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Breaking the cycle is one of the most important concepts in Witnesses to Hunger. The women portray welfare assistance, poverty, violence and lack of care for others as a cycle that must be broken. They hope to break the cycle so that their children can escape poverty and reach to their full potential. Breaking the cycle pertains to every other issue on this website. View our trailer here.

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Childhood, Drugs, Education and Opportunity, Environment, Family, Food and Hunger, Health, Housing, Violence and Trauma, Welfare, Work and Child Care

Childhood

Childhood demands special care and assistance. Children have a right to be considered human beings in the here and now. They need to play, they need opportuntities to explore, they need nurturing. The youngest children--those under the age of three--are in the most critical stages of cognitive, emotional and social development. Any deprivation in food, housing, care, and nurturing can have serious, lifelong consequences.

For policy issues related to children and hunger, go to Children's HealthWatch.

All children have the same right to develop their potential.

Development, Play, Positive / negative influences, Protecting children, Rights of children

Drugs

When we say drugs--we mean any kind of drug that is abused. This can be over the counter drugs like cough medicine, prescription drugs such as Xanax, or illegal drugs such as marijuana or crack cocaine. When children are exposed to drug abuse in their families or on the street, it can affect their health and wellbeing.

Addiction, Child Exposure to Drugs, Illegal Drugs

Education and Opportunity

Forty-five percent of youth in Philadelphia drop out of high school, including many young mothers who find it impossible to attend classes and raise a child. Alternative high schools and GED programs—many of which offer child care or night courses—are extremely important to financial health and physical health of their children. A high school diploma or GED dramatically increases a person’s long-term earning potential, which means more money for food, utilities, and other expenses that affect a child’s well-being.

Early Childhood Education, High School/GED, Primary Education, Vocational Training

Environment

Growing up in an unsafe neighborhood can have a negative impact on a child’s physical and emotional health. Children who feel unsafe playing outside are forced to stay indoors and are unable to exercise and explore their worlds. The Witnesses suggest that there are so many negative factors in the environment, that they must protect their children at every turn—on the front stoop, at day care and school, on the way to football practice, and going to buy milk at the store.

Food Access, Neighborhood Safety, Neighbors, Philadelphia, Places to Play, Recreation Centers, Sidewalks, Trash & Litter

Family

This is a catch-all term that addresses relationships with parents, grandparents, fathers, sisters, brothers and others. Sometimes these relationships are supportive and helpful; sometimes these relationships are fraught with the worst possible violence and trauma that gets passed on through the generations. How the infants and toddlers of the Witnesses fit into these families and how they may carry on tradition or break the cycle are a central concern. The quality and quantity of food depends on the family.

Extended family, Fatherhood, Motherhood, Siblings, Single motherhood, Support systems

Food and Hunger

The term “food insecurity” is the scientific term for “hunger” in America. It is more precisely defined as a lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life. In 2007, there were over 12.4 million children who lived in households that were food insecure. Between 2006 and 2007 the rates of severe food insecurity nearly doubled for very young children five years old and younger.

Emergency Food Assistance, Federal Food Assistance, Food Access, Food Cost, Food Insecurity and Hunger, Food Quality, Kitchen and Utilities

Health

Compared to children in homes that are not food insecure, very young children under age three in food insecure homes are more likely to be hospitalized, more likely to be in fair or poor health, more likely to suffer from iron deficiency anemia and more likely to experience developmental delays. Mothers of young children in food insecure homes, when compared to mothers who were not food insecure, are three times more likely to report depressive symptoms. Go to Children's HealthWatch for more.

Child Health, Chronic illnesses/disabilities, Depression, Health Insurance, Maternal Health, Safety, Stress, Therapy and Medicine

Housing

The Witnesses emphasize the unbearable situation of raising their children in unstable housing. Due to economic pressures, families may move frequently, live doubled up with family or friends, or crowded into apartments that are too small. Children's HealthWatch research finds that housing insecurity (which is often an antecedent to homelessness) is related to household food insecurity, poor child health, and developmental risk. Severe housing insecurity is related to poor growth outcomes for young children.

Homelessness, Housing Assistance, Licensing and Inspection, Overcrowding, Rent and Mortgage, Repairs and Weatherization, Utilities and Utility Assistance

Violence and Trauma

Violence is everywhere in these women's lives. In the street, on the sidewalk, outside the elementary schools, in the home, and in the family history. Violence with guns, fists, rape and in the voice is clearly having a negative effect on the health and wellbeing of women and children. Fear of violence in the street keeps mothers inside with their babies, and reduces their ability to provide children with an opportunity to explore their world. Violence in the home drives mothers and their children into homelessness. Homelessness has drastic negative affects on children’s health.

Breaking the Cycle, Child abuse, Gun violence, Healing, Memorials for the Dead, Neighborhood safety, Peace, Rape, Witnessing

Welfare & Assistance

Social supports such as food stamps, WIC, cash assistance, and health insurance (Medicaid) have been proven to protect and promote children’s health. Public assistance programs such as housing and energy assistance also show tangible effects on child health. The Witnesses point out what works and what does not work in the federal assistance programs. Some of the most important recommendations the Witnesses have in terms of welfare assistance are: customer service training for case workers, and more training and technology to streamline the system.

Case workers, Cash Assistance, CCIS-Child Care, Child support, Health Insurance, Help/No Help, Income regulations, Trying to get off of Welfare, Welfare to Work, WIC

Work and Child Care

The Witnesses are working or have been working in part time and full time jobs. Yet the Witnesses suggest that wages are too low to support a family, that they need more opportunities to explore a career, that the training they receive is often not enough to leverage out of poverty. Child care and child care assistance are an integral part of the equation for the working mom. Without reliable, affordable and safe child care, the Witnesses say they may never escape the cycle of poverty.

Child Care Assistance, Employment Opportunities, Transportation, Wages, Welfare to Work