The newly impoverished

Susan Mason in her Editorial Notes  in the Fall, 2011 issue of Families in Society journal writes a brief essay on what Social Work has to offer to the newly impoverished. The newly impoverished are the people who have lost their jobs, become chronically unemployed, lost their health insurance, lost their homes, perhaps have had to file for bankruptcy. They have seen their IRAs and 401ks depleted as they have used them up to meet expenses after they reached their limits on their credit cards.

Often times these financial strains lead to marital problems, difficulties maintaining their children's standard of living, and a loss in social status among one's previous professional and community peers.

I see these people in my private practice who are working two and three low paying jobs trying to scrape by and maintain some remnants of their previous standard of living. They are experiencing problems with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, relationship problems and they cannot afford mental health care which would be very helpful in sorting out the stressorss and making adjustments to a life style neither desired nor expected.

Fear runs high in America as the middle class way of life is rapidly disappearing with the concomitant evaporation of the social safety nets. Those who begrudgingly supported policies for the poor and for health care now are caught up with the lack of support which they previously voted against to save "taxes".

I would like to think that the newly impoverished from their suffering would develop a society more compassionate, more loving, more cooperative, more willing to help one's neighbor. How the continued unemployment and rising rates of poverty affect us psychologically and morally will be interesting to observe.

In the meantime those of us in the helping professions have an opportunity to be what Alice Miller calls "enlightened witnesses". People are suffering from social dynamics of their own making. Hopefully, an awareness will arise that things don't have to be this way. If we as a people can overcome our materialism, our greed, our egotistical ways, there can be an abundance for all. The current impoverishment is not necessary, but people will have to raise their consciousnesses and shift their perceptions to what they can share and mutually accomplish together rather than trying to get more for me when it means less for you.

As Mother Theresa said, America is a very poor country spiritually even though we are very rich materially. The suffering we as Social Workers observe and contend with on a daily basis is unnecessary if we influence our social policies and interpersonal supports in more functional ways.

In the meantime, downsize, right size,  and engage in more cooperative living. While we may be materially more poor, we, perhaps, can become spiritually enriched.