Last week we shared that 2,692 children are born into poverty in America every day, and these children often face heightened risks of criminal behavior in the future. This notion is corroborated by a recent Urban Institute study.
The U.S. Catholic’s News Service published an article covering the study on Thursday, highlighting some of the key findings and statistics. The Urban Institute found that 49 percent of children born into poverty will remain poor for half or more of their lives. Financial instability throughout childhood can lead to the same issues in adulthood, according to the article.
The study then applies that statistic demographically, claiming that 31 percent of white children and 69 percent of black children born poor will remain poor for a significant amount of time. Overall, 37 percent of our nation’s children will face poverty at least once.
Additionally, the U.S. Catholic article offers a solution for these at-risk children — the percentage can be reduced by intervening to help single moms, the article said. The author spoke with Lisa Sheehan, the director of Maryland’s St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home. According to Sheehan:
“We try to have the girls see that there is a bigger world out there… There is a cycle which starts with these teen mothers coming from unstable backgrounds and then mothering children who are then raised in the same situation.”
The home seeks to encourage the women to complete a high school or college education or to obtain a job to break out of the cycle. This is done in hopes that these women will find a better life for themselves and their children.
At Here’s Life Inner City, we want to offer wholistic help to families in poverty – ministering to the body, mind and spirit. We have both youth and adult development programs to help children and families find God’s love and hope no matter what circumstances they find themselves in.
Here’s Life Inner City does not endorse the opinions presented in the documents, web sites, etc. we link to, nor do we endorse the organizations to whom we may refer/link to. All material is presented on this blog for the purposes of education and igniting discussion.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Here's Life, HLIC Twin Cities. HLIC Twin Cities said: Problem of persistent poverty! http://www.ihopeonline.org/2010/08/02/the-problem-of-persistent-poverty/ [...]
[...] It’s an undeniable fact that parents have a profound effect on their children’s future successes. They influence many of their worldviews and habits, while providing them with opportunities to learn and grow. We’ve blogged before about the disparities that exist between poor parents and those parents who have needed resources and capital. Unlike parents who are materially successful themselves, the parents of children born into poverty often don’t have the resources, time or energy to counsel their children as intensely. Hence, poverty often continues through the generations. We recently blogged about this subject. [...]
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