The Importance of Education: How Education Can Eliminate Generational Poverty

​There are many reasons why single mothers aren’t able to finish their high school and college degrees. Life is not easy, and life is especially not easy for someone who is trying to work and support a child singlehandedly. The mothers that come to our home have not had the easiest time making ends meet while raising kids on their own, so we applaud them for their strength, resilience and desire to make good lives for themselves and their children.

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​The world is a tough place, though, and sometimes a heart for good isn’t enough to get food on the table. That is where education comes in to change the game. At New Beginnings, we challenge our mothers to continue to strive for further education because we know the power that it has. Education opens the gate for so many new opportunities! 

​To live sustainably in Milwaukee, a mother needs to make at least $50,000 a year, and that is very unlikely without a college degree. We want our mothers to have a chance at a full life, so we help them get on their feet, so they can become the independent mothers that they desire to be.

​​Through HSD and GED programs, our mothers are able to finish their high school degrees if they have not done so already. If they have, we help them find a college and a career path that they will enjoy so that they can get a jump start on making a sustainable living. 

​Our system works well because our mothers are able to go to class and study while free daycare services are looking after their children, and they can still come home to a warm, supportive environment after their days of classes. Furthermore, when children grow up in families of higher education, they are more likely to seek out education in the future as well. This means that when we are educating single mothers who have lived in generational poverty, we are also doing our part to snuff out generational poverty in and of itself.

​The important thing is to recognize that each mother is unique and brings her own set of skills. We want to help each mother further the skillset that she has so that she can go out into the world and live life to the full.
 
- Chloe Harbach

Ms. Harbach is a student from Wisconsin Lutheran College who is working with a team of students to put together public relations materials for New Beginnings – A Home for Mothers.