Extended opt ed

Running head: POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

Assignment #2- Extended Op-Ed: Poverty and Inequality among Young Mothers Brenna Coles B00529042 HPRO 2120 Health Promotion Policy Steve Machat Dalhousie University February 16, 2011

Poverty and Inequality among Young Mothers

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY Is teenage parenthood a choice? Are we properly protecting our younger generations from teenage pregnancy? Are there enough effective resources for adolescents to access? Are we setting our younger generations up to fail and continuously live in poverty? It has been said that infants born to teenage mothers are born already as an unequal. In the majority of cases young women who become pregnant already live in poverty and were also born and raised by young single parent homes themselves. It is a harsh cycle that must be addressed.

The definition of poverty as stated in the Québec Bill 112 titled An Act to combat poverty and social exclusion states “the condition of a human being who is deprived of the resources, means, choices and power necessary to acquire and maintain economic self-sufficiency and participation in society”. Many young mothers are deprived of resources that are needed to aid them in order to meet basic needs. Other challenges they face include lack of educational opportunity, meaningful employment, a sense of belonging, and of a sense of citizenship. These consequences can cause a lack of community participation and young mothers are more at risk for becoming low- contributing citizens. Poverty is the primary root cause of many health and social problems in Canada.

Canada must take actions to address the many concerns and effects of teenage pregnancies. In 2009, Statistics Canada reported a total of 15,534 live births were reported for 15 to 19 year olds. Organizations such as ‘Canada without Poverty’ has shown that being a young single parent (mainly women) and their children are at a higher risk to live in poverty. It was estimated that in 2011 Canada’s poverty rate averaged between ten and 20 percent, which equals to 3.5 to 7.0 million Canadians. The World Health Organization also declared that poverty as the single largest determinant of health. Given the substantial amount of information regarding the

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY effects of poverty and inequality among young mothers, Canada must step up and take action to increase resources for this population.

Canada without Poverty also outlined risks that are more susceptible to those living in poverty which include poorer overall health including mental health, family or neighbourhood violence, a shorter lifespan and decreased community and societal involvement. As discussed in the literature review written by First Steps the risks that are associated with teenage pregnancy cross over two generations, the young mother and the child. Risks and consequences for the young mother may include leaving home earlier than planned, dropping out of school, social isolation, poor health and little or no access to prenatal care. As for the child, it may mean low birth weight or premature birth, potential development impact and other congenital conditions including unhealthy maternal behaviours such as alcohol, drug abuse, smoking and poor nutrition during pregnancy. Children of young mothers are at a higher risk for abuse, neglect and poor mother-child bonding due to the mother’s inexperience with appropriate decision making and unrealistic expectations.

Pregnant teens are often labelled as a financial burden to society and are blamed for increasing adult poverty. Stereotypes see teen mothers as welfare dependent and are to blame for other social problems. There is so much criticism placed on teenage pregnancy in our society but if we are to create changes for our future the stigma of teenage pregnancy must be addressed.

Although Canada has taken steps to try and decrease teenage pregnancy more work needs to be done. A more complete strategy must be created to address these gaps. The most apparent gaps include issues with the educational system, lack of labour market opportunities, affordable safe housing, lack of health care, and the lack of affordable and reliable childcare.

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY Primary preventative strategies aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy would be beneficial. For example sexual education must incorporate not only the physical and anatomy element of the curriculum but (however controversial) there must be a contraception aspect involved. This would compare to the harm reduction approach to drug use, such as a needle exchange program for injection drug users, safe injection site, methadone clinics, or simply clean supplies such as cocaine kits, which are gaining in popularity. It would be argued that providing students with condoms and contraceptives would be an effective strategy to reduce teenage pregnancy, however many people are opposed. The way it should be viewed is that providing adolescents with condoms, contraceptives and the knowledge to properly use them is providing protective tools and resources. Personal beliefs and morals must be put aside if these strategies are to be implemented at the national level. Our society is becoming increasingly open minded and liberal and it could be realistic to believe in the adoption of such a preventative strategy.

A cost effective analysis was included in the literature review by First Steps and it is estimated that “for every dollar spent on the prevention of teen pregnancy, ten dollars could be saved on the costs of abortions and the short and longer term costs of income maintenance to adolescent teenage mothers”. Also showed in the cost-benefit analysis was “that preventative programs between 1975 and 1983 helped to avoid over 21,000 adolescent pregnancies for a net savings of $25 million”.

The majority of young mothers are single parents and lack the financial support of having a partner. Financially they struggle and face challenges such as securing safe affordable housing.

An overall lack of resources is also a barrier faced by many teen mothers for example the lack of support from community organizations, family network, accessible prenatal classes and medical care. Moreover, even if employed many young mothers do not graduate from high school

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY limiting job opportunities. In most cases, young mothers are working at minimum wage, which is not enough to support themselves and a child. Usually young mother do not go on to postsecondary education which leads to a loss of potential future earning power and thus continues the cycle of living in poverty. In addition, this may lead to a lifetime dependence on government support, which is extremely costly to Canadian taxpayers.

Another strategy aimed at decreasing the inequality among young mothers would be to increase resources available to young mothers. For example First Steps Housing Project Inc. (First Steps) located in St. John, New Brunswick is one of the few organizations that offer specialized program to young pregnant women or young mothers in the Atlantic region. Unlike other organizations we offer women in these situations with safe, secure and nurturing environment by providing them with a transitional housing. In addition, First Steps mentors and supports women and builds life-skills, improve parenting techniques, financial management, and continue their education. In addition, First Steps guarantee access to prenatal care and offers proper nutrition throughout the pregnancy.

The importance of the continuum of access to resources is also an important element when improving such resources. One of the best aspects of the First Steps organization is the ongoing continuation of aid that young mothers can access. The organization has a second step to the program which is called ‘First Steps Apartment Program’. This second step offers subsidized independent apartment living with access to all of the regular services.

In the proposal written by First Steps it was said that even with the various financial supports the government has implemented such as social assistance, the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the National Child Benefit Supplement and the GST rebate it sometimes is not enough

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY support for young mothers living in poverty. The cost of poverty to Canadian taxpayers is substantial. The major effects are on health care, justice system and child protective services. As for health care preventing poverty in the first place is much more cost effective that paying for poverty’s health consequences, as stated earlier poverty is the root cause for many health issues.

Even life expectancy is affected, as shown in the literature review by First Steps “children from the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada have a life expectancy between 2 and 5.5 years shorter than of children from the other end of the economic scale”. Statistics from the same report found that “sons of adolescent mothers are 2.7 times more likely to be incarcerated than the sons of mothers who delay childbearing until their early 20’s”. The cost to the justice system could be reduced if strategies were implemented to prevent teenage pregnancy or if more community recourses were available to help young mothers learn important parenting techniques. Studies have shown that “children born to adolescent mothers were found to be twice as likely to be victims of abuse and neglect as children born to 20- or 21-year-old mothers”. If pregnancy was delayed even until the early twenties the cost to society due to the decrease of abuse/neglect investigations and foster care placement would be substantial.

In the novel by Wilkinson and Pickett titled The Spirit Level: Why Equality is better for Everyone it states “that teenage motherhood is a choice that women make when they feel they have no other prospects for achieving the social credentials of adulthood’. However, as discussed above an alarming percentage of teenage pregnancies are the product of a cycle passed down through families, generation after generation. It is not a choice these young women make in most cases, it is the environment that they have been raised in and a reality and norm they have fallen victim too.

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY Resources such as First Steps create better communities, strengthen social capital, increases educational levels reached by young mothers which leads to better employability and it improves physical and mental health. Ongoing support from such resources can offer long-term solution to end the cycle of poverty and inequality among young mothers in Canada. In addition beneficial outcomes will include a deduction in criminal activity, violence, abuse, neglect, dependence on the public system and an overall deduction of economic cost to our country. A guaranteed continuation of high dependence rate on social supports will continue if no actions are taken. Effective strategies and resources must be developed and implemented to fight against the poverty and inequalities faced by young mothers in Canada.

General enquires should be directed to: Brenna Coles Executive Director First Steps Housing Project Inc. Tel. (506) 678-2228 Email: Brenna.Coles@firststeps.org References

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY Canada without Poverty. (n.d.). Home. Ottawa, Ontario: Author.

Dilworth, T. (2006). Literature review: Poverty, Homelessness and Teenage Pregnancy.

Fredericton, New Brunswick: First Steps Housing Project, Inc. First Steps Housing Project Inc. (2006). Proposal to The Minister of Family and Community Services Province of New Brunswick. Saint John, New Brunswick: Author.

First Steps Housing Project Inc. (n.d.). Home. Saint John, New Brunswick: Author.

National Assembly (2002). Bill 112 (2002, chapter 61) An Act to combat poverty and social exclusion. QuĂŠbec Official Publisher.

Statistics Canada. (2011). Table 102-4503 - Live births, by age of mother, Canada, provinces and territories, annual. CANSIM. Wilkinson, R., Pickett, K. (2010). The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone.

Toronto: Penguin Books.

World Health Organization (n.d.). Poverty and social determinants. WHO/Europe. Author.