It's Ok To Be Poor.

We tell people “It’s ok to not be ok” and that is true, it absolutely is.

We don’t tell people “It’s ok to be poor”

Because we know it’s not.

Not simply that it’s not ok for them. But that it’s not ok for us to know and do nothing.

It’s not ok if we acknowledge that we aren’t doing everything we can to create an environment where everyone has an equal chance of providing for themselves and the people they care about.

It’s not ok when we know that it is not simply a matter of ‘laziness’, or ‘not being engaged’, or ‘not caring’. The myth of the feckless poor is only an excuse for people to ignore the issues that disadvantaged communities and individuals face. We would do well to remind one another that poverty is not a lack of character, it’s a lack of cash.

Trickle-down economic policies that ignore the responsibility of those with to contribute to improving the lives of those without.

In a time of unprecedented economic success and growth, we have a responsibility to say that it’s not ok to be poor. We should be compelled to action to take responsibility for people that are doing it tough, dealing with the inequality of opportunity that affects the 2.9 million Australians that live below the poverty line. Over 1 in 10 Australians. Right now.

If we are going to be concerned with mental health outcomes, as we should be, we need to acknowledge the fact that economic distress is a huge factor in emotional and relationship stress and other mental health issues. Feelings of hopelessness, an inability to take control of your life and get after the things you want to achieve, deep and constant feelings of uncertainty, feeling inadequate because you are struggling to provide for the people you care about. These are all very real mental health issues that stem from economic distress.
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It’s ok to not be ok. It’s not ok for us to not do anything about the factors that lead people to struggle in the first place.

Just Be Nice. Be Good. Do Good.
 

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