Foundations of Working with Family at Risk: Poverty and Its Impact

This report, focusing on the foundations of working with families at risk, examines various risk factors that can make families vulnerable, with a particular emphasis on the impact of poverty in Australia. The report delves into the meaning of poverty, highlighting its effects on health, mental well-being, and employment opportunities. It references survey data and visual aids to illustrate the severity of the issue, including the number of people living below the poverty line. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for governmental and NGO interventions to mitigate the risks faced by vulnerable families. It underscores the interconnectedness of economic conditions and family vulnerability, advocating for increased efforts to alleviate poverty and its associated challenges. The report's findings are supported by references to relevant books and journals.

Foundations of
Working with Family
at Risk

Table of Content
 Introduction
 Main body
 Conclusion
 References

Introduction
Families in a country have certain risks which have the
capabilities to make them vulnerable. This is due to
difference between the classes in an economy. The risk
factors can be poverty, mental health, child abuse, trauma
and many more. These have direct impact on the health as
well as psychology of the people going through hard times.

Introduction
Families in a country have certain risks which have the
capabilities to make them vulnerable. This is due to
difference between the classes in an economy. The risk
factors can be poverty, mental health, child abuse, trauma
and many more. These have direct impact on the health as
well as psychology of the people going through hard times.

Main Body
Vulnerability is the terms which is associated with physical,
social, economic and environmental factors or processes
which makes an individual to live a hard and struggling
life. Australia's economic conditions have direct nexus
with many risk factors which impact the families living in
the country. In this report, the risk factor which has been
chosen is poverty.

Meaning of Poverty
Poverty refers to deprivation of common necessities which
are crucial to the quality of life, such as clothing, food,
shelter, water and many others. It also means that
deprivation of opportunities to learn, to get effective and
better employment opportunities and enjoy respect of
fellow citizens. It has variety of impact on the families
who are living under poverty which are as follows:

Health
Every person has a right to have good health. It is possible
only when one gets foods filled with nutrients. Poor
families are unable to afford the food, vegetables or fruits
because of low income. This makes their health
conditions vulnerable. According to a survey conducted
by Across organisation, it was found that more than
3million people which is about 13.2% of the whole
population are living below the poverty line. This shows
that people do not have sufficient money to buy basic
necessities which are required for survival. Poverty makes
such people rely on drugs, alcohol etc. which deteriorates
their health conditions.

Fig 1. Weekly Poverty Line by
Household size

Mental illness
Poverty impacts the mental condition of poor people. It
pushes them into depression because of non-fulfilment of
needs such as food, shelter, clothing. They are
underprivileged individuals who are given the least
importance in the society also, many of them face the
situation of discrimination which leaves a long lasting
impact on the minds of such people.

Fig 2. Single person household
poverty line

Fig 3. Breakdown of population

Employment
Every country has employment level in which individuals
get jobs on the basis of qualification, skills and talent.
Education plays an important role in gaining the
knowledge which is used in practical situations. There are
schools, colleges and other educational institutions which
make a person qualified by making them excellent in one
particular field.

Fig 4. Poverty in Australia

Conclusion
From the above report, it has been concluded that every country
has certain risk factors that affect the families living such
country. It makes the economic conditions and other
developments worse. This has impact on the families
vulnerability making them suffer more. Therefore, NGOs and
government should increase their efforts and help to reduce
the risks.

References
Books & Journals:
Casey, E.C., Shlafer, R.J. and Masten, A.S., 2015. Parental
incarceration as a risk factor for children in homeless
families. Family relations. 64(4). pp.490-504.
Online:
Meaning of poor and poverty. 2016. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.sbg.org.au/effects-poverty-country/>.
Poverty in Australia. 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.acoss.org.au/poverty/>.

Thank You