McCausland Blog post #3

1.) On Page 237 Abramsky, was talking about JoAnne Page, the executive director of the Fortune Society, from New York City. What i got for this was that the Fortune Society breaking the cycle of poverty and  is finding ways to help others who have addictions, mental illnesses, diseases like HIV and AIDS, and also dysfunctions that have made the individual which would lead to jail or prison. Page sounds like an amazing woman, her background is amazing. Her parents are Holocaust survivors, A graduate of Yale Law School, had previously worked with impoverished clients, which made her one of New York City's important advocates for individuals who are poor, addicted, and imprisoned. Page showed her  clients she cares by getting to know them shaking their hands, hugging them and most importantly listening to what they were saying. Her clients trusted her because she was giving them attention and caring about them. She started realizing that her clients weren't really that different then anyone else besides being poor. I want to share this quote by JoAnne Page,  because it just reminds us  that poverty is different for everyone. "Poverty is when the money that you need isn't there , and you have to make choices that compromise your health or your future or your ability to care for your family".

2.) On page 317, Abramsky was talking about the fact that we as a society should find ways to help those living in poverty instead of ignoring the problem. Poverty is usually ignored especially in our own communities because many individuals are only concerned about the poverty in third world countries such as Africa, Asia, and Haiti to name a few. However helping poverty in our own communities is something, I agree with. We should be willing to help others, meaning food, money if you are financially able to, along with clothes, and somewhere warm to stay. By doing these acts of kindness we would be strengthening our community and our overall society.

3.) On page 274, Abramsky,  was talking about better schools and better communities and what that means in terms of education for children of low income families. This is a very important topic in the world of poverty. Abramsky, states "it's not that education is less of importance than housing and jobs, drug treatment and community safety: clearly education is of paramount importance".  I believe with Abramsky that education is the most importance, however where are the means to help education in our world? Stable economic environments tend not to have gangs, street level drug markets, hunger, homelessness, and all of the things that poor children may encounter on a daily life in their communities. The less of these there is in the community the less disruption in the classrooms. This meaning that the teachers have more time to focus on the education part than being concerned about the outside lives of the students, such as talking and  protecting them from the dangerous situations outside of school. With the teacher focusing on the education of their students as has an affect on the students success in higher education.

Abramsky, S. (2013). The American way of poverty: How the other half still lives. New York, NY: Nation Books