A Face of Poverty

Abstract

The circumstances are different for every individual who lives in poverty. Society foremost believe the information about poverty from people who have not experienced it, as opposed to the people who have. When people in poverty try to defend themselves from societal stereotypes, they are pushed back and told to know their place. It is as if we have zero credibility in our experiences living in poverty. The policies targeting people in poverty do not include us in the decision making. We are told to just get up and walk out of poverty. We are stereotyped and shunned from the economically privileged in society. If we are to one day become successful, we are still not worthy enough of the upper classes. We have aspirations, intelligence, experience, families, compassion, and most importantly we, have lives. People in poverty have stories that many could not fathom. This is my story.