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‘Generational Poverty’ program explains issues faced by poor
By LINDA M. LINONIS
CANFIELD
Sister Patricia McNicholas brought a unique perspective when she presented “Generational Poverty: A Call to Compassion” on Thursday as the final session in a three-part series on racism at the Ursuline Center, 4280 Shields Road.
The former executive director and now senior development officer at Beatitude House told those at the presentation that she has lived for the past 15 years on the North Side in a Beatitude House apartment building with 12 women and 25 children. Her former position and living situation have helped shape her insight into the lives of homeless mothers who want to improve their lives and the lives of their children through education leading to employment.
In her talk, Sister Patricia addressed the “stereotype” of the poor. The majority is not black; about half are Caucasian, half black and a small percentage Hispanic.
She said Beatitude House has 75 apartments with locations in Youngstown in Mahoning County, Girard and Warren in Trumbull County and in Ashtabula County. “Half of the apartments are transitional housing for homeless women who are able to transition to permanent housing,” she said. The other half are for women with a disability that is an obstacle to securing permanent housing. Both situations provide supportive services, stable housing and outreach to the families.
The majority of women who are in or have gone through Beatitude House come from domestic- violence situations. “They don’t realize it’s not normal,” Sister Patricia said. Other obstacles are lack of education, lack of a driver’s license and car, little family support, being a single parent, drugs and depression.
Sister Patricia said she obtained some information from “Bridges Out of Poverty” by Philip Deval with Ruby K. Payne and Terie Dreussi-Smith.
“The poor understand how to get assistance ... they can function in that system. Opening a bank account or thinking about retirement and benefits isn’t part of that,” she said.
Sister Patricia said she thinks America is “more segregated economically than racially.” She said generational poverty also affects the following:
Time. “Daily life is overwhelming to the poor. Getting through today is the demand,” she said. Middle and upper classes look ahead to college and beyond. “The poor usually have to sit and wait for services,” she said.
Achievement vs. survival. “The middle and upper classes are motivated to get an education then employment,” she said, adding they know relocation may be necessary for careers. “For the poor, geography is limited,” she said. “Just surviving drains energy.”
Education. In theory, Sister Patricia said, the poor want their children to succeed in school. Practically, she said, they don’t realize that an early bedtime, attending school daily, having a relationship with their children’s school and teachers is key. Transporting children to school may be an issue.
“School staff may come from a middle-class background and don’t understand the situation of the poor,” Sister Patricia said.
Literacy. Sister Patricia said language development for all children up to 2 years old is about the same. Children from 2 to 5 years old in the middle and upper classes “are leaps and bounds ahead because they hear people talking all the time, and people read to them. For the poor, this isn’t the case.” The gap, she continued, “is never made up.”
Sister Patricia urged everyone “to be more understanding and less judgmental” because “dignity of every person” should be respected. “Don’t blame the poor for being poor because so many societal factors are involved.”