48 percent), Hispanics (42 percent) and Blacks (40 percent). Poverty figures for families headed by White (31 percent) and Asian women (24 percent) were noticeably lower, although still high. (Traub, A., Hiltonsmith, R., & Draut, T, 2016).

Mayor

Stress is hemmed into their dresses, pressed into their hair, mixed into their perfume and painted on their fingers. Stress from deferred dreams, the dreams not voiced; stress from the broken promises, the blatant lies; stress from always being at the bottom, from never being thought beautiful, from always being taken for granted, taken advantage of; stress from being a Black woman in a White world. – Opal Palmer Adisa

Louisville, Kentucky with a thirty-three percent African American population provides for the ideal pilot city (US Census 2000). As the pilot, Louisville allows for flexibility making this project overall feasible to gain funds, support and ultimately be used to push for federal policies. This plan is feasible from the financial standpoint as an increase to appropriate mental health care services for African Americans can help decrease some of the social problems African American communities face. However, the political aspect of will encounter more difficulties, as the federal government is currently Republican majority. On a state to state approach across the nation can begin to occur but at the federal level it will require advocating and research proving the increased reductions.

Letter

Dear Representative Reginald Meeks,

My name is Nannie Croney, I am a current Masters student at the Kent School of Social Work. I have followed you for some time and am aware of your outstanding involvement within Civil Rights and Equal Rights within this state and beyond. I am writing to you today to request you advocate for mental health services for lower socioeconomic African Americans.

I am requesting you advocate for increased one percent tax on personal income over one million dollars to fund federal grants allotted through the Health and Human Services Department for pilot initiatives to provide mental health services for African Americans, through partnerships between local Mental Health Services and public Universities for accessible and affordable mental health services, directly for persons living within poverty.

I would like you to propose that Louisville, Kentucky apply as a pilot site for the implantation of this recommendation. The incorporation of public Universities would allow for research to be conducted as change would take place. Within the University of Louisville, the collaborating of various discipline creates the most diverse and cultural aware group to increase trust and utilization of services.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Nannie Grace Croney

Conclusion

Various public policy sources make it clear that women of color historically under-paid compared to their counterparts from being paid less to even being offered less benefits which increases the levels of homelessness and poverty among African American women. Through the various lenses within this paper you see the resources and limitations within services and the direct impacts in which they have on individuals. There is still much work to be done in this growing population of homelessness and the increasing poverty rates. Through appropriate advocacy and policy real life change could be achieved.

References

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