A student of mine this year has experienced many of these
stressors. Some of the stressors this student experiences are poverty, hunger,
and chaos. This student came to school 2 weeks after school had begun. I soon
learned that I would have my hands full with this student as he was very
active, very low academically and his basic needs at home were not being met.
He had been to 6 different schools the previous year, and was currently living
out of his car. His mother was a single mother with five other children. At one
point, his mother shared they had twenty dollars left for the month. They were
in the process of finding a shelter and were able to get one room in a hotel.
This mother shared that they were all sleeping in one bed in a one room hotel.
It was obvious that when this student came to school he was hungry and tired.
The school was able to provide breakfast to this student, and as much support
as we could. This mother had a lot of stress on herself trying to find a place
to sleep each night and that her children were not receiving the attention they
needed. This student would often come to school late and would miss several
days in a week/month. Unfortunately, this student moved about 2 months into
school. Hopefully this student and his family were able to find a more stable
environment.
Puerto Rico just experienced a major natural disaster, being
hit with a hurricane that destroyed much of their environment. However, even
before this disaster, Puerto Rico experiences much poverty that greatly impacts
young children. “The effects of poverty, combined with the trauma of living
through a natural disaster, will not fade away easily: The experiences that
Puerto Rico’s young children have now directly influence their long-term physical,
cognitive, and emotional development” (Novoa, 2017).
For example,
Puerto Rico imports most food, in recent years, they have made many efforts to increase
the production of their own food, but hurricane Maria destroyed many of these
crops. Since Puerto Rico does not have a lot of agriculture, and importing food
causes many possible problems, as there is concern this food is not “safe”
based on how the food is handled once arriving. This problem results in lack of
food and a longer process of receiving food which results in hunger (Novoa,
2017).
In response
to the hurricane, USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) is making food
assistance by sending food packages that address the immediate need of food. This
program is also providing a special supplemental nutrition program for women,
infants, and children in order to get the nutritional support they need (Novoa,
2017). With these supports, there are still many areas of need in Puerto Rico,
and it will take a large amount of time to get them back to where they were.
References
Novoa, C., (2017). Center for American Progress. Hurricane Maria’s Effects on Young Children
in Puerto Rico. Retrieved from: americanprogress.org
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and about your student. I have had many students in similar situations. It is truly heart wrenching. There is no way a child can perform well at school, in such unstable conditions. It is so hard to feel like we are not doing enough, but being there for them and creating as much stability as we can while they are in our care is vital. I also pray for the people of Puerto Rico and that they are able to find some since of solitude. We can always do more. Thanks again for your openness and willingness to share.
-Allison Giles
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad situation to experience- I do hope the child and family were able to find help where they moved to. Here in SD there are many homeless on the streets and it's sad to see. The San Diego Affordable Housing Commission are working on affordable housing, single room dwellings and so on, but I feel like they can't seem to catch up. Down the street from me is an outdoor café- The Dojo Café- who serves everyone in the community, often offering free coffee to those less fortunate. They have the "Stay Smiling" and "Susie's Cup" as 'tip' cups to help others pay for a drink or food. It's amazing the little things that we can do to help others in need, especially helping them to feel like they're part of the community.
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteWhat a difficult situation to deal with as an educator. It must be so overwhelming for the mother and children in that situation. These kind of stories really does challenge us on providing high-quality care. For this child, a warm meal and smile might be all that you get through to them that day, academics tend to get put on the back burner when a person is surviving. I found your information of Puerto Rico fascinating. Rehabilitating an entire culture will be a process and will have lasting effects of the children and families for sure. Thanks for sharing!
-Crystal
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteWhat a hard situation to deal with. I wonder where is this family now and I hope they are doing better. Its hard to see a child having to deal with hunger and knowing that this will affect his life in so many ways.
Children in Puerto Rico are also dealing with hunger and having family there it breaks my heart to know that children have to deal with such trauma.