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Ernest Rodriguez' "Impressions," 1960s-1980s

""My Views On Local Procedure For Waging The War On Poverty"" Page 1

MY VIEWS ON LOCAL PROCEDURE FOR WAGING THE WAR ON POVERTY

My views are based on my own personal experience in poverty and knowledge of the causes that perpetuate poverty. 
I can remember at the age of five or six my father and my brothers and sisters walking from Bettendorf to the Relief Office on Front Street in Davenport for a pair of shoes. I remember other times walking down to the Wonder Bakery to buy a gunny sack full of day old cakes and bread that was supposedly to be sold to feed chickens. It was about three-quarters of a mile to school in cold weather without boots because we could not afford them. 
Our food probably did not meet dietary standards but at times was supplemented by fruits and vegetables my father brought home from the city dump.
Fortunately for our family we were removed from poverty during the war boom of the forties when jobs became plentiful and higher wages raised our standard of living. In some sections of our country the war boom had little or no effect in changing the living conditions of the impoverished and in recent years there has been a great number of these people migrating from the south and southwest to our community seeking better job opportunities. Many Mexican Americans migrating from Mexico and the South West for the most part speak little or no English. These newcomers to our community make up many of the poverty stricken families in our community. Many of them have no job skills and land up with the low paying jobs and living in sub-standard homes. Many of these homes are inadequately heated, have no hot water or bathing facilities and as expected hygiene standards aren't up to par. Average income for these families is about $3,000 a year. Due to this lack of earning power and the

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MY VIEWS ON LOCAL PROCEDURE FOR WAGING THE WAR ON POVERTY My views are based on my own personal experience in poverty and knowledge of the causes that perpetuate poverty. I can remember at the age of five or six my father and my brothers and sisters walking from Bettendorf to the Relief Office on Front Street in Davenport for a pair of shoes. I remember other times walking down to the Wonder Bakery to buy a gunny sack full of day old cakes and bread that was supposedly to be sold to feed chickens. It was about three-quarters of a mile to school in cold weather without boots because we could not afford them. Our food probably did not meet dietary standards but at times was supplemented by fruits and vegetables my father brought home from the city dump. Fortunately for our family we were removed from poverty during the war boom of the forties when jobs became plentiful and higher wages raised our standard of living. In some sections of our country the war boom had little or no effect in changing the living conditions of the impoverished and in recent years there has been a great number of these people migrating from the south and southwest to our community seeking better job opportunities. Many Mexican Americans migrating from Mexico and the South West for the most part speak little or no English. These newcomers to our community make up many of the poverty stricken families in our community. Many of them have no job skills and land up with the low paying jobs and living in sub-standard homes. Many of these homes are inadequately heated, have no hot water or bathing facilities and as expected hygiene standards aren't up to par. Average income for these families is about $3,000 a year. Due to this lack of earning power and the