America Needs More Government Programs to Pull Children Out of Poverty

The face of poverty is changing in the United States. When someone mentions that a person is living in poverty, we are inclined to think of a bum living on the street, eating at shelters, and using whatever money they have for alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Usually we visualize this person as being a middle-aged male with drab clothing and a long beard. This description may have fit the average person living in poverty or on the street a few years ago, but it is no longer a correct generalization. Children are the face of poverty in 2015. These children have little chance to rise up out of the lifestyle they are born into. Many of these children are born to teenage girls. The economic states of these mothers and their lifestyles many times put these children in a place of poverty at birth with little hope. The children as well as their parents are in need of assistance in order to stop the growing problem of child homelessness and poverty. There ar e many different opinions and ideas on how to deal with this problem and help these unfortunate children and their families. Unfortunately many of these programs are unsuccessful and do little to help while others are successful in combating the problem and really helping the children in need. First, I will describe the programs that have been ineffective and we must avoid. The first of these would be ignoring the problem and hoping it goes away. The problem is not going to go away. In fact, the numbers of poverty-stricken children are increasing rapidly. If we do not do anything to help these children, we could miss out on great scientists, future doctors, and many other contributions to society that these children are capable of making. Also, we have to remember that these children di... ...times it seems unfair that we are paying to support other people. It is expensive to try and care for all the poverty-stricken children, but it is something that is well worth the effort. We have to take the time to find out what works and w hat does not. After all, it is the future-our children- that we are trying to save. Works Cited Wood, David. "Effect of Child and Family Poverty on Child Health in the United States." Effect of Child and Family Poverty on Child Health in the United States. N.p., 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Sources Consulted "11 Causes of Teen Homelessness." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. "11 Facts About Homeless Teens." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Main, Thomas. "How to Think About Homelessness: Balancing Structural and Individual Causes." Springer Link. N.p., Jan. 1998. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.