Evicted # 2 Sierra Candidate SOC 002: Contemporary Social Problems

Evicted #2 Sierra Traxler SOC 002: Contemporary Social Problems Professor Tony Juge June 11, 2024 The issues of factors like mental health and stable housing, in relation to poverty, are multifaceted problems that have significant impacts on the families depicted in Evicted by Matthew Desmond. This paper will also discuss how poverty is structured around ethnicity and age, and the variety of complex ways that these issues emerge and impact individuals, as well as entire communities. Poverty can both contribute to and exacerbate mental health issues, while mental health issues can pose a challenge to escaping cyclic poverty. One way in which poverty can impact mental health is through the stress and anxiety that often accompanies financial hardship.

In summary, the issues of mental health, insecure housing, ethnicity and age-related poverty are often interconnected and can create self-perpetuating cycles of poverty, or even intergenerational poverty, where one challenge compounds and exacerbates the other. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach that targets the root causes of poverty and the social services, programs, and resources needed to act as a safety net for low-income individuals. Through the stories of real families experiencing eviction and poverty in Evicted, Matthew Desmond argues that housing instability is not just an isolated issue, but a complex social problem that perpetuates inequality. Moreover, poverty is often structured around both ethnicity and age, with certain minority groups and age demographics experiencing disproportionately higher rates of poverty due to a complex interplay of historical, socioeconomic, and systemic factors. By addressing these issues extensively, as well as the intersection of insecure housing, mental health, and poverty, we can work towards breaking cycles of poverty and improving the well-being of