Poverty is…
- Not being able to go to McDonald’s
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Getting a basket from the Santa Fund
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Feeling ashamed when my dad can’t get a job
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Not buying books at the book fair
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Not getting to go to birthday parties
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Hearing my mom and dad fight over money
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Not ever getting a pet because it costs too much
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Wishing you had a nice house
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Not being able to go camping
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Not getting a hot dog on hot dog day
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Not getting pizza on pizza day
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Not being able to have your friends sleep over
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Pretending that you forgot your lunch
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Being afraid to tell your mom that you need gym shoes
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Not having breakfast sometimes
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Not being able to play hockey
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Sometimes really hard because my mom gets scared and she cries
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Not being able to go to Cubs or play soccer
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Not being able to take swimming lessons
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Not being able to afford a holiday
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Not having pretty barrettes for your hair
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Not having your own private backyard
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Being teased for the way you are dressed
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Not getting to go on school trips.
Responses from Grade 4 & 5 students in North Bay, Ontario, quoted in Our Neighbours’ Voices: Will We Listen?, The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition, 1998, James Lorimer & Co. Ltd. Toronto, p. 107.