The LuLac Edition #5, 399, July 30th, 2025

 

 

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write on Wednesday” logo

This week we share a compelling opinion piece regarding poverty. It comes at a time when the childhood poverty rate ranges from 30% in Plains to 73% in Ashley. Wilkes-Barre’s ate stands at 53.4%. To those of us who are fortunate to have a life that is middle class, we have no right to bitch about the everyday inconveniences that sometimes befall us. In this piece, the author says poverty can be expensive. This guy knows too.

A few years back at another agency, the author had a program about childhood poverty that was associated with the state library system. In it was an exercise where each professional was given a dollar figure to live which at the time was equivalent to a check from the government for people in need. None could make ends meet. He alludes to the need and the subject matter in this week’s Write on Wednesday.

 

BEING POOR

IS EXPENSIVE

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were looking for a movie to watch and, after scrolling for a while, we landed on “Straw,” a Tyler Perry-produced film on Netflix. Despite mixed reviews, we gave it a shot. While it stretched believability — with so many hardships unfolding in a single day — we found it both gripping and thought-provoking.

For the past 25 years, I’ve been tremendously proud and often humbled to be part of nonprofit work that serves and benefits individuals, children and families in great need. One particular line in the movie really stuck with me — one I’ve seen play out time and again: “People don’t know how expensive it is to be poor.”

That line isn’t just poignant … it’s a quiet truth that too often goes unnoticed.

Poverty frequently forces people into decisions that compound their hardships. As examples:

• Without a car, grocery shopping means relying on overpriced convenience stores.

• With a low credit score, everything costs more — insurance, rent, utilities and loans.

• Working without benefits means a minor medical issue can become an expensive crisis.

• When juggling finances, it is easy for late fees, overdrafts and payday loans to add up fast.

These, and so many others, are the hidden costs of poverty — the price of simply trying to survive when you’re already behind.

Additionally, people with low incomes are also often less healthy — not because they don’t care, but because care is out of reach. Preventive services like checkups, dental cleanings, or mental health support are often skipped due to high deductibles, lack of insurance, or taking time off from work means lost wages. What starts as a treatable issue — a sore tooth, a lingering cough — can easily escalate into an emergency room visit. On top of that, healthy food is often unaffordable or unavailable, replaced by cheaper options loaded with fat, sugar and sodium that worsen long-term health outcomes.

For children in poverty, education is rarely a level playing field. Many start school already behind in reading, vocabulary and social skills — not due to lack of ability, but due to limited early learning opportunities. Without essentials like books, clean clothes, hygiene products, or the right supplies, school becomes not just academically hard, but socially isolating. The stress of instability shows up in the classroom and kids fall further behind through no fault of their own.

These aren’t rare exceptions — they’re the daily reality for millions of families just getting by.

Over the course of my career, I’ve seen the impact of hunger on learning, the toll of housing insecurity on mental health, how trauma clouds decision-making, and the deep uncertainty facing parents doing their best to shield their kids from storms they didn’t create.

Every day at Volunteers of America, we witness how fragile life can be. A missed paycheck, sudden illness, unexpected car repair, choosing between rent and medication, or a toxic relationship can unravel the delicate balance of survival for those barely hanging on.

Government, of course, plays a vital role in addressing poverty. Society needs safety nets — affordable housing, health care access, food security, child care support and more. Yet the government can’t do it alone, nor should we expect it to. Hope, resilience and dignity don’t come from bureaucratic policies — they come from people choosing to care.

We are all called not just by faith or conscience, but by our shared humanity to look out for those living on the margins. When we truly see people — not just their struggles, but their worth — we begin to restore what poverty erodes: connection, trust and possibility.

What Straw reminds us is that poverty isn’t only about a lack of money. It’s also about the burden of being unseen, unheard, and blamed for circumstances no one would willingly choose. Treating each other, especially those most in need, with understanding and compassion instead of judgment, can change everything.

It seems to me that in a world that often feels so divided and overwhelming, that kind of grace is needed more than ever.

Bill Jones is the senior vice president at Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at bjones@voapa.org.

Bill Jones is the senior vice president at Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at bjones@voapa.org.