The story on page 237 “Big,
Hairy, Audacious Goals” talks about a woman named JoAnne Page who worked with
clients who are impoverished. She shares her definition of poverty stating, “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”
(Abramsky, 2013). In class, we learn about three general “causes” for poverty; structural,
individualistic, and situational. When looking at the factors in each of these
causes of poverty, the definition that Page provides nicely ties all of it together
in a simple way. One thing I took away from this story in the book is that we
must actively do something about poverty. Instead of Page providing us with a definition
of what poverty is like, she worked to provide affordable public housing for venerable
individuals. As FCS professionals, we need to continue to think outside of the
box to reach out and help individuals in the community. Page’s life philosophy is
to “make things happen”. Ultimately, that is her goal and should be the goal of
FCS professionals.
Another story that stood out to me in the Abramsky book is
on page 306 “Mission Do Right”. This story was mostly about a job-training program
that helped young adults (specifically young, unemployed women). One thing I found
interesting about the program is how the curriculum’s design is to help the individuals
climb the economic ladder of success. Another thing I found interesting are the
components in the job training program (i.e. education, finance, leadership,
work ethics, computer literacy, and conflict resolution). I thought the components
in the job-training program are topics we should learn in high school/college.
It is interesting that some of those components slide under the radar in
schools and these topics are actual life skills individuals should have. As an
FCS professional, we can educate individuals and provide them with these necessary
resources.
Test question: What can
you do to help stop poverty as an FCS professional?
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