Systematic Racism. Economic Racism. Class Racism. Political Racism.

Social policy is problem-oriented; that is, it attempts to improve the lives of people who need help in meeting certain needs. If people were able to meet their needs through their own efforts, society would not need to develop programs to help them (Burger, 2014, p. 277).

Some of the issues that surface when setting social policy are what problems to address, who deserves help, and how to deliver the help. We see the question of “who to help” today in our politics in a way that is disheartening and alarming.

Today's Republican party has made a concentrated and hateful effort, to divide Americans and draw lines in the sand as it relates to who deserves to be here and who does not. Once it is determined who deserves to be here in this country, they are revising policies to help only those who they believe deserve it. Those who deserve it, more often than not, look like them.

Republican. White. Wealthy.

Systematic Racism. Economic Racism. Class Racism. Political Racism.

Another barrier is how to deliver services to people. With millions of dollars being cut from social program budgets, not only are social service workers going to lose their jobs but entire departments and agencies are being eliminated and as a result, we may see a new population of social services clients, those that once assisted in providing services. With these drastic budget cuts, it will become more difficult to get resources to people.

The stereotype about the social service population of Americans being “poor” is flawed and out of touch. Economic status is not a prerequisite or eliminating factor. A woman with a GED and no work history with 3 kids who is abused will need the same level of support as a degreed woman with 3 kids whose abusive husband is a millionaire, but she never worked a job because she spent her entire life raising kids and supporting him.

Two completely different scenarios but a needs assessment will show very similar needs as both women moved from an abusive partner with very limited resources. Once we realize that what unites all of us is greater than what divides us, we all will be better off.

As far as who “deserves” to be helped, I reply the breathing.

Everyone has value, purpose, and meaning. Everyone. Not unless that someone is a sociopath we should do our very best to help them, but they need to participate in the help. People must be willing to do the work to become better, stronger, and viable…and even if they are not, we have to help them anyway within reason.

We should not leave people dead on the side of the road of life.

Our compassion is what makes us, us. It is what separates us from the rest of the world and we cannot lose touch with that because we are tired, aggravated, and frustrated.

Every single person on the face of this earth has needed help or will need some form of help in their lifetime.

Another stereotypical view that exists within this social service conversation is that they are lazy. Maybe some are but maybe they are depressed. People that are tired all the time, immobile, inactive, and stationary could be clinically depressed and suffering from medical issues. Iron deficiency or insomnia. It is hard to rest properly if you are stressed out worrying about how you are going to pay your bills and keep a roof over your head.

We must have a livable wage in this country and people must be taught to live below their means. Wholistic education in middle school would be a great place to start. Kids know how to do geometry but have never been taught how to balance a checkbook or how to select the best credit card with the best interest rate.

Our schools are failing because they are not teaching practical life skills as it relates to health, sex education, and financial literacy. It is ultimately the parent’s responsibility, but if parents are not equipped our schools must be.

It is always easier to solve a problem before it becomes a problem and we should all be mindful that in most states, the budget for a prisoner is over $40,000 a year when the budget for a K-12 student is less than $10,000.

America has absolutely no problem with spending her money on the wrong things always focused on the wrong things. It is beyond time to do right and BE right.

Burger, W. R. (2014). Human Services in Contemporary America.

http://www.google.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/images

Originally published at http://penned.xyz on March 30, 2018.