Blog 1: Poverty - The Never Ending Cycle

Coronavirus swept the world by storm in spring of 2020. Although it had already been affecting areas in Asia, especially China, it was declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. The situation is affecting many people and entities. It's taking its toll on the economy, small businesses, and the lives of many global citizens. As a result to help stop it, the world went into social distancing. People were instructed to stay home and limit the places you go or people you see. This led me to wonder what was happening with people who might not have a home to shelter in, thus I researched Coronavirus' affect on the homeless population. Article 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control." Although some could argue this right isn't met in the world typically, it is much more evident in such a dire global situation.

People in a place of homelessness not only don't have a roof over their head to stay while everyone is staying home, but they don't have the proper means of protecting themselves from the virus. That alone is its own issue: how homeless people are surviving through such unprecedented strange times. The other issue coming to light is the large possibility of the homeless population surging in the near future because of coronavirus. With many people out of work and unable to meet their financial needs or pay their bills, there is a large chance of a rise in those numbers. According to MarketWatch in 2019, "Millions of Americans are just one paycheck away from 'financial disaster.'" In 2018, the official poverty rate in the United States was 11.8%. Because of the uncertainty of the finances during the time of the pandemic, these numbers can be expected to grow. People not having the funds they need can even go into further issues such as the potential evictions or foreclosures of homes. Which would then pile into the discussion of people without a home.

This time in the world is cause for lots of questions, and the issue is no one really knows any answers. Situations change within a week and new issues arise every day. Although it is true that the cycle of poverty combined with the abrupt interruption in financial security is doing more harm than good and can lead to a much larger set of issues in the future.

Bibliography

Passy, Jacob. “Millions of Americans Are Just One Paycheck Away from 'Financial Disaster'.” MarketWatch, 20 May 2019, www.marketwatch.com/story/half-of-americans-are-just-one-paycheck-away-from-financial-disaster-2019-05-16.

Semega, Jessica, et al. “Income and Poverty in the United States: 2018.” The United States Census Bureau, 17 Sept. 2019, www.census.gov/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-266.html.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations, www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.