What is Generational Poverty?

Generational poverty refers to a cycle of poverty that persists across multiple generations within a family or community. It occurs when individuals and families are trapped in a cycle of low income, limited access to resources, and inadequate education and training opportunities. Generational poverty can have numerous negative impacts on individuals, including limited opportunities, poor health outcomes, and social and emotional difficulties.

One of the most significant negative impacts of generational poverty is limited access to opportunities. People living in generational poverty often lack the resources and support to pursue education or training programs that could help them secure higher-paying jobs or advance in their careers. As a result, they may remain stuck in low-paying, unstable jobs or struggle to find employment altogether. This can make it difficult to break out of the cycle of poverty and create a better life for themselves and their families.

Generational poverty can also have a negative impact on health outcomes. People living in poverty often lack access to quality healthcare, nutritious food, and safe living conditions. This can lead to a range of health problems, including chronic diseases, mental health issues, and developmental delays. These health problems can further exacerbate poverty by making it difficult to work or attend school, leading to missed opportunities for advancement.

Finally, generational poverty can impact social and emotional well-being. Children growing up in poverty may experience stress, anxiety, and depression due to the instability and uncertainty of their living conditions. They may also struggle to form positive relationships with peers or adults, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness. These social and emotional difficulties can make it difficult to succeed academically or professionally, further perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Think of your life as being like a spider web. For instance, if your car stops running because it needs an expensive repair, it’s like a connection on your spider web comes undone. If you’ve not been affected by generational poverty, it’s likely that you have a job where you may have some paid time off you can use while you fix your car. You may have a little money in the bank to help pay for the repair. You have a AAA membership and they are able to tow your car to a nearby mechanic. After spending a few hours dealing with your broken car, you call your mom who lives nearby and she’s able to drive you to work so you only have to use a few hours of personal time. If you’ve not been impacted by generational poverty, your spider web is more likely to have lots of connections.

However, if you grew up in a family affected by generational poverty, this common problem may play out very differently. When you’re car won’t start, you call your boss. Your boss is understanding and lets you take the day off but your entry level, manual labor job doesn’t include time off. You’re living paycheck to paycheck and so you don’t have money for the repair - let alone have a AAA membership. You’d call your mom but she doesn’t have a vehicle of her own. You call a few more people and no one is able to lend you money for the repair and your job is too far away for any of your friends to drive you. If you don’t find a way to get to work in a day or two, you might lose the job altogether. With so few connections on your spider web, when one connection fails, the whole web is in danger of collapsing.

Here at BCCH, generational poverty is something that has had a major impact on many of our guests. However, understanding generational poverty is the first step in learning how to break its cycle.