Poor America Documentary Analysis

I. Description of the experience
Prior to this activity, I was skeptical that I would not learn anything beneficial or enlightening. After a little debate, I decided to move forward in watching the documentary Poor America. Although this was a short documentary, I felt that every second was impactful. This documentary was the perfect introduction to allow myself to develop within this series of multicultural activities. I felt engaged during the documentary because it showed several different people going through something similar that I have thankfully not had to experience in my life. Prior to this documentary, I do not believe I was aware of true poverty. A lot of the things that I had growing up I did not realize they were such a privilege. Although small, this experience as help me develop a better understanding.
II. Discuss why you selected this experience:
When starting this activity, I was really unsure of what direction I wanted to take.
I wanted to participate in something that would help challenge my experience throughout the activity. After some research, I determined that I wanted to develop a better understanding of socioeconomic status, SES, more specifically those at a major poverty disadvantage. Socioeconomic status plays a large part in an individual’s life. Although a person’s drive can also play a large part in their overall success, the environment in which they are surrounded is also a major contributor. Being poor in America can mean lacking a lot of things; from an education, power (utilities), a home, and most important food and water. Poverty has and will continue to effect so many individuals. Poverty does not discriminate against age, race, or sex.
III. Discuss your reactions (surprises, insights,
impressions);
When prepping for this assignment, I knew I wanted to look at the marginalized group of the poor. Many people see America has one of the richest counties in the world; however, poverty is on a steady up rise resulting in an increase in food shortages, millions without health insurance, power and even clean water. While watching this documentary, I was not really surprised at the statistics surrounding poverty. Growing up, my mother was a property manager I often heard her speak of people living outside of their means resulting in more debt. Another thing that really affected me during this documentary were hearing the children talk. Many of these children that are experiencing poverty are being put at a major disadvantage. Millions of children have become burdened to that of a host of worries which later lead to distractions in school putting the child at risk of failing behind developmentally. This documentary was created on/under the streets of Las Vegas; yet, if we were to research other parts of the United States it is likely that small and drastic levels of poverty would be seen across all states. While watching the documentary, I became emotional when hearing the children talk about the host of worries that they should not have to worry about. Going even further hearing a teacher talk about how her students are not thinking about learning, but thinking about their shoes hurting, where they are going to sleep, and if they are going to get to dinner that night. This was really heart breaking to see children who have no control of these circumstances being affected so negatively. Outside of feeling negative emotions towards this documentary, I also felt very inspired. At one point in the documentary, it discussed how 500 million individuals are without health insurance. Then moved on to show hundreds of people waiting in a parking lot for medical care pop up, which held doctors and dentist offering free services to those in need. This instant really opened my eyes to how unware even I am to the privilege that I have by just being able to go to the doctor when needed or to get medication to help me when sick. This sparked more interest in me to do outside research of my own. In my research, I found that there are several other states that have opened these pop up medical camps to help people. Seeing this really opened my eyes to being more aware of those privileges that I do have.
IV. What would you do differently if you were to repeat this experience
If I were to repeat this experience, I think that I would find a documentary that is a little more in-depth and one that pertains to a larger area. For example, in Poor America, the majority of the documentary was focused on that of the poverty community in Las Vegas. I feel like this would have touched much closer to home if I had watched a video of a homeless community in my hometown Huntsville, AL or even here in Florence, AL. One thing that I was able to relate to in the experience was what the speaker called tent city. Several years ago, Huntsville had a very prominent tent city under the over passes. I saw these people and what they consider their homes every day. In high school, I even had experience helping at the Manna House in Huntsville. This is a place similar to that of Florence Room in the Inn where those who are lacking can come and get food and other small necessity items. Overall, I believe that this experience was beneficial in reopening my mind to what I have seen and experienced in the past.
V. What is the value of this experience to you as a counselor
As a counselor, I believe that I should try to be as culturally diverse as possible to develop a better understanding of individuals and their issues. Our textbook states that it can be uncomfortable working with different people. Although, I may not be able to know and learn everything, I believe that being aware and having an idea is a great start to developing my multicultural counseling competency. I hope that this experience allows me to open up as a counselor and be more aware. I want to be able to learn about people where they come from, what they do and cannot do. I hope one day to be able to help all individuals in some form or fashion without stereotyping or hesitation because of who they are or what they come from. As a counselor, I am prepping myself to encounter people of all ages, race, SES, sex, disabilities etc. This is only the beginning of my experience and I am eager to learn and develop further.