DDEC – St Patricks Comprehensive School Shannon
Our Chosen ChallengeChallenge 3 – Hidden Poverty
Category
Service
St. Patrick's Comprehensive School, Shannon, Co. Clare
Teacher
Edel McDonnell
Team Members
Cadhla Cotter Evan Casey Diarmuid McMahon Dani McGuiness
Why as a team did you choose to focus on this challenge?
We felt as though we resonated most with this topic and understood it better than the other topic choices. Hidden poverty is something that we witness in our day to day lives, as inflation continues to grow. We wanted to dive deeper into this topic because although it is something we witness, it is not a subject that many people know much about. During this project, we hope to highlight the struggles that those living in hidden poverty have to face.
What do you know now about the challenge that you didn't know before?
We weren't aware just how much Hidden Poverty thrives in Ireland today. After a smple google search we found that as of October 2022, "Almost 70% of people experiencing material deprivation, are not classified as being at risk of poverty. Meaning Hidden Poverty is affecting thousands of households all over Ireland.
What have you learnt about your Hero?
Our hero represents the large percentage of single parents who are affected by hidden poverty in Ireland. We have characterized our hero as Debbie. Debbie, as a single mother of three children, is faced with the burden of providing on her own. She has worked at Tesco since she left school, but recently had to take on a second job as a cleaner in order to make ends meet. A large number of her living costs go towards her three children in providing them the essentials of food, shelter and care while she is wprking.
If you could improve one thing for your Hero what would that be?
We believe if some of the expenses surrounding child care, creches and the food could be relieved, Debbie would struggle less to make ends meet.
Do you have any ideas for a potential solution? No matter how raw, share them with your Mentors for feedback.
If we could create a system where shops could donate items with damaged packaging or recently passed best before dates, (that were still fit fo4r consumption/use), it would help relieve the cost of many essentials ranging from foods to sanitary products.
Ask your Mentor anything …. This is a chance to ask your Mentors a direct question relating to your Big Idea.
We have no questions.