D#4, HW#3, Research Proposal Draft

Poverty defined in the Webster’s dictionary is “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” Whether you realize it or not, you see somebody who is suffering from poverty on a daily basis. You may see these people holding a cardboard sign on the street corner, handing you coffee at your morning fast food joint, sitting on the curb outside Taco Bell as you eat your lunch, or even driving the car in lane next to you. According to the Heritage Foundation, one in eight people in the United States suffer from poverty on some level.
Although the government of the United States of America provides welfare for their citizens suffering from poverty, what more can be done to aid those in need? There are some people living in poverty who do not want to change their lifestyle, but there are millions of others living in poverty who want to change but do not have the resources necessary. These are the people who need help. The ultimate power of helping the issue of poverty lies in the hands of average Americans.
My intended audience will be average Americans. These are people who have seen poverty regularly but other than offering loose change to a guy on the street, do not go out of their way help the problem. This audience most likely does not know facts or statistics about this issue, but they know that it does exist. This audience is likely to have mixed feelings about the issues on poverty. Some feel sad when they see a family struggling with poverty and some do not. Many of these people do not know the extreme conditions in which people are living, and many do not care.
My purpose in choosing this audience is so that some of them will understand the issue more and feel inclined to do something about it. Although some of them would rather not know, every person needs to be educated about what is going on outside of their own lives and the issues of poverty that are currently existent. Every person is capable of aiding in poverty; there is no question there. The question is if you are willing to spend the time to aid those who need it. Soup kitchens, and homeless shelters are not currently flooded with volunteers.
I feel strongly about this issue because it has personally affected my life. From a very young age my mother took me to an old church building that was renovated and renamed Homecraft. At this place my mother and I, along with other volunteers, made quilts from donated fabric, cleaned and clothed used dolls, and put together hygiene kits for people who could not afford these things. I also had a coworker who could not afford to live in an apartment, and was forced to live in her van. She wasn’t on drugs, didn’t have an alcohol problem, she was just your average person who was unable to earn enough money on her own to pay for the necessities of life. Because she did not have an address, she was unable to receive aid from the government. Many changes need to occur within the American government, as well as in most people, to help aid people in poverty.