What Does Poverty Mean To Me Research Paper

Although José had two children with a previous wife, Felipe was the first of six with Virginia. Later on in his life, his siblings, María, Mateo, Jesús, Juan, and Virginia, came about. José worked as a carpenter and blacksmith. With the skills of his job, he built the Alou four-room household. On top of that, he also built many of the other houses in the neighborhood. To suit his family’s desperation for money, he became a fisherman to provide for his family. He did this, so his family could be less dependant on his neighbor’s to pay for their bills. He had always been an avid fisherman because he

Jose is a type of person that anyone could look up to. He’s strong, smart and doesn’t let people walk all over him. Throughout the movie he becomes a stronger and stronger person. He goes through two deaths of two people who are very influential in his life, let alone the death of his mother. His grandmother, Ma Tine, raises him. She is a very influential person as well, because she has only the best in mind for her grandson. Although Sugar Cane Alley takes place in Martinique, well after slavery was abolished, the way Jose and Ma Tine live reflect many of the same ideologies of slavery from many years before. In Martinique almost everyone works, they cut sugar cane which is barely enough money to live off of. The only

Poverty is defined as a state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support.1 Conditions such as these are currently affecting an astounding number of Americans across the United States daily. No longer can we as a nation continue to ignore the global impacts that poverty is having on our society. From social conditions, social problems along with social isolation the impacts are being felt and realized in an unquestionable manner. Poverty remains one of the most prevalent and persistent social problems within the United States. This is an ethical issue in which society must recognize the causes of poverty and understand public attitudes and perceptions of the poor in order

My grandfather Frailan Sendejo’s father Gregorio Sendeja would take him to work in the fields every summer. So, just like his father, my grandfather got married and had my father Enrique Sendejo and worked in the fields every summer just like they did with him. My father said to me “My dad and I went to multiple states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.” (Sendejo) It was tough for my father because he never got to go to a full year of school, he had to leave during the school year and then come back late in the next school year. My father told me “Some summers were harder than others because I would go on a bus to another state and work without my parents to pick cucumbers.” (Sendejo) He also said ”I had to walk on my knees all across the fields and back to help support my family, and I would only get paid $40 for the day.” (Sendejo) When he went back to Crystal one year he went to school and met my mother Gina Sendejo. My father was going to have to leave to the fields again, so my mother decided to go with him. Though, after a few years they decided to stop migrating up North to focus on their careers and family. I never realized how difficult it was for my father to get to be the person he is today, but I’m glad that he and my mother brought me to where I am today, so I can continue to share their

A social problem, is “a general factor that effects and damages society”. It can be used to describe an issue or a problem within a certain group of people or an area in the world. Examples of contemporary social problems today include anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. Poverty is an example of a social problem that exists all over the world, and to different extents. In the UK, poverty has effected at least a third of the population, as shown by the Office of National Statistics, providing evidence that it is a massive social problem in the country. Tameside has a big poverty problem. 1 in 4 children in Tameside are born into poverty, and workers in Tameside earn significantly less than other workers in the rest of the North-West area. In addition, Tameside has the largest proportion of people claiming unemployment benefits compared to the rest of the North West of England.

As I mentioned earlier, Jose was born in Nueva Rosita, Mexico but grew up here in the United States. He does still have some extended family in Mexico along with aunts, uncles, and cousins here in Las Vegas. Jose considers Las Vegas his hometown but acknowledges the effects of his Mexican culture and heritage in his family. Jose’s family speak Spanish at home and his parents’ only language is Spanish. Jose and his sisters are bilingual and prefer to speak English when they are not at home. Jose and his siblings often have to help their parents with forms or appointments where English is required and have often acted as translators, even when they were younger. Jose did explain that he initially had trouble in school because when he started Kindergarten

Freed from the constant fear of deportation, Alex moved his family to Los Angeles, where his family would better fit, given the large Hispanic population. In Los Angeles, Alex obtained a job with Pan-American Underwriting Company as a file clerk, making roughly $1000 per month. Alex worked there for twenty years, without receiving a promotion or raise, before finally being laid off without receiving any retirement benefits. My wife cries as she recounts how she helped her father to get a job as a delivery driver where she worked, after he had been laid of at Pan-American; she cries in a mix of emotions that include anger, embarrassment, shame, and deep anguish for her father’s wounded pride (Rock, 2011). Alex’s experience is like so many immigrants in the United States, where uncertain legal status combined with other factors, like language barriers serves to lock them into low-wage jobs that often lack benefits (Massey, Durand, & Malone, 2002). While living in poverty in the United States was an improvement over the situation in Guatemala, Alex’s status as illegal immigrant and poor command of the English language all but assured a life of poverty in the United States.

For the community engagement part of my project, I had reached out to the Des Moines Latino Center where I met Joe Gonzalez. Joe works with many Latinos and does a lot of community outreach to help people and help them get their stories shared with the right people. Joe is also a former Lieutenant for the Des Moines Police Department. After meeting Joe, I can say that he is a great person and just wants to help others out in any way possible. He directed me to a family that he has been working with who has recently moved here from Mexico and has a story to share. This family consist of a young man at the age of 22 named Paul and his three sisters who are 13, 16, and 17 years old. I conducted an interview with Paul, his sisters, and Joe. We

Moises Gutierrez was born on July 26, 1966 in Guadalajara, Mexico, but he was living with his mother and father during his time in Tepatitlan, Mexico. He was the first-born son within a family of six, two boys and four girls. In fact, he would even give nicknames to all his siblings, which consisted of, in order: Guillermina Diaz, known as “Gorthies”; Blanca Gutierrez, known as “Nena”; Alma Cuevas, known as “Chita”; Alex Gutierrez, “Zorille”; and Faby Gutierrez, known as “Cariole” (Alex). Their current living status was at the poverty level, constantly living and moving to different homes constantly, while other times they did not live in homes at all. Yet despite their living and financial status, they would constantly live in neighborhoods that were great and safe for anyone. Those neighborhoods would have many other children to play with, and many of the adults were good people, proving a haven for all those within the neighborhood, no matter how much money they are or aren’t making. And it was thanks to these neighborhoods and all those living within that helped Moises Gutierrez grow up into a person that “always has a smile on his face, and constantly making friends with anyone and everyone” (Cuevas). However, even though that he made many friends, many of them would be, according to my uncle Alex Gutierrez, “Moises’ outer circle friends”, and that there were only a select few who were, “Moises’ friends within his inner circle.” It is these inner circle friends that

In the book Enrique’s Journey written by Sonia Nazario, a projects reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Nazario talks about the true story of a young Honduran boy named Enrique that was abandoned at the age of 5 by his mother Lourdes. His mom left to the United States as an immigrant to work so she can be able to give her poor children a better living. After 11 years of tears, sadness and loneliness pass Enrique decides to go to North Carolina in search of his mother. Family is the central theme of Enrique 's Journey. By basing her investigation around Enrique 's story, Nazario explores the ways that immigration affects an individual’s family. Lourdes insistently believes that she is acting in the most responsible way as a parent by traveling to the U.S. for work. Though she initially makes the trip for her children, they immediately feel the heartbreak of separation beginning with Enrique who is asking where his mother is. Their whole notion of “family” becomes completely broken and will be seen later when the cycle continues with the family Enrique has created with Maria Isabella.

Enrique’s conditions living in poverty as a young child through older adolescence had many negative effects on his family and his own emotional state. His family’s economic situation is what primarily led to Enrique’s mother leaving home to make money in the U.S. and help her family. Having to grow up and be raised by other family members instead of his own biological parents, played a significant part in his development as his dysfunctional and oppressive environment caused detrimental issues with trust in others and lack of love from his parents. Evans, Gonnella, Marcynyszyn, Gentile

One person can have the power to change a community’s perspective or sharpen it. As a Latina and an immigrant, my family’s experience has taught me about the process of entering the United States and the complications that follow. Still, my comprehension of social issues developed further the day I met my brother’s friend and classmate, who followed my brother home, unannounced, on the bus. I will call him Eric, my brother’s friend and his family are Salvadorian undocumented immigrants who seek political asylum. Eric’s family consists of a younger and an older sibling, and his mother. The only source of income is what his mother, who does not speak English very well, makes. Lately, this is what keeps me up at night. Thoughts of this child and his family consume my mind while I brainstorm ways of helping. At a young age when their biggest concerns

Rodriguez lost all connection with his family. He was unable to converse with them he had grown so far apart. Rodriguez felt “embarrassed” to embrace his personal background. He spoke of when his parents came to school and could not not speak English fluently and how it made him embarrassed because he did not want to profess his ethical background.

Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.