Reflective Journals

[Institute's Name]

Reflective Journal No: 11

Reflective Journal No: 23

Reflective Journal No: 35

Reflective Journal No: 47

Reflective Journal No: 59

Reflective Journal No: 611

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Reflective Journal No: 1

In my opinion, Social Welfare is a Government funded system of many different programs that provide assistance to impoverished individuals, families and communities. Among the most commonly used welfare programs are Food Stamp, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security Income, Childcare and Government Housing. There many individuals, families and communities that are benefiting from the welfare services across America. Although, I support the mere purpose of the social welfare system; I feel the system needs an ongoing restructuring. There seems to be a disproportion between people; who needs the services and the number of people receiving services. It is my belief that people should always try to help themselves before seeking the help. Individuals who are able to work should be motivated and encouraged to obtain employment. Based on observation, it seems that more African American and other minorities have access to social welfare services. I have seen more generations of families living in governmental housing and the majority of African American women I encounter receive food stamps. For several reasons, I ignorantly think of a black person when I think welfare. On the contrary, there are more Caucasians, children, and mothers who also receive social welfare services. Today, I learned that Social Welfare is everywhere in America and at some point in time everyone in America receive benefits.

As a single mother, I have been a recipient of social services several times. For example, while I was pregnant I received Medicaid and food stamp services. My son was born with a congenital heart disease; as a result, I received supplemental income on his behalf. At 3 months, I received childcare assistance in order to return to work or attend school. Nonetheless, each of the services I received was based on my income. It was made clear to me, that I could only earn a certain income to be eligible for these services. I quickly learned to live within my means and only spend on necessity and occasionally on the things I want. Therefore, I set goals and pushed myself to obtain a college degree in order to become a more self-dependent.

Presently, I am still a single mother but I received very little social welfare services. I no longer receive Medicaid, SSI, food stamp or childcare. It is great accomplishments for me to have reduced my use of the welfare services, as those services are suppose to be temporary assistance and not lifelong services. Some people who receive food stamp feel entitled and careless about how they use the services they are provided. Many times I have purposely seen people who do grocery shopping with a food stamp card and compare them to myself or another person who is paying out of pocket for their grocery. Each time, I felt compelled to look at their food choices and the fullness of their cart and comparison to ...