Research Paper

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 12

Hartshorn 1

Kayla Hartshorn

ENG 1201

17 November 2019

Research Paper

Poverty is defined as the state of being extremely poor. Poverty has increased in the

United States and can really have a huge impact on the way individuals feel, act, and their health.

The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. There is a direct link between

poverty and poor health. The poverty level guidelines for 2019 are as follows. Poverty is

happening everywhere, but not only in the United States. Africa has poverty as well and it is

simply like the United States. In the article, “Walking through a Tightrope: The Challenge of

Economic Growth and Poverty in Africa”, it talks about it is a struggle for the ones that are there

to get a chance to have fresh water, live in an area that is clean, for themselves to be clean, and

many more different things. This is an everyday issue and will not come to an end without the

help and support. By having the help and support it could potentially come to an end.

Poverty has a lot of different meanings behind it, but has to do with more than just how

much money someone makes. The way that individuals are classified based on how much of an

annual income, age, sex, and race. Why are kids in different poverty classes being judged by the

way that they look or act? In the article, “Poverty USA” it talks about how in 2018, 16.2% of all

children (11.9 million kids) lived in Poverty within the United States. No matter what your race,

gender, social status, occupation Americans in today’s society can either live in poverty or not

live in poverty. African Americans, disabled people, women, or a child all have a better chance

of living in poverty. Depending on not whether or not they do live in poverty it all has to do with
Hartshorn 2

the life decisions that they have made.

In the image from the article, “What is Poverty”, that is shown below, it talks about the

different family sizes and how much money that is being made between everyone. The family

size does depend on how much money that needs to be made. If there is a family and make

around what is shown below they are most likely going to be living in poverty. If there is a

family that does not make enough money that is around this it is proven that they are technically

considered poor.
Hartshorn 3

From the image above, “What is Poverty”,the average cost for housing in the United States

ranges from $500 for a one bedroom apartment to $1500 for a 3 bedroom home. Utilities ranges

from $100 to $325 per month. For a single person that is considered to be at or below poverty

level, their average month income is $1040. Statistically speaking more than half of their

income goes to nothing but living expenses. This leaves little to no money to devote to

healthcare. This creates a double edge sword. Poverty is a leading cause of poor health and poor

health is a leading cause of poverty. The cost of healthcare, which includes co-pays, deductibles,

is a significant factor for most individuals to consider. For an individual living in poverty, it

could mean the difference between being able to pay their living expenses and paying for their

needed medical expenses. For a number of individuals living at the poverty level, it is almost

impossible for them to afford the cost of their healthcare premiums. These individuals are

rolling the dice, hoping and praying, that they have no need to seek medical attention.

But why are children having to live this way if they do not even get a chance to make an

income. There is a lot that people do not look at when it comes to poverty. Poverty is one of

many topics that is an everyday issue. Do individuals that live in poverty have health risks? Is

there a way that children that are living in poverty can get the proper care that they need and get

a better education? What are some ways that individuals can help others out and give them a

better view/chance at life? These are just some of the many different thoughts that people are

thinking about. Poverty needs to come to an end but will not change unless there is help for

people in the world. By just giving them a way to smile, a place to stay when needed, food on the

table, a roof over their head it could go a long way.

Poverty has been present in the United States for many years now. Individuals are

struggling out in the world. Most of them are living paycheck by paycheck. In the article, “Faces
Hartshorn 4

of poverty: What racial, social groups are more likely to experience it?” it talks about the ones

that have been in poverty the longest or have a better chance of being in poverty are Hispanics,

women, children, black. This has a lot to do with the fact that women have to support themselves

and will have to provide for a family if there is one. Disabled individuals have a lot of medical

bills that they have to pay for which are not the cheapest, and have to have a lot of care that one

that might not need. Poverty can happen to anyone but has a lot to deal with where you live and

what you do for a living. Depending on where you live depends on how much those individuals

have to pay in taxes. Taxes is one of the issues that people face since there are levies that are

being ran to try and make the taxes increase. Even if it is not a lot it can still go a long way and

really make someone that is either in poverty become living in poverty. Most people in society

choose a low taxed rate place to live so that they can afford to have a roof over their head and

food on the table.

Since a lot of individuals pick a cheap place to live, so that they can provide for

themselves it might not have the best possible outcome. In the video, “How Poverty Affects

Classrooms” it talks about how a formal teacher of two little girls were taken in by the teacher to

try and give them a better life. For example, the two little girls had a lack of social and emotional

skills and had to be reminded to do some things like eating. Most children are not getting the

best care, attention, and schooling that they truly need to be successful in life. If they do not get

the proper care that someone that is not living in poverty gets why can’t we all help each other

out? It would not make that big of a difference for everyone to come together and help each other

instead of being selfish. This could change the way that the world is viewed and possibly one day

make poverty end. If everyone could just come to an agreement and want to be there for each
Hartshorn 5

other it would make life so much easier for individuals. Education is one of the most important

developments that a child needs in their beginning stages in life.

These two little girls were not getting the best care that they should of been getting and

since the teacher decided to take them in, it got them out of a bad area and put them into a home

that they could really grow in and have a chance. If we could get more people to act like this

teacher in the education department it would really bring the way that some of the individuals are

living. This can be very life changing and can end poor education.

Education has continued to drop and will continue to drop. A lot of kids that are in school

cannot go all the way through high school. This has a lot to do with the fact that they are poor.

Being poor makes it very challenging to be able to pay your way through school and to be able to

get a good job out of it at the end. In the article, “Long-Term Impacts of Poverty on Children:

Health & Education”, it talks about how 30% of poor children do not go all the way through high

school to get their GED. The GED is one of the most important parts in today’s living. Without

having a GED, the individuals will not be able to get the correct job that could support them

enough to put enough into their living. Not having the correct attendance in school, the

preparation for school, and the behavior makes it hard for children to focus. These children are

not getting the correct attention at home or at school. If a teacher were to come together, and get

to know their students more and try to set up a classroom that would be most likely productive to

them to learn in it could possibly change the way that school is viewed in their lives.

While some children are struggling in school, emotionally, and physically it would not

hurt but to help them. Just giving them that notice that there are others there for them and want to

help them or even just be friends with them could change the way that they want to do life. It
Hartshorn 6

could bring out a true hero to them. By just giving them this and doing something for the better it

would mean a lot to them. Going this far would be a life changing moment for them.

The ones that are living in poverty do not have that great of a view on the way that life is.

In the article, “ The New Poor People’s Campaign Wants to Change How We Think About

Poverty”, it talks about how the ones in poverty look at poverty. Since the way that they look at

themselves is not the way that most individuals look at them, there are different types of

organizations that are offered to help them. These different organizations could really help

someone in poverty. There is no one that is really poor in the world. Poor is just a word that is

used to classify different individuals based on how much money that they have to offer and put

down on the table.

Since there are considered poor individuals in the world how do they afford to pay all of

these bills and medical bills as well. In the article, “Long-Term Impacts of Poverty on Children:

Health & Education” it talks about how there are many different health risks can be taken over.

The brain development can be toxic for the brain. Hearing loud noises is not the best for these

people to hear and could hurt them more and more when they actually hear it. Not having the self

confidence of themself. By them not having this it can lead individuals not feeling good about

themselves and talking bad about themselves. Heart Disease can be bad for their bodies by them

not getting the potential care that they need to stay healthy. There can be a lot of stress that can

lead from not having clean clothes, not eating the way that they should, not having the correct

family care. Like if they are going to be abused by their family/household. Since they did not get

the attention that is needed. Having the adult support can go a long way. By having this kind of

support it builds themselves up and brings out who they really are.
Hartshorn 7

There are a number of physical and mental health issues are affected by poverty. On

average, those living in poverty have higher rates of arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure,

respiratory illnesses and depression. According to a study conducted by Dr. Emily Callander,

women who developed arthritis were 51% more likely to be at the poverty level in comparison to

women who did not have arthritis. This also rang true for men who had an average of 22%. It

has been proven not enough food, or quality food, can cause obesity, diabetes, high blood

pressure and heart disease. It is three times more expensive to get the energy we need from

health foods than it is from unhealthy foods. There is also a direct link between poverty and

diabetes. Those diagnosed with diabetes, that fall into the poverty level, have been known to

ration their medication, take smaller doses or skipping treatment to help combat the high cost of

diabetes related medication. Diabetes is one of the most expensive diseases to maintain. The

average annual cost of insulin is $9000. This does not include diabetic supplies, such as testing

equipment and needles, in addition to visits to the doctor. These additional expenses can increase

to the cost to well over $15,000 annually. For a person living at the poverty level, it would be

almost impossible to maintain the cost of this disease, while attempting to live.

Poverty can increase your chances of getting ill due to poor nutrition, lack of clean water

and putting your own health at risk in order to survive. Poor health increases poverty by

reducing work productivity and forcing a family to make decisions of covering the cost or

maintaining a financially solvent lifestyle.

Children, older people, and disability individuals are the ones that need the most

attention. Being any of these three groups of people it is hard to live when you do not have the

potential money to be able to survive in the world. Just because there is the different help out

there does it really mean that individuals are going to take the help and use it the correct way.
Hartshorn 8

Once someone is living like this it is very challenging to come out of this and make it stop. A lot

of it has to deal with the fact that the individuals are not in the best shape and cannot move

around as easy. That’s why it is important for these groups to get the correct care that they need

while they are so young to prevent these types of problems.

In the video, “How Poverty Affects Classrooms”, the two little girls were in a rough

patch. Since they were in a rough patch, they did not know some of the key concepts that they

need to know to be successful out in the world. Just like being reminded where they need to go

when it is time for bed. This is something that most people do not need to be reminded of but the

fact that there are people out in the world that need this help shows that these two little girls had

lots of health issues. Their health issues might of not been noticeable for someone to tell by just

looking at them it is there mentally.

All of these different aspects that have to do with the way poverty is viewed has a lot to

deal with the different types of people. Just because someone is not like another person does not

mean that they should be judged. Just because they are being judged does not give individuals

the right to since they have different ways to be looked at. Some people have a lot going on and

have different shells. There are different shells due to the fact that they are struggling differently.

There could be health related issues that someone might not be able to notice.
Hartshorn 9

Overall, the way that poverty is viewed is just depending on a number. It does not go on

to the fact that some just like the person reading this is being judged based on a number. The

amount of money that someone makes is depending on how hard they work. They could be the

hardest worker but not make the most money. Since they might not make the most money it will

be hard for them to support their family and give them everything that they need to be successful

in life. This is hard on someone and by just having that one person that someone can go to is nice

and makes them feel good. There does not have to be a need for someone to just give and give

them presents but to just be there emotionally, socially, physically it can go a long way. That’s

why these or organizations need to push for people to go out together and get to the point to

where they are all about helping and giving so that they can make a change. By making this

attempt it can really bring out someone’s life.

In conclusion of this paper, this topic has really brought out what it means to be living in

poverty. By living in poverty it can face challenges that individuals do not notice that someone is

going through. Just because someone is going through this does not mean that they are going to

come straight out and tell someone. Living in poverty is not only hard income wise but it is hard

emotionally. If the correct tools are not there to be used while being in poverty then there is

going to be no outcome. From doing more research on this topic it has been brought to mind not

to focus so much on one person. It has been shown that if everyone comes together it can not

only make yourself feel great but it can bring out the best in others. It can bring out others, and it

will continue to go down the line.


Hartshorn 10

Works Cited

AFTHQ, director. How Poverty Affects Classrooms. Youtube, 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ_dJ7G0Xvk

Kaufmann, Greg, et al. “The New Poor People's Campaign Wants to Change How We Think

About Poverty.” Talk Poverty, 15 May 2018,

\talkpoverty.org/2018/05/14/new-poor-peoples-campaign-wants-change-think-poverty/.

“Long-Term Impacts of Poverty on Children: Health & Education.” Operation Warm, 27 June

2018,
Hartshorn 11

www.operationwarm.org/blog/long-term-impacts-of-poverty-on-children-health-educatio

n/.

Manalo, Victor. “The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto by T. Smiley and C. West.”

Journal of Policy Practice, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 59–61. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/15588742.2014.855617.

Oluwatayo, Isaac B., and Ayodeji O. Ojo. “Walking through a Tightrope: The Challenge of

Economic Growth and Poverty in Africa.” Journal of Developing Areas, vol. 52, no. 1,

Winter 2018, pp. 59–69. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/jda.2018.0004.

Pirani, Fiza. “Atlanta, Detroit, Five Ohio Cities among Top Worst Cities in U.S., Report Says.”

, 15 June 2018,

www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/atlanta-detroit-five-ohio-cities-among-top-

worst-cities-report-says/7jWzaO1cXwa5WIGiLq3QKN/.

“Poverty Guidelines.” ASPE, 20 Mar. 2019, aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines.

Sauter, Michael B. “Faces of Poverty: What Racial, Social Groups Are More Likely to

Experience It?” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 10 Oct. 2018,

www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2018/10/10/faces-poverty-social-racial-

factors/37977173/.

“The Population of Poverty USA.” Poverty USA, www.povertyusa.org/facts.

Walker, Elizabeth Reisinger, and Benjamin G. Druss. “Cumulative Burden of Comorbid Mental

Disorders, Substance Use Disorders, Chronic Medical Conditions, and Poverty on Health

among Adults in the U.S.A.” Psychology, Health & Medicine, vol. 22, no. 6, July 2017,

pp. 727–735. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/13548506.2016.1227855.

“What Is Poverty?” Oregon Center for Public Policy, 19 Feb. 2019,


Hartshorn 12

www.ocpp.org/2019/02/19/what-is-poverty-2019/.

You might also like