Has What You Learned Changed Your Perspective and the Way You Will Approach the Special Populations Discussed?

Has what you learned changed your perspective and the way you will approach the special populations discussed?

Reflective paper

Everyone has a goal in life. Completing that goal can be life changing. But today’s world, people face many challenges to get to the end. A few of the challenges we face are poverty, employment for older adults, and life changes for women. I have learned a few ways to overcome these challenges. When giving the right skills, any goal you set, can be accomplished no matter what comes your way.

Overcoming Poverty

One of the many challenges we face today is poverty. There are two types of poverty, generational and situational. “Generational Poverty is defined as a family having lived in poverty for at least two generations.” (Urbanventures, 2016) Poverty can be hard to break for many families. There are many factors that come into effect that can make it hard for many to escape.

One factor is the lack of financial resources to their living needs. Many families have a hard time finding jobs due to lack of them and lack of skills. Because they cannot find a job, they lack the money to get further educational skills. When families go through generational poverty they can also go through three other types of poverty. Education, parental, and spiritual. (Urbanventures, 2016)

In many places, education is free. But in some there are uniform, books in transportation expenses. Educational poverty is when you do not have the funds to cover these things. Many parents struggle go through so much when living in poverty. It can cause parental poverty. Parents can become “punitive, inconsistent, authoritarian, and generally non-supportive of their children.” (Nagel, 2010) Then we have spiritual poverty which is, “is the lack of ability to acquire spiritual things. It implies an awareness of things desired that are beyond one’s ability to have or do, since recognition of poverty is a real part of the effects of poverty.” (Degraw, 2013)

Many people who are in generational poverty are only focused on surviving. They are focused on the challenges they face daily. The challenges can be money for rent or food, a place to live, and/or issues with family member’s health. Because they are focused on the daily challenges, they do not have the time to make a plan to escape poverty. Their values are also centered around survival.

Employment Challenges: Older People

        When you reach a certain age, one of the challenges you will face is employment. When older people work, they must go through many obstacles because society sees them differently. Many lose access to employment because of their age. Some of the challenges they face are age discrimination, lack of knowledge with new technology, forced early retirement, and health issues.