I resisted the "poverty" and "poor" labels for several years and for the
same reason Terrie mentions. But it wasn't so much what other people thought
of me, should I be labeled poor or in poverty, but how I would think of myself.

You see, I was as guilty as anyone of supposing that the majority of persons
on low income could choose otherwise; whereas, it's a minority that do and
then that's about following the philosophy of "voluntary simplicity," a
different animal altogether, although one that may nonetheless have been
originally forced on a person by the imposition of poverty.

There are those living in what would be defined as poverty who are in denial
that their situation has come to that. I was one of them. It's a shock to
the system to recognize that no matter what you do, no matter how
resourceful you've been, you've fallen into the poverty pool. The adjustment
is excruciating, not just physically but psychologically. It's as though
everything you've been and done is suddenly, irrevocably, thrown into question.

Ocean

WISE Book - Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Stories from the front
Podcast Channel: http://bcseawalker.podbean.com/
Personal Blog: Challenging the Commonplace - and other irreverent activities
http://challengingthecommonplace.blogspot.com/ 

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