Tagged With "poverty"

I am not even sure where to start. But, I know I need to write about this. I need to give this to the world. Perhaps to another mother who is facing the darkness and can’t see her way out. Perhaps she is watching her children caught in the cyclone that is her life. I think she is who I am writing this for. And maybe for me too. I am doing some amazing work with a community that is fast becoming dear to my heart. I look at the people who keep showing up that are trying to wrap their heads...

Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...

I became a professional reader long before I was a writer when I was living in homeless shelters, subsidized housing, and welfare hotels with my mother in New York City. Most of the middle class and affluent black folks I would come to know in the future would wince and give me a look I couldn’t read when I would tell the story that I outline in my new memoir, The Beautiful Darkness: A Handbook for Orphans . All some intolerant, ignorant bigots need is to continue to hear about the...

By Annabelle Timsit, Quartz Africa, October 8, 2019 Like many three-and-a-half year olds, Odille Igirimbabazi loves to sing and dance. On a recent morning in her home, wearing her favorite blue and yellow dress and clutching a doll that her dad, James, made for her, she sings religious songs and sways energetically as James watches, claps, and smiles, tapping his feet. When she finishes, he scoops her up into his arms to tell her how proud he is. “Bravo!” If this seems a common family scene,...

By Kids Count Data Center, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, September 27, 2019 In 2018, 13 million children in the United States — 18% of all kids — were living in poverty, and for the first time since 2014, the percentage did not decrease compared to the previous year. This is discouraging news; all children should have the economic security that provides them the opportunity to thrive. However, the share of children in poverty remains significantly lower than its recent peak of 23%, seen in...

Child poverty and education The National Education Union (NEU) has published a report looking at the extent to which poverty is damaging the educational opportunities for children from poor families. Findings from a snapshot survey of 908 NEU members including heads, teachers and school support staff working in England, Wales and Northern Ireland finds that: 87% of respondents said that poverty is having a significant impact on the learning of their pupils and students; and 60% believe that...

Thank you for posting this here, Joshunda. Now I must go check out your website!

The Worker Relief and Credit Reform Act, WRCR HR5271, introduced by Reps Gwen Moore (WI) & Marcia Fudge (OH), would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to make it fully refundable and available to more people, including mothers and other unwaged primary caregivers, and get cash directly into mothers’ and families hands

In this extended "How to talk policy and influence people" interview with Christine "Cissy" White, a writer (see healwritenow.com), mom, trauma survivor (including child sexual abuse) and staff member of Aces Connection, we discuss the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) science and the importance of attachment and a felt sense of safety for health and human flourishing. We explore some criticisms of the ACEs framework, the benefits and risks of ACEs screening and problems with the concept...

By Esau McCaulley , The New York Times, November 24, 2021 Every year on Thanksgiving, my children experience something I rarely did when I was growing up. They see their father, mother and siblings all gathered around a family meal with plenty of food to spare. It is so utterly normal to them that they do not even note it. Thanksgiving is just another day of warmth and security. I have many happy memories of the meals prepared by my single mother and my extended family during the holidays. I...

What do PACEs Connection and “What Happened to You?”, the new book by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry, have in common? Almost everything. That’s my conclusion after I finished listening to the book on Audible and re-reading parts of it on Kindle. In the book, Winfrey, a w orld-class connector, journalist, entertainer, author, thought leader, actor, and philanthropist, teams up with her longtime friend Perry, a child psychiatrist, neuroscientist and principal of the neurosequential model of...

“The insidious effects of childhood poverty disrupt nearly every aspect of child development. The Adaptation to Poverty-related Stress Model posits that one of the key mechanisms through which poverty disrupts healthy development is a combination of heightened exposure to poverty-related stress and reliance on specific coping strategies to manage stressors that may contribute directly to symptomologies….”

The on-going Baby’s First Years research ( https://www.babysfirstyears.com/ ) examines the impact on mothers and babies of modest cash gifts as a model of poverty reduction. It turns out that a little money goes a long way and affects the development of babies’ brains. “Early childhood poverty is a risk factor for lower school achievement, reduced earnings, and poorer health, and has been associated with differences in brain structure and function. Whether poverty causes differences in...

Because of a collaboration with Columbia University and UW-Madison, we have answers to these questions. By Peter Peter Pecora, Casey Family Programs, March 17, 2023 - Overview The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently released a “ roadmap ” to reduce child poverty by as much as half through the implementation of a series of social policy packages. The aim of this study was to simulate the reductions in Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and foster care placements that are...

Great to see more evidence that reducing poverty helps people. (And therefore helps us all while saving money in the long term.) The NAS report includes poverty reduction packages that have "work" requirements and others that do not have "work" requirements. Our grassroots nonprofit organization, Family and Home Network, has been thinking about family policy issues for decades (and working closely with allies). We call for the adoption of basic principles of inclusion in family policymaking.

Two recent research reports suggest that anti-poverty policies can help prevent child abuse and neglect. These policies include providing economic support to families challenged by job loss and more generous state policies that reduce food insufficiency.