Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen
I don't know what it's like in the States but I live in a street with a high presence of public housing which seems synonymous with housing for junkies and dealers. Those with kids just don't give a **** about their kids getting any sort of future. They never send them to school unless they are forced to meet requirements for some sort of official scrutiny and then as soon as the pressure's off the kids are back out of school. I know resources are pretty scarce in the welfare sector but I really think the focus needs to be on kids getting the help they won't get from their wasted parents.
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That's a very big generalisation there, I live and work in Melbourne. I work with children in one of the poorest regions of Victoria and my school has one of the lowest socio-economic indexes statuses in Australia- most families are on welfare. Many of the recipients of welfare packages are recent refugees or migrants who want the best for their children and are so happy to be in Australia but it is very difficult to them to get employment. Many of them survive on welfare while they are taking English classes, then once their English is up to scratch they mostly commence employment in a valuable sector of our society. They care so much for their kids and only want the best for them. There are also a couple of single parents on welfare with disabled children who are so demanding they can't work enough hours to make ends meet. Not all people on welfare are drug dealers and junkies who don't give a **** about their kids. That is a very strong generalisation about the kinds of people who are on welfare.
Then there are also the children from Australian families of generational poverty who are very different, however. It sometimes seems like they don't care about their children, because many of them have mental disorders such as depression or are too concerned about putting food on the table that for them school is not a priority. The point of action there, I think, is helping and educating the parents as WELL as the children to help them create a better life. My job means that I liaise a lot with public housing and DHS, and DHS research has shown that the most effective action plan is to have people actually work with these families, show them life skills and educate them on money/budgeting/employment to help them live a better life.
So basically... It's a huge sweeping statement to say that most people on welfare and in public housing are junkies and drug dealer-types who don't give a **** about their kids. When you get to know these families you realise that it is very different and very complicated. As much as everyone criticises it, I think that the welfare system that is in place is very good considering the resources that are given and the budget that is allocated to it. Services like DHS do A LOT to help these families and educate them with life skills, as opposed to just handing out cash and food stamps, they actually do a lot more.