2 years ago I made a
list of all the causes I was closest to and had the best line of site on. I
called it my “Majors” and my “Minors” –like you would major or minor in
something in college. I was good and several causes in particular including
Women, Children, and Nature. Unfortunately one stark area of contrast that I
had little knowledge or experience in understanding was Poverty.
I couldn’t even label
it something that I minored in. I’ve been close to poverty in that I’ve lived
paycheck to paycheck with -$200 in my bank account, but I’ve never really FELT
poverty. I’ve never fully experienced, even though I’ve been involved in a lot
of non-profits that were related to poverty –I never really saw it in person.
It is the destiny of a
soul to grow. We grow as souls by expanding our compassion and grace beyond
ourselves that we would come to love and all and hate none as God does.
I saw it as a personal
issue with my soul that it did not understand poverty on a more empathetic
level. I felt disjointed with an issue I knew little of.
I think that’s one of
the reasons God has led me to this non-profit I’m working for which confronts
poverty head-on. I’ve seen it a lot more clearly and I think I’m meant to share
what I have come to learn.
One of the main issues
with poverty that most people aren’t aware of is that it’s multi-dimensional.
There are overlapping, inter-related issues perpetuating this system of
physical and financial oppression.
There are multiple
issues Contributing to poverty and
multiple issues that Comprise
poverty.
Here are a few of the
issues I’ve come across Contributing to Poverty:
-A discriminating
education system that favors wealthy communities and white children
-Physical, emotional,
and sexual abuse –especially with kids
-The f*cked up
situation that is the Foster “Care” System
-Mental and
psychological health and disorders
-Human trafficking and
its victims
-Racism, sexism, and
other forms of discrimination people like to pretend don’t exist
-Pregnant teens and
young mothers
-Drug addiction
(usually as a result of some form of abuse)
-No one looking out for
the elderly (Alzheimer’s, veterans, low-income…)
-No one looking after
the mentally and/or physically challenged
-Debt
-Domestic Violence
-Government abuses
(especially in some targeted communities)
-LGTQ+ youth being
disowned by their “Christian”/Religious parents
-Student loans
-Capitalism without
Compassion
Here are a few of the
issues that Comprise poverty:
- Hunger, Starvation,
Access to Food
-Clothing (which is
different based on winter v. summer and men v. women)
-Personal Care Items
(shampoo, soap, tampons, toothbrush…)
-Shelter (not just a
place to sleep at night, but a place –especially for the LGBTQ+ community,
women, and children –that’s safe during the day)
-Support in seeking
education and employment
-Human trafficking and
its victims
-A rise in crime which
always goes hand in hand with poverty
-Need for access to
health (especially mental health) facilities and treatment
-Veterans
-Access to
transportation
Basically poverty is
the direct result of what happens when certain groups of people and kinds of
pain inflicted on people go unnoticed and uncared for. This is why it’s
important for the human race to stop making excuses to sever from others and to
finally come together as we were intended to so this kind of suffering ceases
to exist.
It reminds me of this
other issue that’s going on that another woman brought up the other day. She
said, “My sister has worked in an integrated school system and is now working
in a segregated school system. I didn’t even know it was still LEGAL to
racially segregate schools.”
She said that her
sister loved the integrated school because –even though they weren’t as
financially well off and their neighborhood had issues –children saw children
from every walk of life. There were kids whose parents were in jail. There were
kids who were living with grandparents. There were kids who were from
low-income homes. There were kids that had physical and mental challenges. And
a variety of kids from every race.
She said, “In this new
school she had a student come up to her and say, ‘I saw a black person across
the street today and I was scared he was going rob me.’” A 10 year old girl
said that.
This lack of INCLUSION
leads to an emaciated culture. We only feed off of chips, soda, and cupcakes. We
seem to evade -on principle -anything genuinely good or of true value.