The first
section I chose to discuss was titled big, hairy, audacious goals. This section
of the book discussed three different people JoAnne Page, David Onek, and
Martha Sanchez who discussed their views on how to reduce poverty. JoAnne was
one who wanted to break the cycle of poverty involving individuals who were
addicts, ones with mental illnesses, individuals with disabilities like HIV/
AIDS, and with host of dysfunctions. She is one of New York City’s advocates
for the poor, the addicted and the incarcerated. She at first would set up
transitional housing centers for men and woman returning to the community that
had been in prison. These centers made a huge difference in these individual’s
lives. Examples on how this impacted these individuals in a positive way
include helping them find jobs, keeping them off of drugs, and helping them
move into their own apartments. No matter your struggle or if you had a contagious
disease she would not hesitate to hug or shake your hand. To these individuals
having JoAnne showed them they could trust someone and also could talk to her
about anything they might be enduring. Castle transitional housing center is a
center that JoAnne’s organization build for ex- prisoners, many of which had an
addiction to some kind of narcotic. Within this section about JoAnne it talks
about a man by the name of Francisco who used this Castle center to get back on
his feet, because he said he was tired of being tired. This facility made him
get back on his feet, provided him with a job, place to live, and be able to
purchase items with his extra money that he could not before due to his
spending his extra on drugs. David Onek’s approach to reduce poverty was about
expanding specialized courts. For
example if you were to get in trouble with the law for an addiction then you
would go to a drug court. He discussed how expensive it was to incarcerate
someone for a yearly period when the money used to do so could go towards
places to help these individuals with their specific situations. Martha Sanchez
was the third person who discussed her issues with poverty. She was an activist
in L.A. She fought for the right of for children who were classified as poor to
get the same education as the more affluent peers did. The example given from
her was that she fought for a metal plant company to be relocated and torn
down, because the chemicals were harming the children, causing them to miss
more school than attending because of nose bleeds and getting sick. Martha got
this passed and in her efforts there was a grant given to convert the old
factory into an ambitious affordable housing complex.. Also out of this a
better environment around the school was improved causing a healthier
environment for the children with cleaner air. I feel this section of the book
was within the text to bring awareness on all the possibilities that can help
people in poverty. Also not only help them, but reduce the poverty line. Providing
stable environments like the Castel help get individuals back on their feet,
look at Mr. Ortega.
Putting the
Brakes on Homelessness was the second section of the book I chose to discuss. This
section discussed how it is more likely for children in the foster care system
to be a individual of homelessness because their resources are cut off starting
at age 18. The section suggested that if states could provide these individuals
in the foster care system some support once they reach the age of 18 and no
longer in the foster system then there is a more than likely chance they would
be able to make it on their own. Another part of this section discussed ways to
help the prevention of foreclosure. David Grossman and his students from
Harvard school created this legal aid program. This is where these students and
the professor contact foreclosure victims, give them legal advice and sometimes
represent them in court during hearings to determine if they would be able to
stay in their homes. Another program was discussed about how the government can
take over the payments so you do not have to go through a private agency. This
would allow you to save and pay on the house you are currently living in. This
is a five year program and as the example in the book gives that a person who
owes 100,000 on their home the government would allow them to 1,000 each month
for rent which only 500 would go towards rent and the other 500 would go
towards a savings. After this five year time span the individual will have 30,000
saved up which will then be able to be put towards their house and lowering
their monthly house payments so instead of paying 100,000 loan they would be
paying only a 70,000 loan. I feel this is included within this text because it
shows multiple ways to help assist people with the ability to own their own
homes. It also brings awareness that something more concrete needs to be done
about the foster care population after they reach the age of 18 and losing all
of the resources they once had. If we were to look at the development of
adolescents it would show that 18 years of age these young adolescents are
still developing and need the extra assistance they were given within their
foster homes.
The third
section I chose to blog about was titled better schools, better communities.
This sections discussed different parts of the United States that implement
different school programs for the disadvantaged children. It stated within this
section that you have the individuals that participate in the 100 meter race
and sprint down open lanes and then you have the other individuals who jump a
series of hurdles. This is the main
focus of this section there are many families out there who are able to sprint
the open lane, but then you have other families that have to jump many hurdles
just to get their children to school, provide proper clothing, and all of the
other basics they need. In some places it take a major star like Agassi or
Johnson in order for a charter school to open. It talked about how not only do
the teachers need to go that extra mile, but there also needs to be external
support as well outside of the home. A few examples include a supportive
community, and family/friends to use a resources. This section gives example on
how to reduce the differences between the ones who can afford schools and the
disadvantaged children. In Milwaukee they came up with an anti-truancy program.
They enforced this by threaten the parents with fines, in extreme cases facing
jail time. This worked because the rate was nearly cut by 20%. This brings
awareness to how the schools who face the more disadvantaged problems get
treated and looked at. It shows that parents of these communities are not a
involved in their children’s life and how the teachers, and materials they are given
are the bare minimum. When looking at the schools of a more advantages
community it is the opposite they are provided with teachers who care about
students and the success they make, and also are provided with more materials
that are useful. This sections was in here to bring awareness about his subject
as well as to show that there is a big difference that should be, and the ones
who are suffering are the disadvantaged children who in the end would help them
achieve better in society.
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