I believe women, as a whole, need to be educated. Single mothers, who can barely feed themselves, much less their children, need an education on birth control, self-esteem and exiting the welfare system.
Too many single mothers living in poverty have more than once child to take care of. Often times it is the same old sad story. Fathers are not around to help with the responsibilities. And even if they are present they contribute very little, if at all. Yet more and more women find themselves back into the arms of men who can't take care of them. A physical relationship has started. Then a baby is on the way. Another mouth to feed adding on to the other two, three or more children bustling in tow. No condom is used. No talk of waiting until the situation gets better. No vow of celibacy. No form of birth control.
My big question is what are social workers and welfare programs doing to encourage women not to have any more children??? Children should not be born into a world where their mother cannot afford to feed them. Instantly these children have become a statistic. Why such a bland future??? There are many possibilities. One reason that keeps recurring over and over again in my mind is the irresponsibility of parents, particularly women. It is no wonder children pay the price for their parents' irresponsibility. Sex can often be viewed as a brief release from stress because it is pleasurable. Especially if you are with some one whom you love and deeply care about.
And of course, all sense of reasoning has already flown out the window. What was once a tiny spark has now become a passionate flame. And then after fifteen minutes (or less) it's over. This is a very familiar road taken by women whose lives are constantly filled with broken promises, depression / rejection and hungry children.
Next on the agenda that women need to be educated on is self-esteem. How can single women, living in poverty with dependent children, develop a positive self-worth??? This should be the question of the century since many women have gone through some rough growing up years. This has caused them to not have a positive self-image. Realistically, it is hard enough being financially poor but to be mentally poor in spirit is much worse. To add to this complication, once you bring children into the picture, they usually get the short end of the stick. It is a never ending cycle that is both damaging and heart breaking at the same time.
The need for social programs to educate women on developing a better self-esteem is not being preached enough. There are many things that can help motivate women and jumpstart a positive sense of self-worth. For example scholastic education, job training, physical education, medical check-ups, parenting classes and spiritual development. Women need to know that they are programs and people out there who care about improving their lifestyle. They need to know that they are not alone and that there is always a better way.
Most of these women know what it is like not to have a strong support system. Their own parents were flawed in many ways. And as these women mature it becomes a blaming game. When is it time to stop looking back and stop blaming others for the reason your in this situation? Some wounds run deep and are very uneasy to talk about. This causes women to open up less and less about their issues. They let unresolved problems and hurt feelings fester deep inside the crevices of their heart. Any ounce of self value they might have had has already been polluted by years of suppression.
Thirdly, what are social services doing to encourage women to get out of the system and back on their feet? If we look at statistics it might lead those who were once optimistic into pessimism. Most of the time the numbers are not always good. It seems that every year the poverty rate among women is growing at an alarming rate. Programs that were designed to take care of this problem are not working. It does cause one to wonder if enough is being done to help people rise above the poverty line. Is it possible, however, that the problem could be funding?
It appears that our elected politicians view social programs that are established to help people at the bottom of the totem pole. It is not on their priority list at all. And because of this many programs end up being obsolete and/or never brought to the table due to lack of interest and lack of financial support.
But money might not be the only problem. How about making sure that social service workers are properly trained in dealing with the poverty that has plagued so many women??? Are they able to cope, themselves, with the psychological issues that these women have? Can they give each case the professionalism, confidentiality, and sensitivity it deserves? Are they just in it for the money and is it just another job to them??? Lack of dedication among social workers can keep these women below the poverty line and therefore, stuck in the system.
In conclusion, poverty among today's women and children is affecting all of us. Women lack the proper education needed to prevent unnecessary births and poor self-esteem. In addition social workers need to be educated, themselves, on helping the needy overall.
