between the cracks of poverty

The documentary "hardscrabble Childhood" changes the image i had of the United States. When i was a child i used to think that no one went hungry in the United States, because the government took care of it's poor. United States a has the ability to reach out and aid many developing countries to improve quality of life economically and politically. Its unbelievable to think that a country with such a great reputation for humanitarian labor encounters similar issues with poverty. Everyone has the idea that the poor are fortunate and well of in the United States because they have power an resources to help many others.
I used to admire the American school system because it provided students with free books and meals in comparison to public Schools in Honduras. First I was in Public school in Honduras but them was transfer to private School because teacher would go on strikes frequently. Schools were so overcrowded that there were two sessions one group of student went to school in the morning and others in the evening. There were two grades per classroom and a teacher would alternate by teaching one side at the time. Parents were responsible of sending their children with school supplies, books and meals.
However, the United States is just like other countries because there are people living in overcrowded, hazardous and unsanitary conditions. Even though programs such as welfare, food stamps, health care exists that are insufficient. These programs do not address the issues of discrimination, alienation that arises from poverty. Poverty is a problem beyond meeting basic necessities of many families. This documentary talks about the effects of poverty that most people never stop to think about. I myself have been always concerned about those children who were homeless, starving or been abused. Human Services needs to address those long term and short term issues behind poverty