Time occurs in the present moment and future implications are seldom considered; being proactive, setting goals, and planning ahead are not a part of generational poverty's culture.
Extra money is shared among an individual's support system rather than using the extra money to “get ahead”. From a poverty perspective, a person will never “get ahead” so it is important to share fortune with others to ensure one will be assisted in a time of need.
A male's identity is often tied to being a lover and fighter while a “good” woman is expected to take care of and rescue her man and children.
For many in generational poverty, jail is a part of life; unlike the middle class, a lack of resources means a lack of resources to avoid jail.
Scolding and corporal punishment from the matriarch (typical head of household) is about penance followed by forgiveness and feeding; correction or change is often not an expectation because of a strong belief in fate and destiny (Pearson, 2003, p.6).
Not all people who live in poverty go by these rules, but there is a great number who do. As a teacher, understanding this concept can help lessen the frustration in dealing with children who are experiencing generational poverty. It is also important to analyze a family's resources before giving middle class suggestions, which may be impossible for them to follow.
Not only does poverty affect the people who are already on this earth, but it also affects those that have not yet been born. “Children whose families live at or near poverty often are born to mothers who lack prenatal care. Children are born with low birth weights, they receive poor-quality childcare (Anderson, 2007). In 1988, the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, analyzed data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.
They found that “for women with household incomes below the poverty level in 1988, the infant mortality rate was 60% higher and the post neonatal mortality rate was twice as high as those for women living above poverty level”(“Poverty and Infant Mortality”, 1995). These days, there are news reports about babies being found in the garbage or duffel bags. Although there is no excuse for the treatment of these infants, there are questions that seem to go unanswered. Was the mother already living in poverty? Was the baby already dead from lack of adequate prenatal care? Another question to ask is, what can we do to prevent these incidences?
According to Kid's Count, children living in poverty may “have parents who abuse alcohol or other drugs, suffer child abuse and are more likely to drop out of school, get in trouble with the law and end up in foster care”(Andersen, 2007). Kid's Count is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “It is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S. by providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being. Kids Count seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children (Kids Count Census Data).
Other organizations and foundations set up to help the poverty stricken. “One in six New Yorkers live in poverty”(Robin Hood). Robin Hood is a foundation set up to help the residents of New York by “finding and funding the best and most effective programs and partnering with them to maximize results”(Robin Hood). Habitat for Humanity is an organization that helps build houses for the poor, not only here in America, but in Africa and other countries. There is the "I Have A Dream" Foundation that “motivates and empowers children to reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term program of mentoring, tutoring, and tuition assistance(America's Charities).
Then, there is the "Stand Up For Kids" “on-the-street organization that rescues homeless and at-risk youth through outreach, counseling, education, services in housing, health, and basic life needs and a sincere, caring attitude”(America's Charities). And for those young mothers, there is an organization called Angels' Place Inc. It is a “comprehensive support center that helps low-income student parents to stay in school by providing free childcare, tutoring, counseling, career planning, and informal parenting classes”(America's Charities). These and many other organizations are designed to stop the vicious cycle of poverty in America.
Poverty not only affects the health and ego of a person, it also affects the persons soul and spirit. We need to find ways to help the single mothers with little or no education, or the father trying to support his family on minimum wage pay. The “hidden rules” of poverty does not even need to exist. Instead of fight with one another about financial matters, a husband and wife need to stick together and lean on each other to get through the hard times.
Innocent babies should not be dying because of insufficient prenatal or postnatal care. And no matter how hard it is, society has to realize that there are organizations and foundations out there to help kids, adults, and whole families. People put too much inference on the fact that they are “taking handouts” or think that they are a “charity case” if they accept help from these organizations. Instead of thinking of it as “not being able to provide for my own family” they could take the help later on, after they get on their feet, they could donate time or money to another family who just needs a little help.
