Blog #8

Urban poverty creates unique problems for poor working mothers in particular because tehe environment that they are in puts them at risk for raising children single handedly with a great number of fathers in jail and unable to contribute to the household . In additions children are attending failing schools, children and their mother are going to bed hungry, parents have to choose between keeping the house warm and put food on the table over purchasing and taking necessary medication so that they can stay healthy and continue to work. In essence, the family structure is unable to function properly to ensure that everyone can strive, particularly the children because in urban neighborhoods there are less available jobs that pay well. Another issue is the degree of violence present in urban poor communities where there is a higher concentration of drug use thus rendering the environment unsafe and unfit for children to grow up in.
The working poor are working just as hard as the next person and yet it is still not enough to bring them out of poverty. Some of the videos reflect women who are working hard and have the desire to become more but they are held back by the fact that they cannot afford to pay for college on minimum wage, they cannot afford to buy new clothes and shoes because what they earn is just enough for rent (at their parent’s house), food and bills. Whereas if the children were raised in mixed income neighborhoods, the schools are better, the resources are more plentiful and the overall environment is a better situation for the children to grow up in. Children can play outside, make friends and experience a more normal childhood than those who live in urban poor communities forced to stay inside watching television in order to stay safe. Every child in this country deserves the right to be happy and protected and it is time that we do more for the hard working mothers who are trying to do just that.