Section 8 Neighborhood

Although less segregated than a decade ago, many communities are still mainly comprised of households that contain only one ethnicity or racial group (Carr, 2008). According to Orfield & Lee, children in impoverished communities experience a loss of successful role models; most being unemployed or under-employed. Their parents also lose access to networks in order to obtain better paying jobs and often experience a severe loss of resources to support high-quality schools (2005). In fact, more

This article takes a critical look at the negative effects on children’s who are living with relatives or friends as a result of their family not being able to financially afford housing. The federal definition of homelessness that all U.S. public schools use includes children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The law recognizes that living doubled-up is a hardship and an inherent barrier to academic success, and that’s why students living doubled-up are eligible for homeless services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Dill, 2015). Since, homelessness generally follows a traumatic event such as divorce, foreclosure, incarceration or job loss, children are more susceptible to present behaviors

In 2013, I had the opportunity to assist local public school administrators on the issue of illiteracy and the allocation of resources in inner-city schools. Additionally, I collaborated on a small team to implement plans to provide public housing for the homeless in Orange County, CA. During this time, I also had the opportunity to be a nanny for five kids who were formerly homeless. I was able to be a part of their transition from street life to home life and witness the effects of poverty

According to the state of New York, approximately thirty thousand families were living at shelters in 2012. I am not ashamed to say that my family and I were included in those statistics. For the past three years, the percentage of families in shelters around New York City have increased. Growing up in The Bronx was extremely challenging for adolescents due to the amount of drugs and crime. Many families are receiving help from the city and still can not afford housing or food. Homelessness has also increased, creating every corner a new home. Although I have faced countless issues growing up, I have been taught an infinite amount of lessons. I have learned that failure is not always a bad thing in life, achievements include hard work and

Poverty in America is a subject that though everybody recognizes is existent, most do not pay attention to very often. In 2010 the poverty line for a family of four was $22,314.00 and 15.1% of Americans were living off of less than that (Tavernise, 2011). While 15.1% is a high number to begin with, the truth is that many more people are living on the verge of homelessness. Countless families are split up every night with children going to a friend’s house or an extended family member’s house to ensure that everyone has somewhere to sleep. These people are called the “hidden homeless” by the Charlotte Observer (Whitesides, 2011). Even more people are either living in tent cities or in their

You have lived in your dream home that you designed for over twenty years. It is in a middle class tree lined family neighborhood. You have raised five upstanding children, two who are still living at home. You find out that a drug and alcohol rehab center has bought your neighbor’s home and plan on putting 16 people who are recovering from drugs and alcohol in this home. What is your reaction? Do you have any say in the matter? What do the laws say? Most of us do not worry about this situation or ever think it can happen to us. It can and it does. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the ADA guidelines a drug user who is currently participating in a

According to the PRB article “U.S. Low-Income Working Families Increasing”, 42.7% of people live below the poverty line, with 32.1% of them living 200% below the poverty line; this group is categorized as the low-income group.(PRB) 59% of low income working families have one or more minority parents. Living in a low-income community limits one’s standard of living through academic gaps, the selection of food available, an ever-present fear of victimization , and a lack of resources available to both children and adults.

A young twelve year old girl named Dasani lives in the Auburn Family Residence in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Auburn’s Family Residence is a shelter for more than 22,000 homeless children in New York. Dasani lives in a place where mold and roaches claims the walls, where vomit submerges the toilets, where kids like Dasani have to watch after their mom as they try to cleanse themselves in a shower that looks and smells like it hasn’t been cleaned since it opened. She begins her day taking on mom duties at the age of 12 taking care of her brothers and sisters and cleaning the living space. Dasani lives in place where in order to eat her food she has to wait on a microwave that is used by hundreds of other homeless individuals dying to eat their first meal. One might ask who could possibly live in this treacherous nightmare of an environment? This is the life of homeless people across the United States of America. This environment is why homeless kids are twice as likely to repeat a grade than their regular counterparts. This why homeless kids fall victim to depression, and are socially withdrawn. These are the exact reasons why homeless people are more likely to succumb to HIV/Aids, diabetes and tuberculosis. Any regular human being would know that this is unacceptable for anybody to have to live through everyday of their lives. There are concerns that not providing housing for homeless persons is proving to be detrimental to America’s

When placing my life into the context of the world around me, it can be rather difficult to examine upon the struggles I’ve had upon my life. Particularly profound instances have scarred me to a certain degree, and for quite a while I’ve maintained an unhealthy manner of total repression from these happenings. However, as I move forward in my journey in life, battling to ward off the demons which have infiltrated my psyche since my youthful days, I hold the knowledge that I am not alone, and there are always people that care for me and my well being. This is where Affordable Housing has emaciating themselves in my heart forever. Without Affordable Housing, there is a fantastic chance that I am not the same happy, hard-working individual that I am today, and for that, I will forever be indebted to Affordable Housing. The impact

The United States Census Bureau reports that, in 2015, 13.5% of Americans lived below the poverty line (Proctor, Semega, & Kollar, 2016). The negative effects of poverty are well documented and can have a widespread effect on the lives of those individuals who are affected. They are more likely to experience income and food insecurity, chronic health conditions, and lower quality education than wealthier Americans (United States Government Accountability Office, 2007). Additionally, and more importantly to the purposes of this report, the poor are more likely to experience homelessness or live in inadequate housing. The National Alliance to End Homelessness (2016) estimates that over 500 thousand people were homeless on any given night in 2015. The federal government, recognizing this issue exists, has responded by allocating “50 billion in housing assistance specifically designated for low-income households” (CBO, p.1) in 2014, which was used to assist nearly five million households through various programs (CBPP, p.1). The housing voucher program, which accounted for the largest percentage, provides families with subsidized housing, while allowing them to choose where they live, provided the housing meets certain health and safety thresholds set by local public housing agencies (HUD, Housing Choice). Despite access to

Homelessness is one of the most misunderstood social constructs. The familiarity of homelessness to many American citizens is seeing a scruffy old guy on the side of the street asking for money (Duncan 1), yet the construct is much deeper than that. We associate old, bearded, white guys with homelessness because that is what we see every time we turn our televisions on, or read some heartwarming article about a homeless man getting another chance, yet we don’t wrap our minds around the fact that whole families are homeless too. Many children, moms, and fathers reach a point where they cannot sustain the cost of

Class separation is one of the most debated topics, and one of the most hushed topics at the same time. It is what everybody wants to talk about, yet what nobody wants to mention. Large houses on hills are displayed for everybody to see, mansions dotting the skyline, while small, multi-family houses are sitting at sea level, only to be seen when driving through the neighborhood. My home town is Hillsboro, Oregon, in which 9.2% (city-data.com) of the 97,480 (ci.hillsboro.or.us) people living in the city are sitting below the poverty line. I have been living below the poverty line since my sophomore year of high school, which was 3 years ago. My family has been living off of SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, and TANIF, cash assistance, since then. While other people were going to school in new clothes, I was going in clothes that were either hand-me-downs

As a part of one of my group project in college, we assigned to go to a low-income neighborhood with the high rate crime, in order to fill out some surveys by interviewing residents. Residents were not welcoming to strangers and it was our responsibility to find a way to communicate with them. My strategy, first of all, was to choose proper clothes in order to decrease their attention toward ourselves. secondly, we started our conversation with offering them cookies. we spent sometimes sitting front of their buildings with them and talking about different issues to express our friendship and respect. The outcome was successful and we could get a really good understanding of how they live and what the neighborhood needs to become a safe place

What’s more important, food or shelter? This is the hard question many mothers have to ask themselves every month when the rent is due. In low income, primarily black neighborhoods, this is especially prevalent. The cost of living has greatly increased in urban areas like Milwaukee, but government benefits are staying the same, creating a gap that cannot be easily filled. Because of this, many black women with children have to pick between feeding their families and paying their bills, like rent, gas, and water. The majority of mothers choose to feed their children over paying rent, and this often results in eviction when their debt grows too large. The black community is consistently and excessively faced with criminal charges; as Desmond

In downtown Nashville you see a lot of homeless people asking for food, asking for money, but do you ever stop and think about the children living in conditions where they struggle to find food to eat? Poverty in children is higher than it has been in years. It is said that 15 million children in the United States, which would be 21% of all children, live in families with incomes below the average poverty numbers. Statistics have been known to underestimate the needs of families all around. “Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice that level to cover basic expenses. Using this standard, 44% of children live in low-income families” (Child Poverty). We know that the children living in poverty are usually bullied