My Vision
My Vision
! I met a girl this winter who moved my heart. Her name was Tiya, she is 14 and
living at the Bethany House, a womenʼs shelter where I was volunteering. Her mothers unstable and, at times, unsafe lifestyle, Tiya was forced to move around from state to state. She had been held back a few years in previous grades and was still in the 7th grade. While my cousin and I were cooking a Sunday dinner for the ladies in the shelter, Tiya came in to help and we had a long, heart-breaking, conversation. I told her “you know Tiya, you can get out of this, leave this life behind; you just need to work as hard as you can in school”. She replied with a simple “no I canʼt, I donʼt have what it takes”. She doesnʼt believe in herself, because she has no one who believes in her. ! Children born into unstable families or families dependent on welfare are born
into one of the biggest injustices in this country. Girls become single mothers at such young ages, and welfare is their only resource to turn to. What these girls/families need isnʼt just money, they need help. Raising a child is a very hard job for a 15/16 year old to accomplish alone and with the teen-pregnancy percentage so high in this day and age, we should be doing something more to help single mothers, prevent these pregnancies and stop the cycle of families being dependent on welfare. ! “Welfare is an addiction, no different from those who become dependent on
drugs, alcohol, gambling or other controlling factors” (Madison Journal Today). In the United States any person on welfare/food stamps is looked upon as lazy and uneducated because they are receiving hard-earned tax payer dollars. It is not the people to blame for receiving this money effortlessly, it is the government.
!
The efforts Iʼve seen work for other “at risk” groups have been by people who
have experienced the same challenges and therefore can relate. Our countries political policies are out of touch and maybe over-educated. Ask
! I met a girl this winter who moved my heart. Her name was Tiya, she is 14 and
living at the Bethany House, a womenʼs shelter where I was volunteering. Her mothers unstable and, at times, unsafe lifestyle, Tiya was forced to move around from state to state. She had been held back a few years in previous grades and was still in the 7th grade. While my cousin and I were cooking a Sunday dinner for the ladies in the shelter, Tiya came in to help and we had a long, heart-breaking, conversation. I told her “you know Tiya, you can get out of this, leave this life behind; you just need to work as hard as you can in school”. She replied with a simple “no I canʼt, I donʼt have what it takes”. She doesnʼt believe in herself, because she has no one who believes in her. ! Children born into unstable families or families dependent on welfare are born
into one of the biggest injustices in this country. Girls become single mothers at such young ages, and welfare is their only resource to turn to. What these girls/families need isnʼt just money, they need help. Raising a child is a very hard job for a 15/16 year old to accomplish alone and with the teen-pregnancy percentage so high in this day and age, we should be doing something more to help single mothers, prevent these pregnancies and stop the cycle of families being dependent on welfare. ! “Welfare is an addiction, no different from those who become dependent on
drugs, alcohol, gambling or other controlling factors” (Madison Journal Today). In the United States any person on welfare/food stamps is looked upon as lazy and uneducated because they are receiving hard-earned tax payer dollars. It is not the people to blame for receiving this money effortlessly, it is the government.
!
The efforts Iʼve seen work for other “at risk” groups have been by people who
have experienced the same challenges and therefore can relate. Our countries political policies are out of touch and maybe over-educated. Ask