Leisure+Behaviors+of+Women+in+Poverty

We will discuss the behaviors of leisure activies by mothers in poverty. A few themes that will be discussed are first, that of sarcity, which is a constant challenge for these mothers. The second theme is isolation, they are constantly around thier children and barely have acctual adult interactions. It was found that leisure played three crutial roles in these women's lives. All thier energy is put forth for taking care of thier children, so bonding and companionship are part of thier leisure The second is escape, they look for leisure activites, so they can have some down time away from the stresses of thier family and the current sittuation they are in. The third role of leisure is advancement, or that they look for programs and activities that could potentially help them out of thier sittution that they are living in.
 * Overview:**

Single mother households are most likely to live in poverty. These mother feel very out of place in the world because they believe they do not have the neccisary resources or power to make a change.
 * Facts:**

People who are living in poverty are often associated with depression, insecurity, chronic stress, lower self esteem and lower life satisfaction. Leisure activies are one way that people in poverty can lessen those effects. However, it is not always easy for women in poverty to affors leisure programs because of the fees, transportaion, and babysitting cost that would all be needed in order to attend the activity.

The sample brought about two ideas that were common among all the women in the study. One was limitations, which was the fact that thier situation limited them from many activities and oppurtunites. The second common idea was the different roles that leisure played in thier lives, such as comanionship, escape and advancement.
 * Anaylisis of Data Collected from a Small Sample of Mothers in Poverty:**

The mojor limitation that the women faced was the little **money** they had available. One of the major problems with having limited money was transpotation. A vehicle was too expensive for most of the women. Other used public transportation, which limited the activites that they could accomplish, even easy day to day activies that we would take for granted. Even taking a bus was difficult, and some could rarely afford to use th public transportation available. This was a major reason many women did not partake in many liesure activites, if any at all. They also talked about the limited time they had available for personal time because all thier time was dedicated to caring for thier children. Another limitation is social enteractment. Many of the women did not a a support network and did not keep in contact or have family as a support. Many had a hard time with trusting anyone to care for thier children, which meant they are constantly around them, leaving little if any time at all for personal time or interaction with other adults in a social situation. Also, isolation was increased in the winter months, because they did not have thier own form of transportation. The cold weather prevented them from leaving thier home most the time, because it was extremely uncomfortable for them and thier children. As you could have guessed thier children were thier most common leisure time partners. Walking was stated as one of thier most common leisure activities, also that it was a way to eliviate stress and to set thier mind off of the many problems that they must deal with.

Also known as FAP, which is offered by a local city leisure agency. In order to be eligable, you had to first fill out an application in order to verify your level of need. This program then provided a leisure access card, with $50 on it. The fees that were set on leisure activites was the reason why this program came about. It, however, did not help the mothers whom lived in poverty that much. The program does not take into consideration transporation costs or the costs associated for these single mothers to find a sitter. Also, if any equipment was needed, this was another diterance for the mothers becuase they do not have the income to pay for such costs. All the women who knew about the program, learned about it through word of mouth. The women that used the card, many reported that they used it for exercise activities, such as for a gym. Once again, many said that they didnt use the card because the other costs associated with going to an activitly themselves, such as transporationa and sitter costs. A little under half of the women in the study were using the card. Also, all said that they would recommend the program to a friend. Those who did not know about the program, wished they had sooner.
 * Fee Assistant Subsidiary Program:**

Scott, Jennifer, and Ron McCarville. "Leisure Behaviors Among Selected Women Living in Poverty." //Journal of Park & Recreation Administration// 26.4 (2008): 83-104. //SPORTDiscus with Full Text//. EBSCO. Web. 9 May 2011.
 * Source:**