Blog 9
Dear Barack Obama,
Unfortunately, the United States of America has many issues that need to be dealt with once your presidency begins. One of the issues I would like to bring to attention is the lack of health care and job opportunities of single, working mothers. Now, I understand that many individuals choose to seek no help or work to bring themselves above the poverty line. However, there are many women who are in dire need to provide a better life for themselves and also their children. In society, many individuals claim that these women who are below the poverty line are "bad" mothers because they have gotten themselves into alcohol, drugs, or many pregnancies and births that they can simply not afford. What if these mothers actually want help? Is anyone willing to provide services that can cure/help their addictions or help them receive child care? In Annette Appell's article "On Fixing 'Bad' Mothers and Saving Their Children," she states that, "these 'bad' mothers become, and often remain, bad mothers because they have made bad choices, or, due to their poverty or other circumstances, did not have real choices" (356). What if these mothers did have real choices? What if they could seek the help that is needed to become a strong, healthy, working mother that can support her children? In this article, Appell also explains the stories of four "bad" mothers who struggled to try and get their children back in their lives. Some of these women chose drugs and alcohol, while others were abused or very young to begin a family. DCFS took these children away from their mothers, even if the mothers began to prove that they were capable of raising their children in good circumstances. Race and class were two big issues in these cases as well. Most of the women were black, didn't have very much education, and were of the working-poor. All of these children were craving to be back with their mothers. Even though the mothers had some issues of their own, they never abused or treated their children badly. They were "good" mothers, but since they did "bad" things, their children were taken away from them, and if they wanted to get them back, they had a long list of things to do in order to get them back. I believe that if these women were offered education, an opportunity to seek help in finding a job to support their children properly, and health care, these "bad" habits could have been prevented in the first place. These mothers were obviously doing something right if their children longed to be back in their arms. A little guidance and support can never hurt anyone, and I think this is just what they needed. DCFS wasn't helping them in any way, shape or form. They were making it even harder for the mothers to try and get their children back. Instead, DCFS was making all of these situations even worse and wasn't helping anyone. All in all, I believe that mothers who are considered to stand below the poverty line should be offered health care, education, and an opportunity to find a decent job to support their children. Just because they were considered "bad" mothers does not mean that they have to stay in that category. America is about helping one another and creating equality, so why can't we put these things into action?