Poverty

Homelessness and health: Lifelong issues

Homelessness and health: Lifelong issues

The Homeless Coalition’s advocacy efforts do an incredible amount for people who are at risk for or experiencing homelessness. The list of services is exhaustive, but Dr. Mark Mussman, Director of Education at The Homeless Coalition, concentrates on work that raises people’s understanding about homelessness.  Just a few of those initiatives include “walking tours in…

What is a fair wage?
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What is a fair wage?

In the wage debate, you’ll hear different descriptors of wages: fair wage, minimum wage, living wage, poverty wage. Each of these has different meanings and connotations. Poverty wage is pretty easy to figure out. If you make a poverty wage, you are working full time and still fall below the poverty line.  Minimum wage is…

How Cradle Cincinnati helps birthing parents address stress for better outcomes
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How Cradle Cincinnati helps birthing parents address stress for better outcomes

“Social determinants of health are stressors that relate to physical health.” So says Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith, Executive Director of Cradle Cincinnati, Field Service Assistant Professor at UC Medical Center, and Founder of Queens Village. “And chronic, prolonged stress just magnifies [health] problems.”  Consistent access to nutritious food, affordable and suitable housing, and transportation are just…

Poverty affects all of us: How to help

Poverty affects all of us: How to help

Poverty profoundly affects those in its grips. Experiencing poverty means lack of access to basic needs (food, shelter, transportation, health care, education). It increases toxic stress. It erodes mental and physical health. It intrudes on each and every aspect of life. It keeps people from reaching their potential.   But poverty also affects those who are…

Action items to reduce poverty

Action items to reduce poverty

Many people are aware that a disproportionate number of Cincinnati citizens are living in poverty. Many people understand that the current poverty rate is a legacy of a system steeped in racism. Many people get involved in their communities to help those living in poverty by volunteering or donating.  But many of those same people…

Poverty and children’s mental health
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Poverty and children’s mental health

An Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) can take many forms, ranging from “abuse or neglect” to “significant surgery,” according to Victoria Ackman, LISW-S, Service Area Vice President for Lighthouse Youth & Family Services. These ACEs add up and “play a huge part into how your brain processes experiences, impacting everything you do and how you see…

Children living in poverty: It’s not just the children
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Children living in poverty: It’s not just the children

It’s common to see articles, reports, news segments all about children living in poverty. How do we help children experiencing homelessness? Food insecurity? Lack of adequate health care?  It’s a very important issue to address. These children need help immediately—and they need help for their future so they can break the cycle of poverty. However,…

You can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps
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You can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps

The phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” currently means being able to do something by yourself. No matter your circumstances, this phrase implies, you should be able to achieve wealth and success. Often, the phrase is wielded at people who live in poverty. The blame game The phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”…

How experiencing homelessness affects Cincinnati children
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How experiencing homelessness affects Cincinnati children

More than 8,000 children in Cincinnati experience homelessness each year. The average person—person, not just child—experiencing homelessness is nine years old. UpSpring, a local nonprofit aiming to break the cycle of poverty, fights these challenges. Lack of stability and consistency affects education Children experiencing homelessness suffer from lack of stability. “They may switch schools two…