Poverty as a Childhood Disease

The New York Times-May 13, 2013

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By Dr. Perri Klass on family health

 

Poverty is an exam room familiar. From Bellevue Hospital in New York to the neighborhood health center in Boston where I used to work, poverty has filtered through many of my interactions with parents and their children.

I ask about sleeping arrangements. Mother, father, older child and new baby live in one bedroom that they’re renting in an apartment, worrying that if the baby cries too much, they’ll be asked to leave.

I encourage an overweight 9-year-old who loves karate, and his mother says, “We had to stop; too expensive.” I talk to a new mother who is going back to work too soon, leaving her baby with the cheapest sitter she can find.

Is your housing situation secure? Can you afford groceries? Do you go with the cheapest fast food? Can you get the prescription filled? Raising children in poverty means that everything is more complicated.

Me, I’m one generation out. My mother will tell you about her Depression childhood, the social worker who checked the family’s pots to see whether they were secretly able to afford meat, the landlord who put the furniture out on the street. It wasn’t character-building or noble, she says. It was soul-destroying, grinding and cruel.

And it’s even crueller, now that social mobility has decreased and children who grow up poor are more likely to stay poor.

At the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies last week, there was a new call for pediatricians to address childhood poverty as a national problem, rather than wrestling with its consequences case by case in the exam room.

Poverty damages children’s dispositions and blunts their brains. We’ve seen articles about the language deficit in poorer homes and the gaps in school achievement. These remind us that — more so than in my mother’s generation — poverty in this country is now likely to define many children’s life trajectories in the harshest terms: poor academic achievement, high dropout rates, and health problems from obesity anddiabetes to heart disease, substance abuse and mental illness.

Recently, there has been a lot of focus on the idea of toxic stress, in whicha young child’s body and brain may be damaged by too much exposure to so-called stress hormones, like cortisol and norepinephrine. When this level of stress is experienced at an early age, and without sufficient protection, it may actually reset the neurological and hormonal systems, permanently affecting children’s brains and even, we are learning, their genes.

Toxic stress is the heavy hand of early poverty, scripting a child’s life not in the Horatio Alger scenario of determination and drive, but in the patterns of disappointment and deprivation that shape a life of limitations.

At the meeting, my colleague Dr. Benard P. Dreyer, professor of pediatrics at New York University and a past president of the Academic Pediatric Association, called on pediatricians to take on poverty as a serious underlying threat to children’s health. He was prompted, he told me later, by the widening disparities between rich and poor, and the gathering weight of evidence about the importance of early childhood, and the ways that deprivation and stress in the early years of life can reduce the chances of educational and life success.

“After the first three, four, five years of life, if you have neglected that child’s brain development, you can’t go back,” he said. In the middle of the 20th century, our society made a decision to take care of the elderly, once the poorest demographic group in the United States. Now, with Medicareand Social Security, only 9 percent of older people live in poverty. Children are now our poorest group, with almost 25 percent of children under 5 living below the federal poverty level.

When Tony Blair became prime minister of Britain, amid growing socioeconomic disparities, he made it a national goal to cut child poverty in half in 10 years. It took a coalition of political support and a combination of measures that increased income, especially in families with young children (minimum wage, paid maternity and paternity leaves, tax credits), and better services — especially universal preschool programs. By 2010, reducing child poverty had become a goal across the British political spectrum, and child poverty had fallen to 10.6 percent of children below the absolute poverty line (similar to the measure used in the United States), down from 26.1 percent in 1999.

“Poor families who benefited from the reform were able to spend more money on items for children: books and toys, children’s clothing and footwear, fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Jane Waldfogel, a professor of social work at Columbia who has studied the British war on childhood poverty.

Dr. Dreyer said: “Income matters. You get people above the poverty level, and they actually are better parents. It’s critical to get people out of poverty, but in addition our focus has to be on also giving families supports for other aspects of their lives — parenting, interventions in primary care, universal preschool.”

At the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting, the most unexpected speaker — to a room full of pediatricians — was Robert H. Dugger, managing partner of Hanover Investment Group, who made the economic case for investing in young children. “History shows that productivity increases when people are able to access their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Mr. Dugger told me. “There is no economic recovery strategy stronger than committing to early childhood and K-through-12 investment.”

Think for a moment of poverty as a disease, thwarting growth and development, robbing children of the healthy, happy futures they might otherwise expect. In the exam room, we try to mitigate the pain and suffering that are its pernicious symptoms. But our patients’ well-being depends on more, on public health measures and prevention that lift the darkness so all children can grow toward the light.

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This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 15, 2013

An earlier version of this article misstated the title of Jane Waldfogel. She is a professor of social work at Columbia, not a sociologist.

 

A version of this article appeared in print on 05/14/2013, on page D4 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Poverty’s Lasting Ills.

Family Promise of Gallatin Valley Celebrating Serving 100 Homeless Families!

On Thursday, May 23rd from 5:30-7:30pm at the Baxter Hotel Ballroom, Family Promise of Gallatin Valley will be celebrating serving 100 Family Promise families consisting of 336 people including 157 adults and 179 children.

Guests will enjoy live music by Milton Menasco, light appetizers by Off the Eatin’ Path and drinks. This is a great opportunity for supporters of Family Promise to catch up with graduated Family Promise families, volunteers and staff.

Family Promise has over an 80% success rate of families graduating the program with stable housing, employment and childcare. Family Promise can host up to four families or twelve people for an average of 90 days at a time. In the evenings, Family Promise guests stay overnight at local congregations where volunteers provide home cooked meals and overnight accommodations for the families. During the day, the homeless families go to a Family Day Center and receive full time case management and learn life skills such as parenting, budgeting and interviewing skills.

“At Family Promise, we believe in celebrating all of the successes of our families, large or small. This is a celebration of all the hard work our families have dedicated to regaining their independence. Additionally, this is a recognition of all the time, energy and love our 1,500 volunteers have invested into our families over the years,” said Bridget Pitman, Family Promise Volunteer Director.

The event is welcome to all Family Promise supporters, friends and family.

Past Family Promise guest Cami said, “Family Promise is a blessing and continues to touch the hearts and lives of many. I cannot thank them enough for showing me love, inspiring me, and giving me wings to fly! I went from homeless to being a homeowner! I am forever grateful.”

On Monday, April 22nd, ten our Bozeman’s best Celebrity Servers treated guests to a seven course pan Asian feast at John Bozeman’s Bistro. John Bozeman’s Bistro generously opened their doors to make this event possible once again. 

Guests enjoyed the entertainment of fun Celebrities while dining with new and old friends. Auction items such as two fly fishing trips by guide Scott Martinka, a two-day climbing lesson from world famous mountaineer Conrad Anker, a week stay at a house in Texas, and a package from Schnee’s Boots and Shoes went quickly to lucky guests!

Later in the evening, past Family Promise guests Maggie and her son Lukas spoke about how their time in our Family Promise program impacted their lives.

This year, our fabulous servers included:

Veteran Servers: Returning servers from last year’s event!
DJ Missy ‘O Malley-Local DJ and Community Supporter
Loren Acton-Astronaut

New Servers:
Conrad Anker-World Famous Climber and Mountaineer
Sarah Calhoun-Founder and Owner of Red Ants Pants LLC and Music Festival
Colleen O’Quinn-DJ for XL Country Radio
Milton Menasco-Lead Singer of Milton Menasco and the Big Fiasco
Buzz Tarlow-Family Promise Board President and Attorney
Sharon Navas-Current Principal of Emily Dickinson Elementary School and newly hired Principal of the Bozeman’s newest Elementary School
Roxanne Klingensmith-Ordained Deacon at St. James Episcopal Church and Family Promise Founder
Beth Saboe-News Anchor for CBS News Affiliate KBZK

This year, our guests generously donated $13,404.69 in less than three hours to help our homeless families with children. HOW incredible!

Thank you to all who attended, donated and served at our event. This evening would not have been successful without your help!

We look forward to seeing you next year for our third annual event! Stay tuned for beautiful photos from our “Celebrity Servers at the Bistro” event by LucaPhotography.

THANK YOU!

Bridget Pitman and Kacie Grue accepts a $10,000 check at the finish line!

Last Saturday, March 16th, nearly 2,400 runners participated in a half marathon or 10k at the Run to the Pub event to help support our local homeless families through Family Promise of Gallatin Valley. This was the largest number of runners to date!

Part of the proceeds from the race was donated to Family Promise. Runners were also given the opportunity to donate to Family Promise when they registered for the Run to the Pub race event.

Runners for this year’s Run to the Pub event celebrated as a large check was given to Family Promise at the end of the race during the awards ceremony for $10,000! Race founder and sponsor John Amsden was a very generous contributor to this donation to Family Promise. Thank you, John!

Each year, Volunteer Director Bridget Pitman coordinates volunteers for this race. Many incredible Family Promise volunteers supported aid stations, the finish line and the stuffing and distributing of race packets. Thank you, volunteers!

“We were incredibly overwhelmed by this generous donation. We were not expecting this check! We are really excited about how this generous donation will benefit our families,” said Bridget Pitman, Family Promise volunteer director.

Thank you to all who ran, volunteered, or supported this event. We look forward to next year!

Janet Colombo working hard to paint our Day Center!

Let the renovations begin! For the past month, our Tim and Mary Barnard Day Center has undergone major changes. We hired a fabulous team to help make our stairways safer, improve insulation and do some much needed repairs.

Volunteer Elizabeth Schultz getting her hands dirty!

Our Day Center gets a lot of love each week at Family Promise. These repairs will insure that many families will be able to call our Family Promise Day Center “home”.

Big thank you to volunteers Stevie Kisko, Janet Colombo and Elizabeth Schultz who donated their time this week to paint, clean and make our Day Center sparkle!

For the past few years, Family Promise has been the featured nonprofit for the Run to the Pub 10k and half marathon race. This race was just voted the #2 best half marathon in the U.S. by Runner’s World magazine (quite a big deal!)

We are excited for this opportunity each year to get our name out there to people who would not normally know about our services. Each year, Family Promise supports this great community event in a variety of ways. If you are able to volunteer this year to stuff race packets for racers, distribute race packets or help on race day…let us know!

We have a signup form online for all interested volunteers. All volunteers receive a free shirt and beer (for those of age, of course!)

Sign up here today and support our families!

]]> http://www.familypromisegv.org/run-to-the-pub-volunteers/feed/ 0 http://www.familypromisegv.org/new-ways-you-can-volunteer/ http://www.familypromisegv.org/new-ways-you-can-volunteer/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:06:51 +0000 Bridget http://www.familypromisegv.org/?p=655  New Family Promise Volunteer and Educational Opportunities!

We are excited to announce the launching of two new programs at Family Promise!

Our first program, Just Neighbors, is a curriculum designed to educate and raise awareness about poverty in our community. This dynamic interactive program that allows you to walk in the shoes of the poor, experience their frustration, and learn how to help. This curriculum can be taught anywhere and to anyone! We are excited to bring this new opportunity to any group that might be interested!

Our second program that we are excited to offer for our families and volunteers is called Family Mentoring. At Family Promise we believe that ongoing support, access to resources, and good community are important to ensuring the continued success of families. We believe that relationships are necessary and indispensable. That is why we are now offering Family Mentoring. Family Mentoring intersects lives and allows for experiences to be processed together in a peer-to-peer relationship. Mentoring is a relationship with a purpose, based on respect, and trust, and committed to growth that leads to increased independence for each family.

Mentors must first be trained as a Family Promise volunteer, and then complete the mentor training, application, interview and matching processes. The matching process will be based on a variety of factors to ensure that mentors and mentees are being matched with people who they will be comfortable working with. We encourage prospective mentors to volunteer for Family Promise and develop relationships with families as they enter the program, so when families are matched with a mentor upon completion they may already have a relationship with that person.

If you are interested in learning more about either program, please join us for an informational session on March 14^th from 6-7:00 pm at the Bozeman Public Library. We would love to see you there-snacks will be provided!

We are currently recruiting mentors! If you’re interested in becoming a mentor, please contact Morgan Darlington at 406.582.7388.

This year, you made an incredible difference by volunteering for Family Promise!

In 2012, YOU helped 17 families regain their independence and create a new beginning for their families.

This year, you contributed to over 5,000 hours of direct volunteer time to support our families. The in-kind donation of YOUR volunteer time totaled $76,583.36!

You helped serve 1,047 meals to 55 guests including 27 adults and 28 children. Eighteen of these children were ages 5 and under.

This year, we also had new beginnings! One child was born in the program and we had Family Promise’s first marriage while in the program!

Of the 14 families who exited the program, 11 were successful in securing employment, housing and child care. Three families remain in the program at the end of this year.

This is a 79% success rate overall, and a 100% success rate for those who completed the program!If you have ever donated a meal, an hour of your time or a dollar of your money this year, we are grateful for you.

Volunteers like YOU make our program possible. We are grateful for your time, energy, resources and care that you donate to help our homeless families regain their independence.

Please enjoy this brief video that illustrates the change that you have made in your community this year! Thank you SUPERSTAR volunteer!

]]> http://www.familypromisegv.org/december-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.familypromisegv.org/our-families-learning-to-cook/ http://www.familypromisegv.org/our-families-learning-to-cook/#comments Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:24:22 +0000 Bridget http://www.familypromisegv.org/?p=609 Cooking classes with Lizz! 

At Family Promise we believe in supporting each person where they need to be supported when they walk through our doors. We look at the family unit holistically and determine, “how can we best help this family strengthen areas of weakness and utilize their current strengths to move forward?”

Our families come into our program with variety of habits. Some healthy. Some not so healthy.

Many of our volunteers are often concerned with the lack of healthy eating by our families. While our staff recognizes that healthy eating is vital to a families overall health, it is not our #1 priority when a family walks through our doors.

Healthy eating takes time, education and resources. Luckily, our fabulous Saturday Intern Morgan Darlington has been working one-on-one with our families to educate our families on healthy eating. Morgan explains what she has been up to recently:

Spinach, spinach everywhere!

“These past few months our families have been working hard to incorporate healthy habits in their daily lifestyle. Elizabeth Redman, a graduate student at MSU studying Sustainable Foods, volunteered to spend time with us at Family Promise teaching a cooking class.

All of our families had a chance to participate in the cooking process, and the meal revolved around one “whole food”-spinach! Spinach has acquired a bad rap over the years, but Lizz reminded us that it was Popeye’s favorite food for good reason. Our lesson started off with a demonstration on how to sauté spinach, lemon and fresh garlic. Despite the burst of flavor, not everyone was won over.

Lizz thought this might be the case, so she then showed us how to slide the vegetable into quesadillas with refried beans and cheese, which the kids loved! For dessert we even tossed some spinach into our strawberry banana smoothie. They were such a hit that we had to make seconds. As the lesson was winding down, Lizz showed us how to make ice cubes with excess spinach. These can be tossed into everything from spaghetti sauce to macaroni and cheese. The families loved hanging out with Lizz for the evening, and they are hopeful she can come back and share her secret to a good stir-fry. Thanks again Lizz; we really appreciate you!”

Thanks, Morgan for all the work that you have been doing to educate our families on healthy eating!

This week our program was overwhelmed by the support of the TJ Maxx company and their employees. This great business just opened a location in Bozeman. All the managers in the northwest gathered for this opening and to do a little volunteering!

On Sunday, Oct. 21st, TJ Maxx has it’s grand opening celebration and presented our Executive Director Gloria Edwards with a check for $5,000 to support our mission!

Today, 14 store managers from TJ Maxx came to our Day Center to clean and organize. They did an unbelievable job. Seriously, this team came in like a hurricane and cleaned our space top to bottom with nothing but smiles on their faces!

We are so grateful to have the support of this GENEROUS community business.

THANK YOU to TJ Maxx and their wonderful staff and company for strengthening our community with their time and donations.