The Issues
The Nine Root Causes of Poverty
1. Family History of Poverty
Those who are born to poor families are most at risk to remain poor and raise children who live in poverty. Among the detrimental, cyclically learned behaviors of concern are: weak parenting skills; lowered emphasis on education; poor self-esteem; physical and emotional abuse; substance abuse; weak literacy skills; lowered expectations in relationships and work experiences; weak financial management skills; poor health and nutrition practices; etc.
2. Chronic Poverty
This can be due to physical disabilities, mental impairment, seniors who outlive their resources, or substance abuse.
3. Limited Economic Opportunity
This can be more challenging when living in rural areas, or areas where the majority of the employers are paying minimum wage.
4. Marginal Educational Training Opportunities
There is a lack of suitable education and/or training programs designed to deliver training when it is needed, where it is needed and linked to opportunities to convert such training into employment and income.
5. Racial/Cultural Isolation and Discrimination
In Oregon disproportionate numbers of Hispanics (27%), African Americans (25%) and Native Americans (29.4%) live below the poverty level. The statewide poverty rate is 12.4%. Discrimination and isolation take many forms, each one creating additional barriers to self-sufficiency for those of other cultures.
6. Weak Family Structures
High levels of internal family strife, illegitimate children, deprivation of family love and support, inconsistent parenting, a lack of parental supervision/discipline; failure at school by children; substance abuse, families abandoned by fathers, weak or poor maternal bonding when a child is young, etc
7. Weak traditions of Civic Engagement and Limited Social Capital
Low awareness among the poor of how to successfully access, influence, and relate to traditional media and governmental institutions is a sign that social capital is limited. The absence of the poor in community decision making processes signifies the need for increased levels of civic engagement. Social capital can be briefly defined a the non-monetary interactions and connections that add to the lives of individuals and communities. These include trust, good will, fellowship, social interactions, and community involvement.
8. Limited Community Awareness and Inclusiveness
The lack of community awareness of the realities, make-up, and challenges of local poverty preclude some local solutions that might be possible.
9. Catastrophic Life Events
Either the individual catastrophic event or a cascade of events can lead to poverty. In Deschutes County alone over
36, 000 people do not have medical insurance. The loss of a job or even a short lay-off can have financially devastating effects. Divorce is also a major contributor to poverty.
What We All Can Do To Help Those Caught in Poverty
Action leads to change.
Real change, at both the personal and systems level, is most likely to occur through person to person contact, neighbor to neighbor, and community to community based contact and solutions.
Systems level changes
The environment for actions requires support systems to be in place, allowing those who want a better job to improve their job skills, for instance. Another example is: for single mothers, quality daycare may be an essential requisite for holding a steady job.
Personal level change
Many caught in poverty’s cycles have lost hope. Hope can be rekindled. If we expect individuals to make changes in their lives, we must ensure systems and support are in place. Truly transformational solutions require involvement and participation by people from all ages and walks of life, including those who:
- deliver services to those most in need
- bring resources to the effort, but have not been involved in poverty reduction before (i.e.: the business community, and volunteers)
- are living in poverty, or have personally experienced poverty.
