The chosen topic is poverty in the USA. Even though the US is one of the most economically prosperous countries in the world, more than 10 percent of Americans live in poverty (Semega et al., 2020). The issue of poverty was chosen for the discussion because it remains immensely topical. What is more, the economic crisis and mass unemployment caused by the coronavirus outbreak exacerbate the situation and plunge even more people into penury. This topic is directly related to my internship because currently, I am employed at the non-profit organization CAPI USA that implements the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The target population includes experts, social activists, and students because the presentation educates on the issue of poverty and makes the audience think of what could be done to eradicate it.
The major problem with poverty in the US is that the number of people living below the poverty threshold is gradually increasing despite the economic growth of the country (Brady and Parolin, 2020). The primary factors that prevent people in need from participating in the related programs include the inconvenient location of services, poor communication of agencies with potential clients, lack of education, and even the absence of reading and writing skills (Wahler and Adhami, 2018). Unfortunately, experts do not expect any significant positive changes in the nearest future. Instead, according to Parolin and Wimer (2020), there is a strong statistical possibility that poverty rates will be high as never before due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SNAP is not considered to be a remedy that will decrease the number of people living in poverty. Instead, more profound structural changes should be implemented by the federal government in the social welfare system.
References
Brady, D., & Parolin, Z. (2020). The levels and trends in deep and extreme poverty in the United States, 1993–2016. Demography, 57(6), 2337-2360. Web.
Parolin, Z., & Wimer, C. (2020). Forecasting estimates of poverty during the COVID-19 crisis. Poverty and Social Policy Brief, 4(8), 1-18.
Semega, J., Kollar, M., Shrider, E. A., and Creamer J. (2020). Income and poverty in the United States: 2019. United States Census Bureau. Web.
Wahler, E. A., & Adhami, A. (2018). Barriers to program completion of a voluntary capacity-building group intervention for individuals living in poverty. Journal of Poverty, 22(2), 179-190. Web.