Here are 25 ways that psychologists can work to end poverty: #WorldPovertyDay
1. Engage in continuing education and training to better understand issues related to social class, including poverty and wealth for low-income and economically marginalized people.
1. Engage in continuing education and training to better understand issues related to social class, including poverty and wealth for low-income and economically marginalized people.
2. Provide resources for educators for the inclusion of social class in psychological curricula.
3. Train graduate and postgraduate education students better understand the causes and impact of poverty, the psychological needs of poor individuals and families, and to be culturally competent and sensitive to diversity around issues of poverty.
4. Contribute to education by examining the effects of socioeconomic status on brain development and cognitive functioning in children, which in turn informs the practice of teaching.
5. Understand the barriers to mental health for those from low SES backgrounds and make efforts to alleviate these barriers.
6. Raise awareness of the multiple mechanisms by which economic marginalization contributes to health disparities.
7. Promote equity in access and quality of healthcare for socially and economically marginalized people.
8. Use trauma-informed care to prevent re-traumatization and improve health outcomes through awareness and education at individual and organizational levels of care
9. Increase the proximity of psychological services to low-income communities in order to reduce the burden of inadequate access to mental health care.
10. Support public policy that ensures access to comprehensive family planning in private and public health insurance coverage.
11. Understand the impact of social class on academic success, career aspirations, and career development throughout the lifespan.
12. Understand the interaction among economic insecurity, unemployment, and underemployment and contribute to re-employment processes for low-income individuals.
13. Strive to gain awareness of how their biases related to social class may impact the training and education they provide.
14. Increase their knowledge and understanding of social class through continuing education, training, supervision, and consultation.
15. Recognize that people with a lower socioeconomic status are exposed to many more stressful events, have fewer resources for coping with those events, and are more likely to be in a state of chronic stress.
16. Continue to increase their sensitivity to discrimination that their clients may face and remain mindful of their own biases and assumptions when working with individuals living in poverty.
17. Work with law enforcement to eliminate implicit bias in policing geared toward individuals from a low socioeconomic status.
18. Examine factors that contribute to intergenerational poverty and assist in the development of interventions to break this vicious cycle.
19. Identify socioeconomic status, wherever possible and appropriate, as a topic to be published in social science research.
20. Support programs and policies that aid in curtailing poverty, including funding for schools, public transportation, and public housing.
21. Advocate for open spaces for physical activity and healthy food establishments, such as grocery stores and farmer’s markets, in socioeconomically and racially segregated communities.
22. Advocate for research around Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to inform policymakers on its effects on poor families.
23. Collaborate with other health professions to ensure that the policies and programs to address the educational and health needs of low-income children are based on sound scientific evidence.
24. Support public policy and programs that ensure adequate income, access to sufficient food and nutrition, and affordable and safe housing for poor people and all working families.
25. Debunk myths, prejudices, and negative attitudes about those living in poverty through research, practice, and advocacy.
