Ordinary Poverty – Chapt 2

I think the mentorship program is a good idea, but I'm not sure it would change much. People have to want to change and put in the effort to better their lives. There are many programs already available to help but aren't taken advantage of by the people who need them. The only person I think might have a chance to change their life is the 18 year old boy. He's still young, only been living in the streets for 2 years and wants better. Everyone else is older and seem kind of resigned to the life they have.

A lot of poor and homeless people have no idea where to get help from. We see them everyday on the subways, on the streets, buses or trains. They don't know about the soup kitchen or other beneficiary social programs. My aim would be to aware these people about these programs that can give them free meals instead of them begging people for money to buy food. As we all know no one likes to beg. I think we should make a list of all the soup kitchens around our neighborhood or nearby areas and there benefits. We then should approach homeless people where ever we see them and aware them of these programs and give them the list so that they can take part of these helpful programs.   

I think our project could help someone like Nellie (p. 42) who lives with her son and her sister and her son. Most of what they buy with food stamps are meat products and starches like rice and noodles. Fresh vegetables and fruit should be available to Nellie and her family to maximize the meager budget and to keep her child healthy. The WIC program is under funded and a terminal bureaucracy which makes mothers apply again and again to get the basics for their children. Young kids don't have a choice in where they live or what they eat. As a wealthy nation that makes education mandatory, feeding children should be mandatory, too.

In Chapter 2, Difazio talked about his experience as a volunteer in soup kitchen. I found some unordinary among some guests there. When he told that there were women telling them that their husbands loves them so much. However, these women were beaten by their husbands. Why someone loves you will beat you like that? I wonder what were they thinking and what bring them to a conclusion that their husbands love them. Do they really do know what is love or do they just simply do not want to know? Besides that, I really agree what Bea (page 66) said; “that’s not a lot of money, but it gives me something to do everyday…. So actually you are not losing anything.” I think sometimes people complain they got only little money from working and they found that it doesn’t worth it. However, think about it the other way around. If you do not work at all, you will not even get that little money. You got nothing from not working. So why don’t just start with something little and then you can get some experience and something to write in the resume which will lead you to another better pay jobs. I think sometimes a person cannot find a job because they stopped working for a long time and a lot of employers will pay attention to that. Therefore, I think keep them working at least for a few hours will help them to find the next job or have a higher opportunity to get a job.

This is kind of a hard question to answer. The program that we are constructing, would actually be better suited for the people mentioned in chapter 3. Our program solutions would help children with little food, build up nutrition. Most of the children growing up in these situations seem to not have the proper amount of fruits and vegetables. Our program would reward people for buying healthy foods for the families. This program would increase the amount of money they would have every time they purchased healthy food with their food stamps. Initially, I believe this would be targeted towards the mothers and children that are mentioned in the MOMs program in Chapter 3. However, I guess this would actually benefit everyone. I think it would especially help those who want to work hard for a better life, rather than just surviving. I am referring to the men mentioned in the shelter that were trying to get back on their feet. However, by being rewarded to eat healthier, I think everyone would benefit.

Homelessness is not a social problem in itself. It is the end result of many social problems converging to strip citizens of their economic sustenance, psychological fortitude and social relevance. Many factors can attack the economic stability of citizens of a community, such as high medical bills, untimely deaths, and bankrupting scams. Many factors can erode the psychological endurance of citizens, such as prolonged drug abuse, physical and sexual abuse and post-war trauma. Many factors can barricade citizens from participating in their community in an appreciated way. Any ideas, plans, programs or policies, that seek to address homelessness, must be comprehensive enough to address these three problem areas and their factors. I propose a crisis evaluation center where citizens of the community who are homeless will have an opportunity to have their circumstances evaluated. The evaluation will then enable the caseworkers to identify already existing non-profit organizations and government agencies/programs that are already addressing many of the factors which contribute to homelessness. The person homeless because of bankruptcy brought on by medical bills. There are many private and public organizations that help to reduce, or even forgive, debt. Maybe they will qualify. Can’t know unless they are evaluated. Is the person a minor who has lost both parents? They can be put in the foster care system. A bad a reputation as it has, it’s still better than the streets for the young. Is the person having a hard time getting back into the workforce because of under-education? They can be connected with a job training and job search service provided by non-profits and government sponsored organizations. Finding out what is keeping citizens on the street is a crucial first step in identifying the type of hand up they need. I propose a program that works with citizens without homes to identify their area of need and steer them accordingly. In chapter 2, I suppose that all the homeless people can be benefited from the program that I am designing for my project. The program that I would design is to help the less fortunate to provide families into permanent housing. Also, offer them with education to who are not well-educated or misinformed. I would have classes that will provide the basic education to the homeless such as financial management and counseling. Provide them with some job training, after the job training; help them to find jobs that are adequate after preparation. By creating these programs it will help them get up on their two feet.

Reading DiFazio’s case examples was shocking. Especially, it was very sad to realize that the majority of poor people are women and their children. This realization makes me truly hope that women would have an option, such as the program suggested by Nassim, to extract them from the soup kitchen. I think that regardless of the program or assistance it is exclusively up to the individual to use those tools and direct their lives as they please. The person who I think would benefit from this type of program is Nellie (pages 42 and 43) a typical woman who visits the soup kitchen. I strongly believe that if she was given the choice between just accepting whatever benefit was determined is enough for her and her family to survive, and working with a mentor, she would probably choose the later option. It is hard to know what people may do, but if you are already in a disadvantageous situation, why would you choose to stay like that? A complete program would not just give her the food for the day, but an actual possibility of not having to depend on others. The reason why I chose Nellie is because she already does not think that the system is fair because it does not provide her enough to live on. Also, regardless of her discontent she does play by the rules. Therefore, if the rules change she would probably participate, even if it is just to continue receiving benefits. Ultimately, she will gain a skill with her mentor and receive the life changing benefit of providing for her and her family.

I think all of the subjects in Chapter 2 fit into my program. My program aims to help those in poverty beyond that first step. It is good to establish the first start and feed the homeless, but there is so much more that needs to be done. There is so much empty rhetoric about how to help the poor, and how greatly they suffer. We have already identified their problems, as seen in Chapter 2. My program goes beyond the inspirational speeches and mentoring programs. The poor must be persuaded to eat healthy foods. While there may be examples of a lack of access to healthy foods, the majority of the poor can eat these foods if they choose to. THEY PREFER FRIED FOODS AND FATTY FOODS AND SALTY FOODS BECAUSE THEY TASTE GOOD! They are uneducated, depressed, and impulsive. Any psychologist could understand the deeper issues that lie with these people, far beyond accessibility to healthy options. Allow for food stamps to pay for only nutritious foods, not deserts and french fries. This is at the crux of the issue, and we are falsely identifying imaginary obstacles if we think otherwise.

I really like Nassim idea on Mentorship. I believe this would be really beneficial and could help a lot of people.This could also help with the workers who volunteer at places like the soup kitchen. Reason being,is lots of times the people that help others in need are in need. Maybe not food, but inspiration. Like the 18 year old boy and the others in chapter two.Programs such as this are really helpful. Maybe we as people are missing the point. We give food and shelter but not inspiration. I think this is what mentor programs can do;inspire. There are lots of people that have been going to shelters for years and eating at places like the soup kitchen and no one ever stops and just have a conversation with them.They only think the person is just hungry and in the need of shelter. Great place to start this Mentor ship would be the soup Kitchen. The individuals are already called guess so they feel welcomed. This would be great and know lives will be changed if we had something such as this.

Over the time soup kitchens transform from the city’s necessities, that provides substances for hungry and despaired people to a place that gives people a chance to win back their respect for themselves. Some of these misfortune people, like the teenager from the DiFazio’s book, simply haven’t developed any survival skills in the modern world. I think, it’s a great idea to give soup kitchen’s guests an opportunity to receive medical care and counseling help, but that still not enough. I think that representatives of government’s social programs should be present at the locations, so they can provide the information about available help for the people. I, also think that people should contribute to the society in form of voluntary work and services, this way they will feel that they are not isolated outsiders, but full-fledged members of the society, as we see in Bea case, when work, responsibilities and interaction with others helps her to overcome her hopeless and starting sickness. However, there are some issues that should be addressed, as letting contagiously sick people to serve others (Sasha’s case) or giving drug-addict people tempting access to the storages. I think that all employees and volunteers must submit health evaluations and drug addicts have to enroll to the programs. I’d also change the menu towards more healthy choices such as eliminate desserts but spend more on veggies. I also think that vocational schools should be open and available to poor people, so they will able to get the necessary skills to support themselves. After all soup kitchen is a great support for suffering people, but it should not become an addiction, rather the first step for a person to get his life together.

I think that we may need to offer more options and places were SNAP is available for people to choose better things to consume. In page 41 we read about how people who get $7 cash for there $10 food stamps from a bodega and buy luxury food. I think that we should offer people higher dollar amounts on food stamps that go towards green produce and the likes and with that program, monitor who is using it and if the food stamps really belongs to them so the money isn't being cashed in or traded. I think that if we can monitor it, then the government can raise the amount of money in food stamps because they know that the money is really going to food that are healthy. On page 42, a lady says that food stamps are like gold to her, and she wouldn't trade it in for money because it defeats the purpose. While the good stamps can help people eat healthier and wiser, coupons can be added on to it to help for a super savings. I think that individuals with food stamps just want to be able to have options and not be limited to the poorly produced items on the shelves.

I think the person that I really think can be extracted from the soup kitchen and can really benefit from the program that I am designing for my project is the 18 year old black teenager who is no longer a kid (see Difazio’s account on page 66, May 5 1992). It’s so uncanny that the story that strikes me as interesting and actually talks about Rodney King (may his soul rest in peace). One of the key things mentioned in this account is the fact that “all the resources of the Bread and Life program, St. John the Baptist Church, and Public assistance might not be enough to help out this young man and bring him back on his feet.” The program that I am designing to fight poverty and reduce dependency on food stamps is a sort of life skills based program, which will train youths and older adults hands on trades that are essential to everyday life (sewing clothes and fishing are of course apart of it but with a modern twist and necessary survival skills) this idea is also inspired by a discussion we had in class where one student mentioned that he was motivated to learn life skills and the fact that I was also raised in a country where you were compelled to learn certain “life” skills to survive, I think it made me more discipline. In the program a selected number of folks (age range TBD) would be inducted in the program for about 8 weeks (actual enrollment time frames are still being hashed out) and at the end of the program a job would be offered in their preferred field (something associated with what they’ve learned of course). There are more things included but this is the gist of the program. I think this would be an ideal program for this young man since the other programs available might not be as useful and might only fix the problem at the moment but does not look at the long term.

Hello, I believe all the homeless people in soup kitchens and chapter 2 can be extracted into my program. My mentorship program has the ability to establish and re-establIsh the underclass into our society. My mentorship program includes state jail-like building that will provide shelter and basic needs to homeless people. Need to mention that these buildings won't operate in the sense jails do; that these buildings are to be operated along the humanism values of the middle class. Within these walls we will ensure that the basic needs are met for the individuals residing there. Needs such as shelter, food, clothing and safety Will be provided. Once the component of homelessness is isolated and diminished these indviduals will hopefully begin to feel as if they are "home". The program will be designed with no time limit and those who are in the appropriate place can stay, a decision made by the mentors. The type of intervention that the one on one mentoring will be is to determine if an individual needs help beyond the program such as a hospital or out patient program for a drug user or a mentally ill individual. Once an individual is determined to be in need of a place to get their feet back on the ground one on one mentoring will provide goal work and plans for the individuals. There would be in house group meetings and job readiness programs and perhaps educational opportunities as well such a GED programs on site. This program is filled with convenience care and opportunity and would certainly be a place for those in chapter two as well as in the soup kitchens.

Hello, I believe all the homeless people in soup kitchens and chapter 2 can be extracted into my program. My mentorship program has the ability to establ