Women Struggles
Women and Their Struggles with Life
Stephanie Hernandez
COM/155
March 30, 2013
Steven Watkins
A woman struggles in our society regardless if she has a home or if she is homeless. There are often several reasons we are seeing these issues in women today. For instance they may have families to support, they may not have a job, some may have addictions, or there may be some with no means of financial support. These are just some of the issues surrounding women and their struggles in life. We hope that after reading this essay you will have come to some realization and understand of why women today are struggling.
Most all women in our society have families with children. This means that they must have a way to financially support themselves as well as their children. This is very hard to do if a woman …show more content…
does not have a job.
In an article published by (American Psychologist, 1991) 30% of the homeless population, were women and children. The numbers are increasing everyday in the society in which we live. Most homeless women do not have jobs to support their families or they have a problem getting a job. The reason is because most jobs that they find pay lower wages according to the (National Coalition on Homelessness). Unfortunately, this is why they cannot afford housing, food or childcare expenses. Most woman that do not fit in the homeless category that get out and work a job, are faced with some of the same issues. It is hard for them to find a job that pays more than minimum wage, they have child care expenses, and on top of this they have a home to run as well. Almost every woman that works is faced with a higher amount of domestic workload (Housework) than a man. The man only contributes a small part to what the woman does. She is usually works a job, takes care of the family, and runs the
home as well. The majority of all women have at least two children in their families to support. Although some women are employed and others are homemakers who; take care of the children, clean the home, prepare the meals do the shopping for the home and make sure that everything is running smoothly in the home. All of this can be a struggle in itself. Women who live out on the street often look at themselves as homemakers, because they may feel sometimes helpless to society and homemakers often feel the same. The reason most women feel this way is because they have a lack of income to help support with the expenses of life.
Often women in our society struggle because that they never get the proper education that they need or they have never tried to get an education. In today’s society an education is very important especially when you are out looking for a job. In years past women looked at it in this way grow up, get married, have children, then take care of your family. In today’s society it is not that simple. An education has become an essential part of one’s life. It is a must in order to get a job. The way that thing are today have changed, if you do not have a High School Diploma or GED you will not get a job. Our society requires it just to get a job at McDonald’s. So it is very important for a woman to get their education. According to an article written in the (Journal of Higher Education p.9) “To appreciate the pattern women’s education as it now is, we need to see it as part of the struggle in which women sought equal recognition with men in our political, economic, and intellectual, life.” In other words for women to be on the same level with men they always have competed. Although, there are still women in our society today that do not have any educational background. So if a woman has no job or does not have an education how, will she is able to support herself or a family.
This is another terrifying struggle that she may have to face in her life. Some women are married and have spouses to help them financially. Others rely on means such as social security, disability, or other family member’s to help with the family. There again some have no means of financial support at all. The result of this situation can be very discouraging and can cause some women to end up on the streets without a home. In some recent statics from the (National Coalition for Homelessness) about 12.5% of the U.S., live in poverty. Living homeless and in poverty derives from the fact that people have no means of financial independence. There is no way to pay for housing, food, or any other thing that they are in need of. Things like childcare, healthcare, and education are other things that people need financial means for as well. Most of the time women have to make a difficult choice because of these circumstances. They must choose what is more important to them, feeding their families or having a place to stay with little or no income. In most cases, they will choose food because they cannot afford housing. Regardless of having a husband or not woman still struggle financially.
We believe that one of the most important reasons that a woman struggles in our society today, is because they suffer from alcohol or drug addictions. Homeless women or women that have a home may have all types of addictions. Your living arrangements really do not make difference. In an article published by (American Journal of Public Health, 1992), they did a study on homeless people, which included men and women that had addictions among other issues. According to this study when a person was homeless their addiction rate was higher than when they the person was not. This study also included psychiatric disorders as well. Besides and alcohol dependency a woman may suffer from sexual or mental abuse. Whether it is happening now or it happened during their lifetime they still may struggle with these issues today. Some women suffer from childhood sexual abuse, spousal abuse, long term mental abuse, or they may even be a rape victim. All of these factors can contribute to a woman not having a healthy lifestyle. According to an article published by (Healthcare for Women International, 2000) most women that have been sexually assaulted have a problem with drinking and drug use. This was a study done on a group of diverse women in general. Most women are able to handle these addictions and mental disorders, by seeking treatment. In other cases women could not afford to get the help that they needed, because of the lack of health insurance or they did not have the financial means to do so. This is when a woman really begins to struggle in her life. Some may have the support of their families, friends, or other individuals struggling with the same issue as well. Most of the time women can recover fully from these types of addictions or mental illnesses. Some women also have debilitating illnesses such as cancer, asthma, heart disease, and diabetes. These are things that some women live with everyday. Most women can handle these types of chronic illnesses, if they have a good support system. It does not matter if they are homeless or if they have a home with a family. In the case of living homeless they do not have the financial means or cannot get the medical attention that they require. So in most cases they cannot handle their situation, and they begin to struggle. It is so much easier for women who can get medical attention and has a support system. Still most women struggle and, they are terrified no matter the circumstances if they are suffering from a chronic illness.
Concerning all of the struggles that women are facing in their lives, there are different types of support groups and counselors to help women. There is Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous these are just a few groups that will help those that are addicted or have been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Also along with therapy and counseling for those who have psychiatric disorders, raped and for those who have been abused. There are also several options for helping one who need to find a place to lay their head down at night or a place to stay in general. One can find half-way houses, overnight shelters, temporary shelter, and long-term shelters, plus housing assistance as well. There are also different types of programs such as your local Employment Security Commission, your local mental health facility, local Social Services, local Churches, and other non-profit organizations set up to help relieve the struggles that the women in our society are have today.
Most women live in a constant struggle in their life. So what if you are a woman who had all of the things that you ever wanted in life. Then one day suddenly you lose them all: your job, your children, your spouse, you may even get addicted to drugs or alcohol. A woman can have all of these things then lose them all whether she has a home or she is homeless, because all women have struggles.
Stephanie Hernandez
References
Milburn, N & D’Ercole, Ann(1991). Homeless Women, Children, and Families, American Psychologist, p.1159-1160.
(1951), January, Journal Of Higher Education, vol.22 (1) p.9-18, Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable.1976255
(2013) National Coalition for Homelessness, Retrieved from http://nationalcoalitionforhomelessness.org
Winkleby, M. A. Rockhill, B. &ale. (1992) The medical Origins of Homelessness. American Journal of Public Health, 82(10)1394-8. Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/215121255/acctid-35812
Wysahak, G., Healthcare For Women International, (2000) Oct-Nov; 21(7): 331-9 (28ref), Violence, mental health, substance abuse – problems for woman worldwide.
Stephanie Hernandez
COM/155
March 30, 2013
Steven Watkins
A woman struggles in our society regardless if she has a home or if she is homeless. There are often several reasons we are seeing these issues in women today. For instance they may have families to support, they may not have a job, some may have addictions, or there may be some with no means of financial support. These are just some of the issues surrounding women and their struggles in life. We hope that after reading this essay you will have come to some realization and understand of why women today are struggling.
Most all women in our society have families with children. This means that they must have a way to financially support themselves as well as their children. This is very hard to do if a woman …show more content…
does not have a job.
In an article published by (American Psychologist, 1991) 30% of the homeless population, were women and children. The numbers are increasing everyday in the society in which we live. Most homeless women do not have jobs to support their families or they have a problem getting a job. The reason is because most jobs that they find pay lower wages according to the (National Coalition on Homelessness). Unfortunately, this is why they cannot afford housing, food or childcare expenses. Most woman that do not fit in the homeless category that get out and work a job, are faced with some of the same issues. It is hard for them to find a job that pays more than minimum wage, they have child care expenses, and on top of this they have a home to run as well. Almost every woman that works is faced with a higher amount of domestic workload (Housework) than a man. The man only contributes a small part to what the woman does. She is usually works a job, takes care of the family, and runs the
home as well. The majority of all women have at least two children in their families to support. Although some women are employed and others are homemakers who; take care of the children, clean the home, prepare the meals do the shopping for the home and make sure that everything is running smoothly in the home. All of this can be a struggle in itself. Women who live out on the street often look at themselves as homemakers, because they may feel sometimes helpless to society and homemakers often feel the same. The reason most women feel this way is because they have a lack of income to help support with the expenses of life.
Often women in our society struggle because that they never get the proper education that they need or they have never tried to get an education. In today’s society an education is very important especially when you are out looking for a job. In years past women looked at it in this way grow up, get married, have children, then take care of your family. In today’s society it is not that simple. An education has become an essential part of one’s life. It is a must in order to get a job. The way that thing are today have changed, if you do not have a High School Diploma or GED you will not get a job. Our society requires it just to get a job at McDonald’s. So it is very important for a woman to get their education. According to an article written in the (Journal of Higher Education p.9) “To appreciate the pattern women’s education as it now is, we need to see it as part of the struggle in which women sought equal recognition with men in our political, economic, and intellectual, life.” In other words for women to be on the same level with men they always have competed. Although, there are still women in our society today that do not have any educational background. So if a woman has no job or does not have an education how, will she is able to support herself or a family.
This is another terrifying struggle that she may have to face in her life. Some women are married and have spouses to help them financially. Others rely on means such as social security, disability, or other family member’s to help with the family. There again some have no means of financial support at all. The result of this situation can be very discouraging and can cause some women to end up on the streets without a home. In some recent statics from the (National Coalition for Homelessness) about 12.5% of the U.S., live in poverty. Living homeless and in poverty derives from the fact that people have no means of financial independence. There is no way to pay for housing, food, or any other thing that they are in need of. Things like childcare, healthcare, and education are other things that people need financial means for as well. Most of the time women have to make a difficult choice because of these circumstances. They must choose what is more important to them, feeding their families or having a place to stay with little or no income. In most cases, they will choose food because they cannot afford housing. Regardless of having a husband or not woman still struggle financially.
We believe that one of the most important reasons that a woman struggles in our society today, is because they suffer from alcohol or drug addictions. Homeless women or women that have a home may have all types of addictions. Your living arrangements really do not make difference. In an article published by (American Journal of Public Health, 1992), they did a study on homeless people, which included men and women that had addictions among other issues. According to this study when a person was homeless their addiction rate was higher than when they the person was not. This study also included psychiatric disorders as well. Besides and alcohol dependency a woman may suffer from sexual or mental abuse. Whether it is happening now or it happened during their lifetime they still may struggle with these issues today. Some women suffer from childhood sexual abuse, spousal abuse, long term mental abuse, or they may even be a rape victim. All of these factors can contribute to a woman not having a healthy lifestyle. According to an article published by (Healthcare for Women International, 2000) most women that have been sexually assaulted have a problem with drinking and drug use. This was a study done on a group of diverse women in general. Most women are able to handle these addictions and mental disorders, by seeking treatment. In other cases women could not afford to get the help that they needed, because of the lack of health insurance or they did not have the financial means to do so. This is when a woman really begins to struggle in her life. Some may have the support of their families, friends, or other individuals struggling with the same issue as well. Most of the time women can recover fully from these types of addictions or mental illnesses. Some women also have debilitating illnesses such as cancer, asthma, heart disease, and diabetes. These are things that some women live with everyday. Most women can handle these types of chronic illnesses, if they have a good support system. It does not matter if they are homeless or if they have a home with a family. In the case of living homeless they do not have the financial means or cannot get the medical attention that they require. So in most cases they cannot handle their situation, and they begin to struggle. It is so much easier for women who can get medical attention and has a support system. Still most women struggle and, they are terrified no matter the circumstances if they are suffering from a chronic illness.
Concerning all of the struggles that women are facing in their lives, there are different types of support groups and counselors to help women. There is Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous these are just a few groups that will help those that are addicted or have been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Also along with therapy and counseling for those who have psychiatric disorders, raped and for those who have been abused. There are also several options for helping one who need to find a place to lay their head down at night or a place to stay in general. One can find half-way houses, overnight shelters, temporary shelter, and long-term shelters, plus housing assistance as well. There are also different types of programs such as your local Employment Security Commission, your local mental health facility, local Social Services, local Churches, and other non-profit organizations set up to help relieve the struggles that the women in our society are have today.
Most women live in a constant struggle in their life. So what if you are a woman who had all of the things that you ever wanted in life. Then one day suddenly you lose them all: your job, your children, your spouse, you may even get addicted to drugs or alcohol. A woman can have all of these things then lose them all whether she has a home or she is homeless, because all women have struggles.
Stephanie Hernandez
References
Milburn, N & D’Ercole, Ann(1991). Homeless Women, Children, and Families, American Psychologist, p.1159-1160.
(1951), January, Journal Of Higher Education, vol.22 (1) p.9-18, Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable.1976255
(2013) National Coalition for Homelessness, Retrieved from http://nationalcoalitionforhomelessness.org
Winkleby, M. A. Rockhill, B. &ale. (1992) The medical Origins of Homelessness. American Journal of Public Health, 82(10)1394-8. Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/215121255/acctid-35812
Wysahak, G., Healthcare For Women International, (2000) Oct-Nov; 21(7): 331-9 (28ref), Violence, mental health, substance abuse – problems for woman worldwide.