After researching and composing four blogs upon the subject
of poverty, I have come to realize it as an alarming issue that continues to
worsen even throughout modern-day society.
There are many issues raised concerning poverty, as it branches out,
affects and is affected by various different subjects. These subjects include low-income families,
social assistance, children, housing, health care, food, human rights and
education to name a few. It is also
apparent the various communities poverty effects within Canada itself,
including single parents, First Nations, the LGBTQ, immigrants and
refugees.
The blogs I have written consist of various issues
surrounding multi-generational poverty that I have found both interesting and
appalling. Being quite interested in
history, I enjoyed writing my first blog on the subject of European Feudalism
and the concept of poverty in the Middle Ages.
From this, I gained much information of the origination of poverty. I have also developed knowledge of the
English Poor Laws and which elements still effectively continue to enforce
stigma against Canada’s poor society today.
My second blog focused upon the issue of the United Nations and their
struggle to persuade the Canadian government to research multi-generational poverty. I learned that although the UN provided
Canada with a national food strategy, our government refused to take action and
support these issues. By researching
this subject, I was notified of various alarming statistics. I used the social democratic policy learned
in class to provide ideas in which our Canadian government could change its
policies in order to aid its growing poverty population. The third blog I composed focused on the
importance of social assistance programs and their need for reform. By gathering research, I discovered that most
social assistance programs in today’s society have not been effective. It was concluded the Canadian government’s
need to research the effectiveness of such social assistance programs to
properly and most effectively distribute their funds in benefit of those
communities in need. My fourth blog
focused on the LGBTQ community and the fact that they were of the poorest
populations among Canadian communities.
I concluded that this was because of workplace discrimination and
gender-based principles. Because of
this, I suggested our neo-conservative government look towards their promise of
human rights and equality in supporting these communities through the
difficulty of poverty.
By reading the various other blogs posted by my classmates,
I gained an even wider perspective upon the issue of poverty and its importance
in Canadian society. I also noticed that
each blog in its own greatly called for reform.
Some issues present within these blogs I found most interesting were the
issues upon mothers and selling their bodies to provide enough income for their
families, as well as the issue of abortion as a woman’s way to prevent being
unable to provide for her child. I also
discovered various issues surrounding poverty within the branches of race,
ethnicity, gender and inequality. Not
only did I learn about various issues surrounding poverty, but the other issues
that affect Canadians throughout modern-day society. These issues were included within the groups of
mental illness, physical and mental disabilities, women, First Nations,
northern communities, older adults, the LGBTQ, immigrants and refugees. I was deeply moved upon important issues such
as euthanasia, transgenderism and bathroom rights, contamination and
environmental concerns and sex-selective abortion. By understanding these issues, it has opened
my eyes based on the need and importance of change within Canadian
society. It has also given me an
understanding of the types of people presently active towards change. More important, I was able to get a better
understanding of social work and the ideologies present within its subject.
I have believed this blogging assignment as beneficial for
my learning in various ways. By
commenting on different blogs myself and other students were allowed to share
and voice our opinions regarding the multiple issues surrounding us in
Canada. By learning from each other we
can advocate ourselves toward change. We
have been able to research issues important to us, whether close at heart, or
just plain interesting. In this way, we
were able to participate socially with one another. The process of researching and composing such
blogs has given me an opportunity to critically think and asses my thoughts and
feelings towards the issue of poverty, and has provided me with various ideas
on the subject of change. I believe the
concept of writing blogs throughout the semester has helped to open my eyes to
such issues that surround poverty, while helping to develop my research and
critical thinking skills, as well as using my own voice, thoughts and opinions
present upon the subject.
- Kara
