Personal/Family Perspective on Poverty

My wife and I have a long-standing commitment to North-Central Regina* through family connections**, organizations, and friends of the same. Over the years, numerous first-hand experiences have made us acutely aware of the persistent needs of those suffering from poverty and its underlying causes. As a result, we have delved deeper into understanding the poverty phenomenon, gathering resources, engaging with service organizations, directly exploring the stories of individuals, becoming more aware of historical struggles, as well as reflecting on Christian teaching that speaks much about our responsibility to the poor and marginalized.

Many may wonder why we haven’t been more successful as parents in protecting our daughter and her family from poverty and its various causes. What might seem so simple and straight-forward for some has, for us, become an adventure of action, reflection, and learning. As we may share our experiences and insights here and elsewhere, we will attempt to be careful to protect identities of people, both family members and others. This sharing, for many, has been part of a process of healing and recovery as they have chosen to face their personal struggles and problematic relationships.
I list here just a few causes of personal and social breakdown that may lead to poverty.

Sense of identity: The development of one’s identity, strengths, weaknesses, and sense of personal worth takes shape during childhood and adolescence, significantly influencing how we interact with the world and others nearby.

Socializing influences: The idea of “culture” is often viewed much too simplistically. Subcultures commonly form around a shared sense of identity. Urban Indigenous cultures are of different kinds, but most include a resistance, or even a stronger reaction, against the historical treatment and sense of injustice at the hands of a powerful elite group that aimed to erase traditional culture and devalue its people. Income levels and social status also impact how those struggling at the bottom tier perceive themselves, their local community, and their chances of achieving meaningful change and development. Further, people in poverty often lack the luxury of viewing life in long-term perspectives, commonly focusing on the immediate need to survive the daily threats to their well-being. Similar conditions among friends and neighbors give rise to shared values and lifestyle we recognize as a subculture.

Mental health issues: It is so easy to assume that others should be able to capable of making good decisions in life, of seeing the consequences of their actions, and therefore take responsibility for themselves. In reality, people caught in poverty often suffer from mental health issues. While such health issues affect a percentage of individuals at every level of society, they are often much more visible in communities where family and social supports are weak. These complications can severely affect relationships and family dynamics. Dysfunctional individuals are commonly the result of dysfunctional families. Mental health issues can be both a cause and an effect of this more pervasive dysfunctionalism.

Economics: Clearly, money is important to poverty alleviation, but it is just one factor. For instance, the maturity needed for any person to become gainfully employed has developed over time and earlier experiences. Home-life, schooling, and the shared life-style of a peer-group, all help to individuals develop the attitudes and skills necessary for transition into employment and economic success. When family life is not there with adequate strength, when mental health issues distract and interfere with normal personal and social development, and when a local subculture is lacking values that are conducive to development of required personal and social discipline, people are ill-prepared to participate as society expects.

Addressing these issues is complex. Those on track for success in life, regardless of how it is measured, often have stronger support networks throughout their early years.. Those who have difficulty staying the course will faulter for a variety of both personal and social reasons. People meet their social needs by hanging-out with others of their own type, which often has the effect of further withdrawal from the very people that could be of support. While logical interventions in people’s lives might be necessary, they are often unwelcome. Most of us find security in what we know and in people we can understand. Addressing poverty is not a simple task, but it is not impossible either. When appropriate forms of support are provided, and the importance of personal decision-making is recognized, many inspiring stories emerge of individuals, families, and communities finding ways to escape poverty.

Our family’s almost 50 years of experience as participants (to some degree) in the phenomena of personal and social development of people struggling with poverty, has granted us a degree of understanding of the contributing factors to positive development and the obstacles and pitfalls involved. In recent years, my wife and I have sensed the potential of sharing our, even though some may argue that, given our middle-class vantage point, we may possess only a few insights into the existing complexity of poverty.

We are also part of a subculture that places faith in the spiritual dimension of life and Christian teaching specifically. Our observation is that life does have a spiritual dimension for virtually all of us, and while spirituality can often be misapplied we sense it can also provide support/sustenance to the human spirit. We look for ways to move gently and carefully in the pursuit of approaches for coming alongside those of our own family, and others, in the struggles of living with, and through, poverty.

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*Note:  Regina’s North Central is bounded on east and west by Albert St and Lewvan Drive, and north/south by two railway lines at First Avenue and the mainline of the CPR through the city centre.  It has a long history of social problems and multiple efforts by a variety of agencies to deal with such.  At one time our national magazine, Macleans, labelled it The Worst Neighbourhood in Canada.

**Note:  An adopted child of Indigenous ancestry and suffering from fetal alcohol effects, now lives in the area with her grown children and their families.  There are few housing options for families on social assistance beyond this neighbourhood, although at various times alternatives have been attempted.

Latest revision:  2023/07/23