Preview

Bottom of the Social Ladder

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2755 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bottom of the Social Ladder
Bottom of the Social Ladder

By: Frances Snell

January 15, 2013

Introduction to Applied Behavior Science

Psy 202

Meagan Marksbury

I. Living Conditions A. Home B. Yard C. Isolation

II. Family A. Children B. Income C. Challenges

III. School A. Social B. Activities C. College

IV. Childhood A. Family B. Income C. Education

V. Strengths A. Attitude B. Family C. Willingness

VI. Weaknesses A. Challenges B. Family C. Resources

VII. Stressors A. Income B. Family C. Social Function

VIII. Intervention A. Education B. Self help group C. Empowerment

Even though it is believed that the poor will always be poor, those on the bottom of the social ladder can rise. “For most Americans, the word “poverty” suggests near destitution: an inability to provide nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter for one’s family”. (Rector -Sheffield (2011). In this paper I will discuss an individual who is living under poor conditions and having a difficult time providing reasonable shelter for herself and her family. I will show how Tammy is living at the bottom of the social ladder. I will discuss the aspects of poverty, evaluate the situation and circumstances that are involved and those that may have contributed to it. I will then apply concepts of this course in order to offer an alternative method that can be applied in order to assist her in making a positive change and increase the quality of her life. Tammy is a middle aged, Caucasian, female. She is a single mother of four children. She and her children live in an isolated area within Waverly, Ohio. They struggle to make ends
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Seeing And Making Culture Summary
    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Seeing And Making Culture Summary

    Now in days, television shows and movies depict the poor as people with no ambition, no dignity, people who cannot be happy with themselves while living in poverty. These negative stereotypes often fill people with a stigma of being or becoming poor. Many of us in this generation, who grew up in poverty or with blue-collar workers as parents, have dealt…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Poverty By Ron Haskins And Sawhill: Summary
    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Poverty By Ron Haskins And Sawhill: Summary

    Sapphire wrote the novel Push indicate about the poverty in American that affects to life of the teenage girl “My muver want me to go get on welfare. But I’m on welfare-hers… she gonna always get money for my daughter ‘cause she retarded.” While the poverty is the main reason why the government have to spend millions of dollar to reduce, it still widely exists nowadays. The following essay will describe and present the study of poverty by Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Anna Quindlen Our Tired, Our Poor Our Kids Summary
    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Anna Quindlen Our Tired, Our Poor Our Kids Summary

    There is an undeniable connection between poverty and homelessness. In “Still Hungry, Still Homeless”, author focuses on the cause of homelessness – poverty. Employment and wages are an essential part of determining a family poverty rate. On the other hand, Quindlen analyses the influences of poverty in her article. She believes that homelessness would bring a hopeless future to our next generation. There is a strong correlation between poverty and educational attainment in a family. “National Low Income Housing Coalition calculated that the hourly income necessary to afford the average two-bedroom apartment was around $12”, less than one-third people in the country earn more than this. As we all know, the higher income a family can earn, the higher education can be provided to their children. Conversely, the poor family tends to have less income, to support their children to have more education…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Finding Fish
    • 2920 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Finding Fish

    A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Ruby K. Payne, PH.D, 3rd revised edition, aha! Process, Inc., 1996.…

    • 2920 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle Summary
    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Glass Castle Summary

    Even though, the authors all portray lives in poverty they explain it in unique ways. Jeannette Walls describes her life in poverty; however, she also teaches life lessons throughout her memoir. For instance, when the Walls family moves to Welch, West Virginia the brick buildings are crowding in close on both sides of the street. Welch is shabby and worn out with a film of black coal dust covering store signs, sidewalks, and cars (Walls 134). Regardless the fact that the town is dirty and needs some improvements, the family is just happy to have somewhere to live end enjoy life together. On the contrary, Mark R. Rank also depicts lifestyles in poverty, yet he clarifies the causes and effects of poverty. To illustrate, he informs that events like losing jobs, having work hours cut back, experiencing a family split, or developing a serious medical problem all have the potential to throw households into poverty (Rank 2 of 3). In spite of the fact Mark R. Rank describes poverty stricken families, he does it in a contradictory way than Jeannette Walls. Furthermore, Jade Walker’s purpose of writing this report is to describe the deprived people’s living conditions, but also to encourage ways to improve homelessness. In particular, she says remedies for child homelessness should include: an expansion of affordable housing, education and employment opportunities for homeless parents, and…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Nickel and Dimed Book Reflection
    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Nickel and Dimed Book Reflection

    Seccombe (2006), in Families in Poverty, discusses six pathways through which poverty operates based upon a model developed by Brooks-Gunn and Duncan and the Children’s Defense Fund (p. 65). Although the pathway model is primarily focused on the potential effects of poverty on children, the model can also be applied to adults. Because of this, I found that the research presented by Seccombe on the pathways to poverty paralleled many of the experiences that Ehrenreich faced in her endeavor to make ends meet as a minimum-wage worker. Most of the connections I made between Seccombe’s research and Ehrenreich’s experiences fell under the pathway of “Housing Problems,” in which there were several similarities between the two.…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    unit 1 2.2 level 3 nvq
    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    unit 1 2.2 level 3 nvq

    Living in a poor family can reduce children’s expectations of their own lives and lead to a cycle where poverty is repeated from generation to generation. As adults they are more likely to suffer ill-health, be unemployed or homeless, and become involved in offending, drug and alcohol abuse and abusive relationships. Tackling poverty is crucial to break the cycle. Education is an imperative key element of this as are the initiatives which involve people in developing skills and finding their own solutions to the problems in their community.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Poor America Documentary Analysis
    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Poor America Documentary Analysis

    I wanted to participate in something that would help challenge my experience throughout the activity. After some research, I determined that I wanted to develop a better understanding of socioeconomic status, SES, more specifically those at a major poverty disadvantage. Socioeconomic status plays a large part in an individual’s life. Although a person’s drive can also play a large part in their overall success, the environment in which they are surrounded is also a major contributor. Being poor in America can mean lacking a lot of things; from an education, power (utilities), a home, and most important food and water. Poverty has and will continue to effect so many individuals. Poverty does not discriminate against age, race, or sex.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Explain Key Government Policy Relating To Poverty
    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Explain Key Government Policy Relating To Poverty

    Within this assignment I will define the meaning poverty, explain key government policy relating to poverty, and show the implications which may arise when living with poverty and links to social exclusion and to discuss the agencies which seek to counter poverty. The chosen social care service-user group is low income homeowners (including individuals and families).…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Jeannette Walls
    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Jeannette Walls

    Is it possible for individuals to rise from being raised in poverty and be successful in their adult life? Jeannette Walls is living evidence that this sensation is possible. Within her memoir, Jeannette describes living in poverty for the majority of her life and what events led to her rise out of this state an into a stable life situation. Throughout Jeannette’ life, poverty was a present factor in everyday life. According to the 2016 census about eighteen percent of children under the age of eighteen are in poverty (Bureau, 2017). There were many predominant factors in Jeannette’s life that were affecting her such as her father’s alcoholism and her mother’s priorities, but poverty was one of the most influential. Poverty impacts children’s…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Poverty In America Research Paper
    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Poverty In America Research Paper

    The U.S. is among the richest countries in the world today, yet millions of people still live below the poverty level. The number of American children living in poverty is increasing day by day. “Poverty in America has become a great menace to children’s wellbeing as it affects them emotionally, socially, and even in their school performance (Wood 720)”. Poverty in America is mainly caused by lack of jobs and minimum wage. Moreover, the rise in the cost of living can be said to also cause poverty in the US. Indigence exists in America despite the fact that it is among the richest nations in the world and The Glass Castle illustrates a family that lived in poverty in the US.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Growing Up In Poverty
    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Growing Up In Poverty

    It can be debated that financial prominence is the most important aspect of a person's place in society, more so than race, gender, or religion. This paper reconnoiters the effects of growing up in poverty and the economic, social, and psychological effects of being raised in such an environment. In today’s world, the word poverty is well known throughout most societies. Poverty may have the definition of anyone who lives pay check to pay check. Or for some poverty may be as extreme as one who lives underneath any shelter they can find with no belongings. John Kenneth Galbraith’s definition of poverty is when an individual’s income, even if adequate for survival, falls behind that of the community’s standard. Poverty may also be defined as…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persistent Poverty In America
    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page

    Persistent Poverty In America

    In our failed efforts to put an end to poverty in America, it is still remains alive and well, leaving millions of Americans to subject themselves to strenuous acts just to feed themselves and their families. The problem of persistent poverty is a complex one that makes people living in America finding themselves unable to make ends meet, for themselves in the competitive, through no fault of themselves.…

    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Poverty In North Carolina Essay
    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Poverty In North Carolina Essay

    Poverty and homelessness remains a main concern in our society. Patrick Conway, of the Global Research Institute of the University of North Carolina conducted research on “Poverty of North Carolina.” The research illustrated that the national poverty rate was 14.5 % in the year of 2009, way below the North Carolina poverty rate. Poverty is still a rising and an ongoing crisis. According to a data set found in usda.gov for North Carolina in 2010, the poverty rate was between 16.9 to 22.4 %. Using the text, Nickel and Dimed by Ehrenreich, and other writing sources, students were presented with a scenario of living in poverty. In this hypothetical situation, the student is 21 years old, pregnant with a seven month old baby and has a one year old. In addition, the spouse is disabled and unemployed. In this…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Poverty and Homelessness in the United States
    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Poverty and Homelessness in the United States

    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 cars all around the United States. The events that lead to homelessness range from drug abuse to being laid off from a career because of a poor economy; but sadly the former makes it seem as if everyone who is homeless is in their situation because of their own faults. Many people who are approached by someone who is homeless or sees them panhandling for money hesitate to offer money because of the discourse that all homeless people are alcoholics and drug abusers. Unfortunately, the truth is that “many adults panhandle on corners for money to pay for a cheap motel room so that their children can have a warm place to sleep for the night” (Whitesides, 2011). Through this essay, the topic of homelessness and poverty in America will be explored by understanding some of the causes that have contributed to poverty throughout history and how the homeless are coping with their situation.…

    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics