PBS Frontline - Growing up Poor in America
“Growing Up Poor in Poor in America” followed the story of three Ohio children and their families in 2020 as the presidential election and Covid-19 epidemic progressed. While each child and family was unique, there were common themes discussed among them including the debilitating impacts and the insidious nature of poverty, and the hopes to one day break the cycle. I think society often underestimates the psychological and physiological impacts of living in scarcity, which have potential to be long lasting. These families are struggling to get their basic needs met in terms of food, clothing, and shelter, and we often forget about the other needs each person, more importantly children require, in order to grow and thrive. Each child in this documentary was presenting with physical, emotional, and mental symptoms perpetuated by their economic position. Unfortunately, these children experience a lot of instability, and are demonstrating symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression with little access to support, and no end in sight.
It was sad to watch Kyah explain how she struggles with depression but feels a responsibility to regulate herself in order to not upset her Mother. Another part of the film that struck me and brought up some uncomfortability was when Shawn and his Mom referred to him as the “man of the house” and “brother/father”. It feels complicated because I know that siblings often help raise their younger siblings, and I feel like Shawn’s Mom was not ill intended, and it feels heavy to see this immense pressure put on a child. Children need emotional and social support throughout their upbringing and to be taken care of, and the children in this film have been made to be caretakers.
I noticed some of the direct service providers in this documentary seemed to be nonprofits or community based organizations, they did not all appear to be government run. Severe poverty is a product of our capitalist society so it is frustrating to see how much the government relies on social service agencies to provide direct services to society.
Boyd Webb reading:
One of the most challenging aspects of the social work role is to hold multiple truths at once and having to make decisions that have significant impacts on people's lives. Social Workers have to balance many competing objectives while working within systems that can be harmful, like the foster care system or legal system for example. I put myself in the role of being a Social Worker for Damien and Jacob from the chapter 1 example. While these two children committed a heinous act, they are also products of their environment. There obviously needed to be consequences for Jacob and Damien’s killing of a pregnant woman, but I don’t believe placing these kids in the juvenile system will yield the desired results. If anything, this punishment focused solution will likely perpetrate more harm in the future.