Millions of single mothers live near or below the poverty line in the United States. They must struggle to simply pay the bills and put food on the table. Even with government subsidies, food stamps, and child support Katrina is fighting to survive with her children. The unfortunate part of the whole situation is that Katrina did nothing wrong she worked hard and simply tried to raise a family but life took a couple of turns.
Katrina married young and started having children equally young as well. This unfortunately set her up to support a family with someone who was not as dependable as she thought. There are many possible reasons of why Katrina ended up living paycheck to paycheck unfortunately starting a family young without finishing her education was one of them. Despite
…show more content…
Relying on one income has forced Katrina to make tough choices including living without insurance for herself while trying to provide for her children. Katrina is forced to work all day so all three children must be in daycare this means Katrina has to pay for childcare on top of her children’s health insurance, her car, her electricity, her trailer, and all the other necessities of life.
One of the most disheartening things about Katrina’s situation is that she made on paper all the right choices. The only thing she could of done was to wait longer to get married and to finish school before she began having children. Katrina did the normal thing she got married and started a family
Katrina has almost no economic support. Katrina uses food stamps and has access to a discounted childcare facility. However in the documentary a situation arises where she is not able to us her food stamps and has to ration for about a week and ask her ex husband for help.
Katrina is extremely fortunate to have access to the discounted childcare facility because it has a wait list upwards of one hundred kids. If Katrina did not have that childcare program
The neighborhood they live in is dangerous: it is just recovering from a cocaine epidemic; there’s no reliable public transportation; and their mother calls her young children “sluts and whores.” She does not work and relies on her five kids for welfare checks that pay for rent, food, and
(Hurricane Katrina: A Man-Made Crisis?). Additionally, as their economical situation is inferior, it was harder for them to flee the flooding. Therefore, it was mainly this class which was affected and the government was not rushing to help. The slow reaction and the negligence of the government had a major influence on the effects of the storm. If their response was quicker or their preventative measures stronger, the effects could have been reduced as more people could have been evacuated, lives would have been saved and the damage would have been reduced due to extra protection.
“A time like this could change a man”, Abdulrahman Zeitoun thinks as he paddles the streets of New Orleans, first-handedly witnessing the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina (138). This quote from the novel relates to an important assertion Dave Eggers makes. This assertion is that times of trouble can change a person, and can bring out his or her inner demons. This assertion is shown throughout the ending of the novel, where Eggers describes the effects of Zeitoun’s false imprisonment on Kathy’s mental state, through Kathy and Zeitoun’s relationship in the years following the storm and through Zeitoun’s trouble with the law in the years subsequent to the storm.
Although Hurricane Katrina wasn’t expected to ever hit land, it is one of the biggest storms to hit the United States. The storm devastated the city and the country more than anyone would have every thought. Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, displays many of the disastrous events that take place during and after Hurricane Katrina. The book follows Zeitoun and his wife Kathy, a Muslim couple, with four kids and their own painting business, through the storm. After the storm, while Kathy and the kids are staying with friends and family, Zeitoun rides around in his canoe rescuing survivors and watching his properties which has a phone he uses to keep in touch with Kathy.
Poverty deeply impacted Francie’s experiences as she matured, as it prevented her from having the nourishment that she needed. Her womanhood also brought difficulties that men were not faced with, resulting in Francie’s agonizing realization that her world was a man’s world. Her need for love as she grew was also influenced, because her parents, in truth, were not the guardians that she required. However, when faced with challenges, she persevered, and eventually achieved her dream of attending college. Francie’s story is one to be admired, for her determination to succeed, despite having the world turned against
It is very difficult to think that the parents I work with do not see how others are also victims of the system. In one account, a woman “did not socialize with neighbors, usually kept her curtains closed, and generally did not allow her young daughter to play outside.” This ideology, which has been inherited from the days of Raeganomics, creates distance within the communities we work with and further isolates our clients. However I think that this propaganda worked to discourage the creation of communities and further isolate welfare recipients. When we contract with our clients, we talk a lot about their support system and community supports are really lacking in their lives.
The reaction to Hurricane Katrina to me is shockingly similar to events that have happened both in the past and today in New Orleans. In the weeks after Katrina, the people of New Orleans were devastated by the death of family members, and the loss of their businesses, but eventually they began to rebuild the city just like they did after Hurricane Betsy. Since the construction of the levees
In Louisa May Alcotts novel “An Old Fashioned Girl” the main character, Polly Milton, finds herself struggling against a man versus society conflict, as she confronts the rich first class society that surrounds her. The fourteen year old country girl who ventures into the city to visit her good friend, is constantly being told she is old fashioned, poor, and too simple for the city. The basis of the conflict is that all the people Polly encounters during her time in the city, expect her to look and behave like the rest. When Polly cannot do this, people begin to tease and mock her all because she has no wealth.
Poverty affects many people in Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson as shown through their lack of education, their poor access to legal support, and their vulnerability to being targeted. Poverty can lead to a lack of education which affects many people in Just Mercy. Lack of education is shown when Marsha Colbey, a mother of six children, was pregnant with her seventh child. She couldn’t afford prenatal care and the baby was stillborn. Marsha had no intention of killing the baby and due to her lack of prenatal care and education had no idea that there was a problem with the pregnancy.
I viewed Frontline a documentary series, which episode was entitled Poor Kids. The frontline personnel spent time with three children Kailey, Johnny, and Britany along with their families as they all struggle financially. We perceive a glimpse of what it is like to live below the poverty line in America through a child’s eyes. While observing the documentary, I became consciously aware that children who are considered poor or living below the poverty line were more mindful of the responsibilities of life. The children were worrisome of the lack of employment for their parents, bills, and in Britney’s case; how they would accommodate their way of living to support a new addition to the family.
Many families suffered from economic hardships as well as emotional distress. Therefore the Braddock family overcame there challenges which are not having much to eat, not having money, and not having a place to live. To start with, one of the problems the Braddock family had was not having enough food to feed the whole family. For example, in
For example the ways to manage her money. and how to look for jobs and having a greater rate of hire then someone without a proper education would. Also as mentioned above she had money in the bank she could fall back onto if she had a problem. which created a safety net for her. But most people living in poverty do not have the luxury of having a safety net.
She effectively describes the problems of being homeless accurately and was able to use her story to account their struggles and how those struggles made her who is. Homelessness is a widespread problem throughout the world. A lot of individuals fall into homelessness and become helpless. But Jeanette’s circumstance fueled her desire to explore opportunities that would afford her a future better than her current situation. Although her family was poor and lacked essential necessities, her parents were able to instill values like the importance of literature and education; that eventually lead to Jeanette’s love for journalism and her career than bettered her
Child Poverty in the U.S About nine months after conception, newborns come out of the wombs and come to the world. The newborns must be the most beautiful gift the mothers have ever received. It is always moved that the mothers finally see their babies after have waited for long time. The newborns start their new journey in the world. Meanwhile, the babies will embody tomorrow’s world.
According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.