Understanding systemic inequality & generational poverty
At Saffron Trust Women’s Foundation, our primary goal is to end generational poverty, which disproportionately impacts minority women across the United States. This type of poverty is a direct result of systemic inequality.
About the issue
What is generational poverty?
Cyclical poverty, also called a poverty trap or cycle of poverty, is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a type of poverty that’s caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms. Once it starts, it persists unless there is outside intervention. People stuck in the cycle aren’t at fault—they’re there because of inequality that’s beyond their control.
What is systemic inequality?
Systemic inequality is the primary force that perpetuates these cycles. This force refers to the existing power structures built into institutions—the government, the economy, education system, and more—that keep oppressed people where they are. These can be formal policies and laws that make it difficult for people to get the help they need or institutional bias that prevents people from changing their circumstances despite effort.
Generational poverty is a specific one of these cycles of poverty. Generational poverty occurs when parents aren’t able to escape poverty because of lack of employment or education, they’re unable to provide a stable environment for their children. These children, in turn, don’t have access to the opportunities that might give them the physical, mental, emotional, and educational support they need to thrive. They eventually grow up and have children of their own, and the cycle begins again.
How do we combat poverty?
In order to break the cycle of generational poverty, outside intervention is required to disrupt the systems reinforcing inequality. The current relief system, for example, primarily focuses on short-term assistance through government programs, religious organizations, and other charities that offer food, shelter, and/or care.
The issue with this type of assistance is that it’s short term—a week’s worth of groceries or a month’s rent won’t break the cycle. Plus, visiting the various organizations and completing applications to get that assistance can be a full time job in itself, leaving little time to focus on education, mental health, and personal improvement.
In order to break the cycle of generational poverty, we can’t just treat the symptoms of systemic inequality. We have to permanently disrupt the system and create clear paths for victims of poverty to escape the system.
How we work
Developing a stable, sustainable solution to ending poverty starts by shifting the way help is received. When women come to us, we conduct a simple consultation to determine the type of help they need. We then work directly with dozens of organizations offering help, serving as a central point of contact and advocate for the woman in need. We’re partnered with nonprofits, community organizations, and businesses that help women get all the assistance they need.
We build trust-based partnerships that last for life. Our goal is to help women thrive long-term by connecting them not only with food, shelter, and healthcare, but also with resources for education, employment, and mental and emotional health. We conduct ongoing check-ins to support women as they build themselves up, helping them improve their own future and develop a strong foundation for their children.
We need your help to disrupt the cycle of systemic inequality.
We believe that communities can be made stronger by saving a single life. We can only do that by presenting a strong, united force to fight the inequality that poverty.