Poverty among the working class and children is not something that the US faces. Its everywhere! . When Iota Sigma Rho took on the initiative to address the pressing issue of the working class and child poverty in America, Soror Rhoyal Belle (ISR's International Soror from the United Kingdom) expressed that it effected those who lived internationally as well.
As ISR continue to make sure everyone keeps those less fortunate in mind this holiday season, we present a message from Soror Rhoyal Belle:
"Poverty affects one in four children in the UK today. When kids grow up poor they miss out – and so do the rest of us. They miss out on the things most children take for granted: warm clothes, school trips, having friends over for tea. They do less well at school and earn less as adults.
Any family can fall on hard times and find it difficult to make ends meet. But poverty is not inevitable. With the right policies every child can have the opportunity to do well in life, and we all share the rewards of having a stronger economy and a healthier, fairer society.
Sadly this is not something that feels remotely achievable in our current times. A very common scenario across the world at the moment are families where both parents are working 39+ hours a week, their young children are in childcare which eats up a huge portion of their income, less time is spent as a family unit, and in more cases than not these families are still living below the breadline.
Food Banks are a common place now to help families try to feed their children because they are just not earning enough to make ends meet, or provide a warm safe home environment for their growing families.
With populations ever growing and not enough being done by governments to really tackle these issues we need to look to each other to learn, inform and create new ways to help those less fortunate and each other through the hard times that affect us all.
Below are a few statistics and facts which whilst may be based on figures from the UK but as we know mirror many other countries:
- Three-year-olds in households with incomes below about £10,000 are 2.5 times more likely to suffer chronic illness than children in households with incomes above £52,000.
- Infant mortality is 10% higher for infants in the lower social group than the average.
- Only 48 per cent of 5 year olds entitled to free school meals have a good level of development at the end of their reception year, compared to 65 per cent of all other pupils.
- Less than half of pupils entitled to free school meals (just 34 per cent) achieve 5 GCSEs at C or above, including English and Math, this compares to 61 per cent of pupils who are not eligible.
Families living in poverty can have as little as £13 (16$) per day per person to buy everything they need such as food, heating, toys, clothes, electricity and transport. Poverty impacts on what families can spend, one in ten of the poorest families can't afford to send their children on school trip, compared to one in a hundred of the richest families, 58 per cent of the poorest families would like to go on holiday once a year but cannot, only 5 per cent of the richest families cannot afford this luxury. The Government has a statutory requirement, enshrined in the Child Poverty Act 2010, to end child poverty by 2020. However, it is predicated that by 2020/21 another 1 million children will be pushed into poverty as a result of the Coalition Government’s policies. There were 3.9 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2014-15. That’s 28 per cent of children, or 9 in a classroom of 30. Child poverty reduced dramatically between 1998/9-2011/12 when 800,000 children were lifted out of poverty. Since 2010, child poverty figures have flat-lined. The number of children in absolute poverty has increased by 0.5 million since 2010.
As a direct result of tax and benefit decisions made since 2010, the Institute for Fiscal Studies project that the number of children in relative poverty will have risen from 2.3 to 3.6 million by 2020 (poverty figures before housing costs). Work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works. Children in large families are at a far greater risk of living in poverty – 34% of children in poverty live in families with three or more children.
Families experience poverty for many reasons, but its fundamental cause is not having enough money to cope with the circumstances in which they are living. A family might move into poverty because of a rise in living costs, a drop in earnings through job loss or benefit changes.
Child poverty blights childhoods. Growing up in poverty means being cold, going hungry, not being able to join in activities with friends. For example, 60 per cent of families in the bottom income quintile would like, but cannot afford, to take their children on holiday for one week a year. Child poverty has long-lasting effects. By GCSE(English High School Exams), there is a 28 per cent gap between children receiving free school meals and their wealthier peers in terms of the number achieving at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades.
Poverty is also related to more complicated health histories over the course of a lifetime, again influencing earnings as well as the overall quality – and indeed length - of life. Men in the most deprived areas of England have a life expectancy 9.2 years shorter than men in the least deprived areas. They also spend 14% less of their life in good health. Women share similar statistics. Child poverty imposes costs on broader society – estimated to be at least £29 billion a year. Governments forgo prospective revenues as well as commit themselves to providing services in the future if they fail to address child poverty in the here and now. Childcare and housing are two of the costs that take the biggest toll on families’ budgets. When you account for childcare costs, an extra 130,000 children are pushed into poverty.
Do I think we could reverse the rise in Child Poverty? Yes I do. Looking at one of the countries at the other end of the poverty scale is was very interesting and shows that a country can turn itself around and pull itself out of poverty.
Finland has one of the lowest child poverty rates in the EU, while the female employment rate is among the highest. This is largely thanks to strong state support for children and families. Family policy in Finland emphasizes reconciling paid employment with family life and ensuring an adequate level of income for families. Access to public day care is guaranteed to all children under seven and a generous system of family leave and allowances helps parents cope with their child-raising duties, while keeping their jobs secure. Services for children and families are based on the principle of preventive support.
They also have free healthcare as does the UK and have one of the lowest unemployment rates across Europe because they seem to understand the fundamentals of families and a thriving workforce. This was not always the case in Finland though. Finland went through an economic recession in the early 90s, in which unemployment hit 18 percent. Scores of people who thought they were safe from poverty found themselves slipping into it. As a result, Finns came to view poverty as a much larger threat, and support for “safety-net” government programs grew.
Today, Finns still fear the spectra of unemployment. They believe that keeping people working for livable wages is the best way to address poverty. Anti-poverty policies that garner support in the country typically seek to create new jobs and increase employment rates. In the past year, unemployment has increased from 8.15 percent to 9.2 percent, but only about 1.3 percent of people are listed as “inactive” in the job market.
So we can make a difference. We can help those in need. We can be more aware or what is happening in the next town, in the next street, next door.....
Lets start trying to make that difference."
(Statistics as of June 2016. All poverty figures are after housing costs, except where otherwise indicated)
