The vast majority of people living in poverty are less educated and end up in a state of unemployment higher incarceration rates have also been observed. Some of the many causes include income inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty. In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2017. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. They should know they are not alone during this trying time.ĭr. I'm sure I have passed many people like Becky, whose homelessness is concealed, in public places such as a Walmart or Kroger. As we get into the Christmas holiday season, I am also reflecting on how the Bible commands us to aid those in need, that if we have "two coats," to "impart" one to those who have none. I'm looking forward to reading my students' proposals on poverty, and I am thinking about what I can do in the Columbus community once the COVID-19 surge goes down. Nearly 12 million kids under the age of 18 are living in poverty, and roughly 40% live in households headed by single mothers. Earlier in the semester, we discussed Census Bureau data for poor children in the U.S. Many of them said they want to give more of their personal time and resources - canned goods and clothing - to help their local communities. I have been encouraging my students who are referencing "Growing Up Poor in America" in their final research papers to offer suggestions for alleviating poverty based on what they viewed in the documentary and read from their secondary sources. Looking distressed, Fantasy says: "If they keep these schools shut, I'm going to go crazy. Fantasy depends on the local food bank to feed her family and gets frustrated when Laikyen struggles to do her homework. Fantasy is a middle-aged mother working long shifts at a gas station to support her daughters, 12-year-old Laikyen, who has ADHD, and 16-year-old Miracle, who plans to attend college and become a teacher. The last family featured lives in a threadbare house in Marietta. She must work a specific number of hours to keep her disability benefits. Their mother, Crystal, receives food stamps, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development pays the rent for her trailer home, but Crystal is concerned about her work hours at the Salvation Army being cut due to COVID-19. Shawn, a 13-year-old living in The Plains, walks with his brother Edward, 15, to a McDonald's to receive free lunch during the week. The other children featured were not homeless, but food insecurity and online schooling were daily challenges. Only 14, Kyah mentioned how she held many of her emotions in so her mother would not worry. They were sharing one bedroom, and the stress on Kyah was especially evident. Unable to afford the rent for her apartment, she and her daughters moved in with a family friend. Becky had been juggling some temp jobs and did not have a stable income. ![]() ![]() Mike DeWine shutting down the state for three weeks in March. Becky, a Columbus single mother of two teenage daughters, Kyah and Kelia, had been out of work prior to Ohio Gov. One of the things I kept thinking about while watching the film was how these families were in dire straits before COVID-19. The hardship these families are going through definitely tugs at your heart and exposes the magnitude of chronic and episodic poverty, particularly for single mothers struggling to make ends meet. Since my students were working on their primary-source-analysis essays when "Growing Up Poor in America" debuted, I did not have time to show it during class, but I sat down to watch it this week. One student mentioned during her presentation that she cried during several parts of the documentary while listening to the heartbreaking personal stories of kids only a few years younger than she. The film became the primary source for students writing about poverty and opened their eyes to the suffering that is close to home for all of us in the Buckeye state. During week three of the semester, back in September, Frontline released a documentary titled "Growing Up Poor in America" with a specific focus on children from three Ohio families. Poverty was one of the most popular subjects chosen for analysis. As the autumn 2020 semester ends, my English Composition students at Ohio State University's Lima campus have been sharing their research projects with their peers through Zoom symposiums.
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