Introduction
Low-income families living in megapolises have always struggled to maintain their life quality on a decent level. Large urban areas oftentimes set high price levels and have increased competition for resource availability. Even though big city centers usually get relevant financing, residents with low incomes cannot afford access to the wide spectrum of possibilities their city provides. In New York, one of the largest cities in the US, the poverty level was estimated as 17.9%, which is significantly higher than in all of the US: 10.5% (United States Census Bureau, 2019). A high poverty level leads to diversity in society, influencing on economy and citizens’ quality of life. To raise a decent population of the young generation, society needs to keep affordable medicine, education, food, and other resources available according to the average salaries of humans in poverty.
Household income influences several social, economic, and financial factors that might have a negative impact on the education level of society, health, and food sustainability of people in need. Gennetian et al. (2018) monitored within four years the educational characteristics of students from low-income families using the Opportunity New York City-Family Rewards study. The authors of the research figured these students experienced changes in volatility from four to fifteen times higher or lower compared to their initial condition (Gennetian et l., 2018). Such results show that pupils from families with low household incomes struggle to keep a decent level of attendance and school outcomes. Social levels influencing the personal progress of the young generation is a major issue that can be solved by estimating resource availability to the poor segment of the New York population and the information spread to them.
Low income also limits the access of families and their children to healthy products. Fast foods and lack of vegetables and fruits are one of the main issues causing overweight, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and some chronic diseases. Setting healthy food behavior from childhood is essential for the general health of the population and profitable in terms of state and private clinics’ spending on disease treatments. Another influencing factor on dietary habits is the scale of New York, which has fast life and shortens time on proper food intake and cooking. A study by Seguin et al. (2017) proved that socioeconomically disadvantaged clusters of the population have a lower intake of fruits and vegetables and poorer diet quality. Providing decent quality food to children at schools and organizing social help for low-income families might reduce current and future health disparities.
As one of the solutions to the general issue, the government creates a variety of programs offering help and support to families in need. Such organizations include, for instance, New York City’s Administration for Children Services, New York City’s Department of Education, New York City’s Housing Authority, and Child Care and Development Fund. It is essential to estimate eligible services and functions to be aware of the current condition of low-income families and their access to the programs. Oftentimes, the central problem of limited resource availability takes its basement in the data spread to the population, their comprehension of the possible help, and the ways they can get it.
Problem Definition
The main issue of this project is the problem of resource availability for low-income families in New York and their awareness about it. The population of a large megapolis might not receive the information about available help for them due to inadequate advertisement and other sources spreading data. Both public and the government should have appropriate communication allowing them to cooperate and function together. State finances should be planned for social advertisement and people’s education. A clear understanding of human rights in various conditions will let New York citizens receive fast and efficient help from governmental organizations and community partners.
Research Goal
Researching the current situation of help provided to low-income families and their knowledge about it are the main concerns of this work. Getting a full picture of the issue can help enhance the data spread to the individuals, estimate the spheres of provided help that need the most improvement, and how it can be accomplished.
About This Research
The project will be done in close cooperation with community partners and support organizations estimating their programs and statistics. Depending on how many citizens receive the customs and help, further analysis will be implemented. Families with low household incomes will be surveyed to receive feedback about their awareness of the social help they can get. The primary benefit stands for the poor segment of the population; however, organizations and community partners can be interested in developing a better availability to people if the positive outcomes are described in detail. For instance, saving costs on health insurance, improving education level in the country, and, more down to earth, reducing the level of poverty and their work amounts.
Current Policies
There is a variety of organizations solving the major issue of the project, such as New York City’s Administration for Children Services, New York City’s Department of Education, New York City’s Housing Authority, and Child Care and Development Fund. According to their programs’ implementation and the results of surveys, the main issues of the topic will be highlighted, and a possible solution for solving them will be proposed.
References
Gennetian, L. A., Rodrigues, C., Hill, H. D., & Morris, P. A. (2018). Stability of income and school attendance among NYC students of low-income families. Economics of Education Review, 63, 20-30.
Seguin, R. S., Morgan, E. H., Hanson, K. L., Ammerman, A. S., Jilcott Pitts, S. B., Kolodinsky, J., Sitaker, M., Becot, F. B., Connor, L. M., Garner, J. A. & McCuirt, J. T. (2017). Farm Fresh Foods for healthy kids (F3HK): An innovative community supported agriculture intervention to prevent childhood obesity in low-income families and strengthen local agricultural economies. BMC Public Health, 17(306), 1-10.
Unites States Census Bureau.Quick Facts. New York City. Web.