Factors that can lead to extreme poverty

According to Moveforhunger.org, more than 37 million people lived in poverty in 2020. An estimated 40% of the total population (140 million people) is considered poor or having insufficient income.

When we see people experiencing extreme poverty, often our first instinct is to judge.

We put them into categories with others who suffer from the same consequences of poor life choices, areas of underdevelopment, disabilities, or any sub-category thereof. We may say things like, “Well, what did they think was going to happen?” or “When will they figure out that doesn’t work?”. When those kinds of attitudes begin to take hold, I know I am moving further from the kind of compassion for the hurting and helpless that Jesus had. No one would argue that a lack of compassion is a good starting point for launching into relationships with hurting and hopeless people. In order to access that compassion and really start bringing restoration and relief, we must first understand the root causes of extreme poverty.

Here are some of the causes of extreme poverty:

Lack of jobs/insufficient wages

While unemployment is certainly a significant factor, nearly 60% of food-insecure households have at least one working family member (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/). Feeding America reports that 72% of the households it serves live at or below the federal poverty level with a median annual household income of $9,175 (https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/facts).

Income inequality

While prices for goods and services have risen steadily over the last few decades, wages have stagnated. (https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/)

Lack of affordable housing

According to the National Low Income Housing Commission there is not one state or county in the United States where a minimum wage, full-time worker can afford a two-bedroom apartment. (https://reports.nlihc.org/oor)

Generational poverty

Poverty that affects a family for more than two generations is defined as generational poverty. Once the cycle has begun, it is incredibly difficult to undo.

Relational poverty

Not having a strong framework of familial support or another support network can plunge people into poverty. Making meaningful connections is often difficult and can have a lasting impact on one’s ability to succeed.

Situational poverty

Experiencing natural disasters, unexpected death or hospitalization, serious accident or injury, house fire, divorce, and job loss (if losing jobs is not a pattern) are all examples of situational poverty. Oftentimes immediate relief will help pull folks out of situational poverty but not always.

What to do

A short-term season of relief will likely be a part of the initial stage of serving someone in extreme poverty, regardless of the reason. A relief approach is effective to meet immediate and external needs and is often appropriate when needs arise in a person’s life because of situational reasons.

For some individuals poverty is a result of cyclical, chronic or generational reasons, which may be accompanied by drug and/or alcohol abuse, dysfunctional or abusive personal relationships, and criminal behavior. For those individuals who are in extreme material and relational poverty, and reentering society from incarceration and recovering from addiction, a restoration approach is the only key to bringing what I describe as “wholistic” change to a person living in extreme poverty. The restoration approach is marked by the investment of a significant amount of financial and relational resources over a long period of time using the principles of restoration outlined in my book, Change for the Poor. Those restoration principles are:

·      Relationships,

·      Structure and

·      Accountability.

My heart is one of a practitioner. I have worked with those in extreme poverty daily for nearly a decade now, first as a pastor in a church and now as a chaplain in a non-profit organization. I have learned that when these principles are present, restoration has an exponentially higher likelihood of taking place in the life of a person in extreme poverty.

About Mark McKnelly

Mark McKnelly is an author, speaker, coach and wholistic life restoration minister. McKnelly develops and helps other organizations develop programs for men and women reentering society from incarceration or recovering from addiction. He shares his practical process in his book Change for the Poor to teach others how to help individuals in extreme material and relational poverty restore their own spiritual, relational, personal, vocational and financial lives. His personal journey through addiction and recovery led him to his ministry.