While reading an article by the Associated Press concerning the fact that nearly Half of the American population is at, or below poverty level, I ran across a comment by a man convinced that the poverty level directly correlates to the education level of the citizens suffering from it.
While this idea definitely has its relevance, the writer seemed to have indirectly implied that there are no other factors involved in the economic welfare of individuals (or he just failed to mention these factors.)
While I agree that education plays a role in effecting poverty, we must also take into consideration the fact that those suffering from generational poverty have a more difficult time acquiring the resources to complete higher education.
For example, the C.E.O of H.O.P.E, Inc. (Helping Other People be Empowered), Kenita Pierce-Lewis took ten years to finish her college education because of the fact that she became a single parent at the age of 21.
CEO & Founder of H.O.P.E, Inc
Therefore, she took the initiative to create an organization that can assist single parents who are in college, complete their goals of obtaining a degree through financial assistance, above and beyond that of the typical financial aid scarcely provided by the institutions and ever diminishing government budgets.
There are so many factors that we have to consider when it comes to pin-pointing the causes of poverty in this country. Like I mentioned before, at some point we have to realize that people need help, and there are organizations designed specifically for this duty.
As individuals, we should also take some accountability in uplifting and supporting those in need by doing more than making observations, constructive suggestions, and stating statistics. We should actually begin TAKING ACTION to make a difference in our community and in the world as a whole.
