Introduction; Personal Experience

After putting together this blog for my class Just 315J Poverty and Homelessness at NEIU I have become more sensitive while watching, pictures, statistics I’ve realized how serious and important is to fight poverty, hunger and homelessness. I guess I feel more compassion and sympathize with those that are unfortunate to be in such bad spot. On the other hand, I have to admit I understand and can relate to poor people in some ways, I too have experience poverty in some level. Sixteen years ago, I can remember being a ten years old child who didn’t know anything about life. Having both parents struggling to provide the basic means. Trying to settle down in a stable home but I guess the conditions and the situation at that time didn’t allowed me and my family to do it. Waking up and not knowing if there is enough money to put in the table for a family of seven, etc. So I know what is like to be poor. Fortunately the luck of me and my family changed for good after a short period of time and those bad memories are in the past. Now I’m a grown adult and I see life differently and I learned how to appreciate things in life. I hope this blog help my audience and my class to obtain a better understanding of why and how individuals in the society are force to live in this deprived conditions, inside an invisible support system. We all are vulnerable and can be victims social inequality. We society need to learn how to overcome poverty, prevent and help those that need form us.


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Poverty in Chicago

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY

Make Poverty History - Bono


Hunger Action Event with Chicago Food Depository





Poverty Definition

My definition of poverty is when a person or community is in a bad economic situation where is deprived or lack the essentials meas such as such as house, education,clean water, food, health care, clothing


The changing face of poverty

Millions of Americans live in poverty, more families are suffering and hunger is seen growing. According to the most recent Census Bureau statistics, nearly 36 million Americans lived in poverty in 2003, an increase of 1.3 million from 2002. And since 2000, 4.4 million more people in this country are living in poverty.


According to Jared Bernstein, a labor economist the U.S is facing one of the worst economic situation and we have to acknowledge that those that have money become richer and richer every day and the disparities between poor and rich are astounding, there is few that falls in the middle class and what is left is either poor or rich.


Finally, Fear and hunger walk hand in hand with poverty, and last year 12.6 million American households -- 11.2 percent of all American homes -- were afraid they might not be able to put enough food on the table, according to the Census Bureau. That's up more than 1.6 million households from the year 2000.


Author; Octavio Blanco CNN
Title; The changinf face of poverty
Date of publication December 30, 2009
CNNMONEY.COM

Chicago homeless crisis worsens with budget cuts, mass foreclosures

According to the wsws.org due to the crisis the country is facing the number of homeless people has increased dramatically in the Chicago area and the suburbs in the past moths. The Chicago Coalition for homeless estimates that “21,000 people are on the street on any given night.” So this recession is not only affecting those with homes and jobs in fact are increasing the number of poor and homeless people.

For 2010, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that homelessness is expected to grow based on rising unemployment and increased rental market competition due to foreclosures: 4.5-6.3 million if unemployment reaches 9 percent. This would represent an increase of about 900,000-1.1 million families.

Author; Kristina Betinis
Title; Chicago homeless crisis worsens with budget cuts, mass foreclosures.
Date of publication; 21 December 2009
WORLD SOCIAIST WEB SITE

Monday, April 5, 2010

7. ARTICLE

Food banks stretched, but ending childhood hunger reachable, advocates say

Source: Medill reports Chicago 

by Sarah Marchmont
March 04, 2010

 This article looks at Food insecurity rates are a way the government measure individuals' access to food and level of hunger.  According to this article every week, 5.7 million people are receiving food assistance from one of Feeding America’s nearly 42,000 member agencies.  In Cook County, 142,000 people receive food each week from the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s member food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. There’s been an 86 percent increase in clients they served between 2008 and 2009, serving in January around 980 clients. It also provides 600member agencies that lat year gave out 58 million pounds of food. However, in Cook County, 44 percent of households with children have “very low food security,” according to the Feeding America study, which means people in those homes are reporting disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake — people in this situation aren’t eating three meals a day, seven days a week as is suppose to. Nearly 40 percent of the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s clients are children.  So the questions is ending hunger just about pouring more and more money into federal food assistance programs, or is it about decreasing the need for assistance?  Anti- hungers advocates that this problem may be solve with 5 yrs in the barrack Obama’s administration.
The picture of this article is shocking, a young white man holding a cardboard trying to find a job and having his resume on hand.  He relies on panhandling and food pantries for food. This is similar story of Ehrenreich but in different way, Ehrenreich went she worked at various jobs trying to make a living she still wasn’t able making enough to meet her needs, I assume this guy shown in this article is trying to do the same as Ehrenreich which is surviving and trying to get a decent paying job. I used to think that this could only happen to foreign people or people who decided to be on the streets since they don’t have the language skills and education but I guess is not about the lack of opportunity and jobs. Addressing the problem of the high demand of people assisted in food depositories. I believe the answer for poverty is not to provide more food banks and investing, although I think is good that Chicago food depositories help children and people who need of this basic items in order to get by. And understand why people are hungry and address those issues.
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