Suffer the Children

by World Vision

As Christians called to help those in need, we cannot ignore the prevalence of poverty in America and the damage it does to individuals, families, and entire communities. There are literally tens of millions of poor people in this country. They have little money and few possessions. And their deprivation goes even further. When individuals have meager incomes they lack choices, mobility, opportunities for improvement, and self-esteem.

Not surprisingly, poverty gives rise to frustration and hopelessness, which manifest themselves in destructive ways: drug and alcohol abuse, gang involvement, depression, child abuse, criminal activity, and even the loss of life.

Poverty is teaching millions of Americans that they are not valued, that failure is to be expected, and that hope is futile. Sadly, society's attitudes - including an unwillingness to help the poor - reinforce these perceptions. But they are not true. They are falsehoods that give the poor a distorted view of life and the future. They also make breaking free from poverty a complex challenge. To do so entails much more than finding a job or an apartment. It means restoring a spirit, developing a healthy body, and renewing a mind.

Poverty is not an isolated problem. It exists in all regions and states across our country. As of 1998, one in every eight Americans was poor. (1) That is a shocking number. In times of rising incomes and unprecedented economic growth, 34.5 million people live below the poverty line. (2) To put this in perspective, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $16,660 in 1998. (3)

Poverty's reach crosses every barrier - age, race, gender, and family situation - but certain sectors of our population are at greater risk. And most unsettling is the number of American youth who are affected. The poverty rate for children is higher than any other age group. (4) In fact, U.S. children are nearly twice as likely as adults to be poor. (5) The overall figures are staggering. In 1998, 13.5 million children - nearly 19 percent of all children in this country - were living below the poverty line. (6)

The face of deprivation in our land is multiethnic. People are frequently surprised to learn that the majority of poor children in the U.S. are white! (7) Still, it is minority children who are most often victimized by poverty's destructive impact. In 1998, 36 percent of black and 34 percent of Hispanic children lived in poverty, compared with 14 percent of white children. (8)

Home situations are a contributing factor as well. Close to half - 46 percent - of children in families headed by single women were poor in 1998. (9) That is more than five times higher than the percentage of children who were impoverished in married-couple families. (10)

While some progress is being made in reducing the number of poor people in this country, a lack of resources continues to devastate millions of lives. In 1997, the number of extreme poor - those living on an income of less than half the poverty line - rose to 14.6 million, a 700,000 increase from two years earlier. (11)

The following presents a snapshot of different facets of poverty in the United States. It tells the tales of young people who have experienced pain and frustration and unmet needs because they are poor. We have been intentional in not mentioning names or locations, for the poor in America are everywhere.

You can stop reading this article any time you wish. But the children in the stories cannot so easily put their suffering aside. Their hardships continue each and every day. And while their pasts have been defined by poverty, their years to come need not be. For the sake of the children, take time to read the accounts of their struggles. Maybe you can be the one to make a difference in the lives of those who are our future.

Hunger

When children are hungry, truly hungry, they are at risk of suffering consequences far more severe and long term than the "growling stomachs" and food cravings most of us have known. The harmful effects can come in various forms: physical, emotional, and developmental.

It is astounding and shameful that here in the United States, in the land of plenty, nearly 4 million children live in households that are experiencing hunger. (12) Many more boys and girls - 14 million as of 1998 - are food insecure, which means that they have limited or uncertain access to enough food for an active, healthy life. (13) At the end of 1999, 700,000 US children were moderately or severely wasting. (14)

Even mild undernourishment in a young person can bring about brain, cognitive, and psychological impairment that, if not corrected, can be irreversible. (15) Hunger in children can cause infant mortality, growth stunting, iron deficiency, anemia, and increased chances for disease. (16)

In addition to these serious physical effects, what happens to a child's sense of self-worth when his stomach and the cupboards are empty?

Moreover, hunger contributes in a potent way to the devastating cycle of poverty in America. Insufficient or poor quality food can lead to problems with attention, concentration, and learning. (17) Repeated episodes can result in lower academic achievement and higher rates of school failure. (18) Since education attainment is perhaps the greatest indicator of job and income mobility,(19) childhood hunger carries with it long-term implications and the potential to scar a person for life.

Homelessness

For most of us, the thought of not having a roof over our heads or knowing where we will sleep tonight is inconceivable. So consider what it must be like for a mother and her young children to be homeless.

It unsettles us to think of individuals spending nights without a bed or shelter of their own. How, then, do we react to the fact that families with children represent one of the fastest growing segments of the American homeless population? (20) What heartbreaking images come to mind! And what horrible realities those boys and girls must face.

Approximately 5.3 million Americans lack an affordable place to live, (21) and the thriving economy is actually contributing to the situation by driving up rental rate. (22) Compounding the problem is a severe shortage in public living space. Families in New York face a staggering eight-year wait for public housing. In Los Angeles, the typical applicant will remain on a list for 10 years before obtaining a housing voucher. (23)

The crisis has caused poor parents and children to be constantly in search of shelter. They move among abandoned buildings, or they "push in" with relatives and friends until there are often several families living in one small, dilapidated, unsafe, and unsanitary apartment. And that is the only home life many of our young people know.

Sickness

When a son or daughter is ill, the last worry a parent should have is how to pay the cost of making the child better. But poverty impairs many things, including the ability of mothers and fathers to give their families essential medical care.

Not surprisingly, the well-being of children depends, at least partially, on their access to health-care services, including physical examinations, preventive screenings, and immunizations as well as sick care. (24) But in the United States, there are more than 10 million children with no health insurance coverage, (25) and impoverished parents are simply unable to afford doctor visits. As a result, boys and girls are deprived of preventive measures and even necessary medical treatment.

Poor children have two to five times the average risk of low birth weight, stunted growth, iron deficiency, lead poisoning, and other serious problems, which can have lifelong implications for their ability to achieve and succeed and, ultimately, contribute to society. (26)

Poverty is a harmful force in people's lives. How sad that lack of household income can affect the physical health of a child.

Violence

Crimes and gang activity have become expected - and sometimes, accepted - facets of life in our country. But when safety and lives are at stake, complacency is inexcusable.

Tragically, it is young people who are most vulnerable to America's violence. Youth between the ages of 12 and 17 are twice as likely as adults to be victims of serious violent crime and three times as likely to be victims of simple assault. (27) In 1997, firearms killed 4,205 children age 19 and under - nearly 12 children every day. (28)

One public school system now provides cemetery plots and burial services for impoverished children. (29) An education official began the special fund, in part, because the school system had done so little after a 7-year-old was kill by a sniper in a public housing development as he walked to class with his mother. (30) The fund has covered burial expenses for poor children killed in drive-by shootings and through other violence.

Such senseless deaths are troubling and painful reflection of problems in our society. But we also should not overlook those youth who have survived violent episodes in their lives. What happens when boys and girls experience trauma and terror in their earliest and most vulnerable years? For one thing, they grow up with lowered expectations of what life will be. (31) They also look for a sense of safety and security wherever they can find it, even in gangs. (32) This is one way in which violence and revenge become self-perpetuating and leave their marks on present generations. The victims are the families, the communities, and the young people themselves who are caught up in a cycle of aggression.

Abuse & Neglect

Children in America are the innocent victims of all forms of maltreatment, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, and neglect. (33) In 1997, there were approximately 984,000 confirmed child victims. (34) That figure doesn't take into account the many abuse cases that went unreported.

While any abuse is tragic, the frequency with which children are victimized in their own homes is shocking. Three-quarters of the perpetrators in 1997 were parents, and an additional 10 percent were other relatives. (35)

What must it do to a young person's sense of security and self-worth when the people whom a child naturally trusts and goes to for protection are the ones most commonly inflicting the harm?

In 1998, an estimated 1,100 children died of abuse and neglect. More than three-quarters were under the age of 5. (36)

We are outraged at these tragic and indefensible deaths. How could an adult possibly turn on a small child? The circumstances vary, but we do know that mothers immersed in a life of poverty and violence frequently become depressed and neglectful of their own offspring. (37) Parents with limited means face a mountain of problems and no answers. Their families are hungry. Their living spaces are crowded and rundown. Their unpaid bills pile up. As the pressures mount, they lash out at the nearest and most defenseless persons, their daughters and sons. America's children are indeed hurting - and sadly, the source of the pain often lies within the family situation.

Hopelessness

Young children in our country are communicating in dramatic and heart-wrenching ways that their lives are difficult and painful. And many times, that it is too much of a struggle to continue. In 1997, suicide the fourth leading cause of death in the United States for children under 18. (38)

America's inner-city youth, who live amidst chronic community violence, behave in similar ways to children growing up in war zones. (39) They exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder: they have diminished expectations for the future, and they recreate trauma in play. (40) Children in one large-city, public housing development engaged in daily reenactments of a funeral. (41) They built a casket with blocks and took turns lying in it. The children cried and anguished over the mock death. Sadly, these kinds of "games" are haunting reflections of the real losses and tragedies that are permanently marking young lives.

Many of America's impoverished children are incapable of anything other than a bleak, pessimistic, and limiting view of life. Poverty has deprived them of both material possessions and opportunity while leaving them virtually devoid of hope for a brighter future. To overcome this, children must have much more than full stomachs and clean beds. They need to have their spirits lifted, their broken hearts comforted, and their eyes opened to possibilities that they cannot yet conceive.

There is nothing worse than hopelessness. Often people who face hardship and pain believe that, at least some day, things could get better. Even in dire circumstances, the sick hope for a cure, or refugees hope for peace. But what can poor children hope for?

Conclusion

What a powerful cry we have failed to heed. In communities across our country, children are hurt and scarred and discouraged because poverty has taken hold of their lives, their hearts, and their dreams.

But as Christians, we have something stronger than the grip of despair: we have faith in God and the power of his love - and we have hope. We can offer a life-changing message and a helping hand to those in need, knowing that through Jesus Christ, all things are possible.

Please pray earnestly for the poor in your community, knowing and believing that answers to the most difficult challenges will come through sustained prayer. As you open your heart, ask God what you should do to make change happen. Also talk with your church about how you can reach out to impoverished children in your neighborhood or contact World Vision.

The mission of World Vision United States is to call people to a life-changing commitment to serve the poor in the name of Christ.

World Vision Domestic Programs carries out this mission in cities and rural areas across America by helping children and families in need through local partnerships with churches and other faith-based and community groups.

For more information about World Vision Domestic Programs, visit our website or call 800.393.7775.

Suffer the Children: The Impact of Poverty on America's Future

This 40-page booklet, produced by World Vision's Domestic Programs, graphically and compellingly presents the challenges that the poorest-of-the-poor children and families in the United States face daily in spite of the economic boom in our country. Through heartbreaking stories of real children and the hard reality of US poverty statistics, this piece will lead anyone who reads it to say, "I didn't know - what can I do to help?"

Cost of the booklet is $5.00. To order Suffer the Children, contact Susan Eckhardt at:
World Vision Domestic Programs
P.O. Box 9716, Stop 319
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
(253) 815-2229
FAX: 253-815-3341
Seckhard@worldvision.org

World Vision's work in the United States

Through a coast-to-coast network of local partnerships with churches and other faith-based groups, World Vision is helping both urban and rural communities pull themselves out of crisis. Each local World Vision program generates hope and change by its ability to bring together the best of what is already there in the community. Neighbors, leaders, congregations, and community organizations are able to pool resources, often for the first time, to offer a full range of solutions to those in immediate need-plus unite on common issues that benefit families for the long term.

For more information, visit the website or contact them at:

World Vision Domestic Programs
P.O. Box 9716, Stop 310
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
(253) 815-2078
FAX: 253-815-3341
Evgreen@worldvision.org

Notes

1. US Census Bureau, Poverty: 1998 Highlights, September 30, 1999, (www.census.gov/hhes/ poverty/poverty98/pov98hi.html) (July 6, 2000).

2. Ibid.

3. United States Department of Commerce, United States Department of Commerce News, September 30, 1999 (www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-188.html) (July 6, 2000).

4. U.S. Census Bureau, Press Briefing on 1998 Income and Poverty Estimates, September 30, 1999, (www.census.gov/hhes/income/income98/prs99asc.html) (July 5, 2000).

5. Children's Defense Fund, Fair Start FAQs, May 1999, (www.childrensdefensefund.org/fairstart_faq.html) (July 5, 2000).

6. Ibid.

7. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, "Part II, Indicators of Children's Well-Being, Economic Security Indicators, Child Poverty and Family Income," America's Children 1999, (www.childstats.gov/ac1999/econtxt.asp) (July 5, 2000).

8. M. Harper and S.Vandivere, Poverty, Welfare and Children: A Summary of the Data (Research Brief) Child Trends, 1999, (www.childtrends.org/publications.cfm?topic=welfare) (August 3, 2000).

9. Children's Defense Fund, Fair Start FAQs.

10. Ibid.

11. Douglas Holt, "Welfare-to-work mom still in big trouble," Chicago Tribune, August 3, 1999, Sec. 2, p. 1.

12. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Household Food Security in the United States 1995-1998 (Advance Report-Summary), February 4, 2000, (www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/FSP/FlLES
/fsecsum.htm) (July 9, 2000); World Hunger Year, "Hunger, Poverty, and Homelessness in the U.S.," Hunger and Poverty Information, November 1999, (www.worldhungeryear.org/hpinfo-us.htm) (July 5, 2000).

13. America's Second Harvest, The Facts About Childhood Hunger, (www.secondharvest.org/childhunger/child_hunger_facts.html) (July 5, 2000); USDA, Household Food Security in the United States 1995-1998 (Advance Report-Summary).

14. UNICEF, Information Statistics, December 1, 1999, (www.unicef.org/statis/Country_1Page184.html) (July 20, 2000).

15. America's Second Harvest, Childhood Hunger, (www.secondharvest.org/childhunger/childhunger.html) (July 6, 2000).

16. World Hunger Year, "Hunger, Poverty, and Homelessness in the U.S.," Hunger and Poverty Information.

17. America's Second Harvest, "Combating Myths About Hunger: Food Consumption and Hunger Among Low-Income Americans," Who's Hungry, (www.secondharvest.org/whoshungry/hunger
_consumption.html) (July 9, 2000).

18. Ibid.

19. America's Second Harvest, Childhood Hunger.

20. National Coalition for the Homeless, "NCH Fact Sheet #7," Homeless Families with Children, June 1999, (http://nch.ari.net/families.html) (July 6, 2000).

21. Richard Wolf, "Hunger on the rise in cities," USA Today, December 16, 1999, Sec. 1, P. 1.

22. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Waiting in Vain: An Update on America's Rental Housing Crisis, Executive Summary, April 27, 2000, (www.huduser.org/publications/affhsg/waiting/execsum.html) (July 6, 2000).

23. Ibid.

24. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, "Part ll, lndicators of Children's Well-Being, Economic Security Indicators, Access to Health Care," America's Children 1999, (www.childstats.gov/ac1999/econtxt.asp) (July 5, 2000).

25. Ibid.

26. Children's Defense Fund, "Special Report, Poverty Matters," CDF Reports, July 1998, p. 5.

27. Children's Defense Fund,"Key facts on youth, crime, and violence," Healthy Start, March 2000, (www.childrensdefensefund.org/crime_keyfacts.html) (July 5, 2000).

28. Ibid.

29. Michael Martinez, "Chicago schools take obligation to students even to the grave," Chicago Tribune, September 24, 1999, NEWS Sec., p. 1.

30. Ibid.

31. Hearing Before the Subcommittee on juvenile justice of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Youth Violence and Gangs, "Statement of James Garbarino," November 26, 1991, S. Hrg. 102-665, p. 18.

32. Ibid.

33. Children's Defense Fund,"Key facts on youth, crime, and violence."

34. Ibid.

35. Ibid.

36. National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, Child Abuse and Neglect National Statistics, (www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/factsheets/canstats.htm) (July 6, 2000).

37. Garbarino, pp. 17-18.

38. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 10 Leading Causes of Death, United States, 1997, All Races, Both Sexes, (http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus.html) (July 28, 2000).

39. Garbarino, p. 16.

40. Garbarino, p. 20.

41. James Garbarino, Kathleen Kostelny, and Nancy Dubrow, No Place to Be a Child, Growing Up in a War Zone, Lexington Books, Lexington and Toronto, 1991, p. 149.

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