domestic poverty

This summer I am working for an organization that deals in domestic poverty--domestic meaning "Salt Lake City, Utah." Utah, especially Salt Lake, has a high number of refugees and immigrants, particularly Hispanics, and these groups make up a large part of what some would term "those in poverty."

But my paradigm of poverty is so different from being in other countries--namely, Africa, Argentina, Chile (both richer South American countries), Peru, and Mexico. I have struggled seeing how giving a loan to someone who has a house, a car, and even a job is helping to alleviate poverty.

Well, I take that back. I struggle to see how someone who has a house, car, and job is termed as someone IN poverty. I went into this summer stint with a strong desire to better understand domestic poverty and figure out ways to help those in poverty right in my own backyard. But I have learned what I didn't expect: poverty is a relative thing.

If you will recall (if you are an avid reader of my oh-so-often blog), I once wrote about how poverty is more than a simple lack of financial resources. Rather, it is an attitude, a disease, a lack of self-esteem, a blow to opportunity, or a crippling defect born by those who happen to not be so affluent. It turns out poverty works in much the same way in the United States--those in poverty are fighting for their self-esteem and their dignity, as much as they are fighting to maintain financial control.

One thing I do need to address sometime (hopefully soon) is how this poverty influences the actions and decisions of many people. More on this later...