Poverty

One third of deaths (18 million people a year or

50,000 a day) are due to poverty related causes (The World Health Report, World Health Organizations, http://www.who.int/whr/1999).
In total, 270 million people, most of them women

and children have died as a result of poverty since 1990 (The World Health Report, World Health Organizations, http://www.who.int/whr/1999

Malnutrition
More than one third of all children are

malnourished, lack basic shots, and/or are not enrolled in or attending school. In 13 countries, less than half the population has access to improved drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, there were 923 million malnourished people in the world in 2007 an increase of 80 million from 1990.

Malnutrition cont.
On average, one person dies every second as a result

of malnutrition and one child dies every 5 seconds. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hunger and malnutrition are the single gravest threats to the worlds public health and by far the biggest contributor to child mortality. Every year nearly 11 million children living in poverty die before their fifth birthday.

Diseases
An estimated 40 million people are living with

HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide (2007 Human Development Report HRD).

Education

Housing
The average American has more square footage of

living space than does the average person living in London, or Paris, or Vienna Poor Americans have nearly three times the living space of urban people in middle-income countries such as Mexico or Turkey

Housing cont.
Poor American families also have seven times more

space than the general urban population of very-lowincome countries such as India and China The housing of poor Americans is larger than that of the average European but smaller than that of the average American Data collected by the American Housing Survey has shown that the housing of most poor American is not rundown or unsafe. The most common severe problem was a shared bathroom

Demographics
THE UNITED STATES

Income in the US
Avg. Annual Income MEAN White White, not Hispanic Black Asian Hispanic (any race) $ 26,964.00 $ 28,502.00 $ 31,313.00 $ 18,406.00 $30,292.00 $15,674.00 Median Income $ 50,303.00 $ 52,312.00 $ 55,530.00 $ 34,218.00 $ 65,637.00 $37,913.00

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines

48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia09 Poverty Guidelines

Persons in family
1

Poverty guideline
$ 10,830.00

2 3
4 5 6 7 8

$ 14,570.00 $ 18,310.00
$ 22,050.00 $ 25,790.00 $ 29,530.00 $ 33,270.00 $ 37,010.00

Who is living in Poverty???

39.8 million people living in poverty, up from 37.3

million in 2007 The poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 %, up from 12.5 %in 2007 10.3% live in Families (8.1 million) 46% in Unrelated Subfamilies 20.8% Unrelated Individuals 12.6% over 65 yrs 62.8% 18-64 yrs old 24.6% Children Under 18yrs

 Poverty By State REGION:

Northeast: 11.6% Midwest: 12.4% South: 14.3% West: 13.5%

Numbers Living Below Poverty Thresholds

Less than 50 percent of the poverty level Less than 100 percent of the poverty level Less than 125 percent of the poverty level

One race
White White, not Hispanic Black Asian American Indian and Alaska Native Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Some other race Two or more races

5.6%
4.4% 4.0% 11.4% 4.9% 11.7% 8.0% 7.0% 8.4% 7.4%

13.1%
10.5% 9.2% 24.7% 10.6% 25.3% 21.2% 15.9% 22.0% 16.9%

17.4%
14.2% 12.4% 31.0% 14.1% 32.4% 28.8% 21.3% 29.9% 22.0%

A Look at Poverty in the United States

Living in Appalachia

Appalachia Service Project (2009)

26% of the population live at or

below the poverty line. Over 91 of the 410 counties are economically distressed
(poverty and unemployment rates are at least 150% of the national averages and where per capita market incomes that are no more than Two-thirds of the national average)

55,541 households have an annual income of

less than $10,000.

 4,341 housing units lack complete plumbing.

2,382 homes do not have complete kitchens.

31,236 households do not have a vehicle 19,254 households cannot afford a telephone.

These people grew up in a culture of extreme poverty, and believe that there is no hope for a future with anything but the same extreme poverty -Sean Easley

Poverty in Appalachia: Third World Living Conditions in America?

-SEAN EASELY

How Amazing that This Exists in America

A recent trip down to the hollers of Kentucky opened my and my fellow travelers' eyes to the true face of poverty in America. Destitution is alive and well within the region called Appalachia, and has resulted in a beautiful mountain range of hopelessness. Here I wish to give you a first-hand account of the living conditions in povertystricken Appalachia, so that you will be able to see what I saw. Through understanding problems like these, we will better be able to help and combat the conditions that have led Appalachia to its current condition.

Poverty in Appalachia: The Broken Homes

By "broken homes" I do not mean divorce and infidelity (though the residents of Appalachia informed me that both are very prevalent in the region). The homes that I refer to as being broken are the Appalachian residents' physical homes.
While in Appalachia, those I was traveling with and I worked on repairing homes and other structures. The homes for the poor residents of Appalachia are little more than trailers that have been turned into permanent dwellings and shacks built by people who do not understand building construction very well. The wet climate of the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky has caused rot to settle into the majority of the wood in many of these homes. As we worked to fix walls, decks, and roofs, many of the repairs we attempted had to be abandoned because the wood of the house was to rotten to support new wood or construction. The varying degrees of disrepair in these homes show the poverty of Appalachia prominently. Rot, termite infestations, holes, cracked and broken foundations, and the like have rendered many of these homes beyond repair.

Poverty in Appalachia: The Failing Health

One of the residents of a home we worked on, a woman named Marsha, told the typical story of health in Appalachia in a way that truly touched my heart. As we worked on repairing her doors and windows, she was seen crying inside her home. One of our workers asked her what was the matter, and she told her that it was the anniversary of the death of her son, who would have been 9 years old. Her son was born with a condition that could have been treated by the medical community, but her poverty prevented her from seeking treatment for her ailing child. Marsha blames herself for not being able to afford treatment for her son. Many in this region of Appalachia echo this story. Jobs are almost non-existent, and most people live off government welfare checks to get by. As these people attempt to scrape by with what little money they have and no hope of jobs, their health takes a back seat to surviving. Throughout this poverty-stricken region of Appalachia the drinking water is suspect, children simply deal with lice infestations in their hair, animals and creeks carry disease to their homes, and people are forced to live with varying degrees of congenital issues caused by the coal and strip mining in the area. When a culture of alcoholism and substance abuse is added to the mix, the results are demoralizing, to say the least.

Poverty in Appalachia: The Hopeless Future

The people we met in Appalachia were mostly third generation hopelessness. These people grew up in a culture of extreme poverty, and believe that there is no hope for a future with anything but the same extreme poverty. Lack of jobs outside the dangerous and dead-end coal mining threatens to hold these poor people in the grip of poverty for generations to come. Before Appalachia can become a sustainable community, there must be an influx of jobs and commerce to the region. Until then, any help these people receive will be merely a small bandage on a severed limb.

Poverty:
CHOICE OR CULTURE?

Individual Perception of Culture

Social relations The class system Race

The neighborhood
Organizations

Two Major Theorists

Edward Banfield Oscar Lewis

Banfields Theory
radically present-oriented outlook attach no value to work, sacrifice, self-improvement,

or service to family, friends or community

Lewiss Theory
Coined phrase Culture of Poverty Burdens of poverty are systemic Imposed upon these members of society T

Thus lead to the formation of an autonomous

subculture where children are socialized into behaviors and attitudes that perpetuated their inability to escape the underclass

Examples of Lewiss 70 characteristics which surround the culture of poverty

Frequenting of pawn shops Lack of reliance on banks High rates of male unemployment

Existence of matriarchal families.

Six conditions within the culture of poverty

1. Societies that operate with cash economies wherein

production for profit is encouraged. 2. A high rate of unemployment. 3. Low wages 4.Iinsufficient remedies supplied to low-income individuals. 5. The existence of a bilateral kinship system (traced through both parents) as opposed to a unilateral system (through one parent) 6. The existence a value system that applauds upward mobility while deeming low economic status to be a consequence of personal inadequacy.

The culture of poverty perspective argues that the poor remain in poverty not merely as a result of their economic conditions but also because of cultural values and practices they had developed from poverty.

Expectations
Example Questions Opinions?

Book

See Poverty Be the Difference

By Dr. Donna M. Beegle

Types of Poverty
Long Term Poverty Temporary/Situational Poverty Generational Dont internalize the Working Poor poverty, but blame the Internalize the poverty situation as their own fault (a personal deficiency)

Barriers to Success
Systemic Barriers Social structure Silence about poverty Invisible nature of social class Stereotypes and lack of understanding

Systemic Barriers cont.

Isolation Lack of social mobility Institutional punitive structures Fragmentation of available help Failure of professionals to reach out

Internal Barriers
Internalization of poverty Internalization of blame

How to Better Serve People in Poverty

First Step: Understanding The challenges (systemic and internal barriers) The myths The stereotypes The individual

Theoretical Perspectives
Strengths Perspective Focus on an individuals strengths Resiliency Theory External factors can contribute to resiliency 3 ways to promote resiliency

1-Helping individuals to feel special or unique 2-Valuing the importance of family and friends 3-Helping individuals see their opportunities (their strengths)

Theoretical Perspectives Cont.

Identification Theory Building relationships based on finding common ground Self-disclosure as a way for your client to identify with you

Theoretical Perspectives Cont.

Social Capital Theory Social capital: resources through relationships and connections Bring individuals out of the isolation of poverty through social capital. How?
Introduce them to your own network Expose them to individuals who have succeeded Teach them how to build a network Broaden experiences and expectations

Mentoring
An essential ingredient for breaking poverty

barriers (Beegle, 2007, p. 108) Middle class often have natural mentors (i.e. family members) Isolation of poverty and little opportunity for connections with individuals who have succeeded Someone who believes in the individual and helps the individual to believe in themselves

People who have never seriously lacked the necessities of life will never truly understand the experience of being poor, constantly worrying about how to pay even the most inexpensive bills, what a catastrophic event a broken appliance represents, not being able to pay for school field trips, walking miles every day to save bus fare, working after school till midnight to help the family financially, purchasing soda or candy as holiday gifts for one another, having to completely support ourselves through college and graduate school, and knowing that others seemed to shun us because we were poor (Sue and Sue, p. 19).

 One definition of multiculturalism is:

that state in which one has mastered the knowledge and developed the skills necessary to feel comfortable and communicate effectively (1) with people of any culture encountered and (2) in any situation involving a group of people of diverse backgrounds. Janet and Milton Bennett, 1996.

In order to recognize and understand contextual influences and the role of power, ethical intercultural communicators should examine the location from which they are speakingPeople who are privileged are often less motivated to listen. Oppressed groups always know more about the lives, motivations, and desires of the powerful than vise versa (Martin et al., 1998, p. 459).

High Context Communication

Most of the information, or meaning, is in the person or

the physical context within which the communication takes place Language use is expressive Relies heavily on nonverbals (gestures, vocal features, voice tone, quality, etc.) And the group identification/understanding shared by those communicating The explicit message is rarely the entire story Much is implied and is to be found in the receiver and the setting

Low Context Communication

Most of the information or meaning is to be found

explicitly in the coded message Language use is instrumental Paralinguistically impoverished (relies less on nonverbals) What you hear is what you get

What I see is given meaning by how I locate it in my knowledge, but it may or may not correspond to the original intention that was conveyed by the other (Lederbach, 1995, p. 44).

When interacting with each other, it should never be assumed that we ever achieve full awareness of all the implications of any communication (Hall,1998. p.59).