Charity or Entitlement Conundrum: Welfare Policies and Safe Motherhood in Impoverished Buffalo,New York

ABSTRACT

In contrast to the most industrialized Western nations, the United States faces great social and economic disparities and a deep gap between the socioeconomic strata. The child poverty rate is almost three times higher than in any other industrialized Western country, and single mother families represent 60% of all poor families in the United States. Concentrating on the situation of single mothers in impoverished Buffalo, New York, the authors argue that similar to the underdeveloped world, the fate of single mothers in the United States is tied to the global economy. This project seeks to understand how systemic (social location) and idiosyncratic (individual) factors interactively affect the health and well-being of female-headed, single-parent families. The quantitative analyses are supported by an examination of a case study of a transitional housing program, called Gerard Place. We examine the impact of this comprehensive program offered to poor mothers, including housing, counseling, education, child care, and financial support. These support systems assist female-headed families to rebuild self-sufficiency, sustainable income, and economic independence. The call to approach welfare programs as a synthesis of systemic and idiosyncratic factors concludes the study.