Poverty

A little lesson…

At PSO we talked about two types of poverty: situational and generational. Situational refers to short-term loss of income such as unemployment, chronic illness, disability, or other circumstances; while generational poverty to poverty that affects two or more generations. In addition, Absolute poverty is defined as the deprivation of basic human needs while Relative poverty depends on the other members of society. Many people in impoverished communities do not consider themselves absolutely poor only relatively— “We’re doing better than the Smiths…”

Orshansky's Poverty Threshold

The US government measures poverty using Orshansky’s Poverty Threshold and has since the 1960s. During the 1950s, studies indicated that families spent 1/3 of their income on food. Today, however, other costs have taken more of the proportion including rent/housing needs. Other problems with the measure of poverty include the definition of income. It excludes noncash government transfers (like earned income tax credit, food stamps, Medicaid, and other assistance) and therefore overstates poverty. In addition, the definition of expenses excludes income taxes, work-related expenses, and out-of-pocket medical expenses; therefore understating poverty. Lesson finished J

You make how much?! 

The 2011 poverty guidelines from the Dept. of Health & Human Resources indicate that an individual living in one of the 48 contiguous states can live off $10,890 a year. For VISTA, I will be given a $10,296 stipend for the year (858/month). Part of the VISTA experience is poverty immersion. They help us budget and encourage us to get food stamps. The United Way and our VISTA leader(s) have been doing a great job of taking care of us. We are able to shop at United Way’s Gifts In Kind center. Very basically, items returned to Wal-Mart or taken off the shelf for any reason can be sent here for non-profits to acquire. We can get needed toiletries, home furnishings, etc in exchange for two volunteer hours there.

Being a sociologist, I am super pumped about applying for SNAP (food stamps). In fact, I’m pretty excited about living in poverty as well. This is the first (and hopefully last) time that I will be able to experience what I have been learning about in college, and perhaps I will be more able to empathize with those whose lifestyles are such. In addition, my hope is that through my practices with poverty this year, YOU will have a greater understanding of it as well.

On Friday August 26, I faxed my SNAP application to the Dept. of Social Services office. It was simpler than I expected it to be. However, I thought it should have been more thorough, but perhaps that’s what the interview is for.

September 16— My DSS caseworker called me on my cell phone at work once and I have returned his call multiple times and left messages.

(The previous paragraph is for reference for those of you who are interested in social services. It’s not as easy as we make it seem. It’s definitely not a hand out).

Check back to see when I get food stamps.