I wanted to post this from the viewpoint of someone who has known poverty the majority of my life, and, when it finally looked as if I was working my way out of it, was thrust back in, hard and fast. There are many misconceptions that people standing "outside the box" don't understand about poverty.
One of the first, and saddest, problems with poverty is what sociologists call "crab bucket syndrome". This is based on the fact that apparently crabs, when caught, are put into a bucket they can easily climb out of. When one crab begins to climb out, however, the other crabs will pull him back down into the bucket, thwarting his attempts to escape. What this often means in human terms is that the biggest enemies to escaping poverty are often the other poor.
In many large cities, this is especially true. Large cities, as a rule, are very bad places to be if you are poor. The way things work is often like this:
When you move in, "kindly" neighbors will offer to help you move. You have two choices, to let them or to create a potential enemy by shutting them out. So, you usually are inclined to let them. Big mistake. When they carry your goods in, they are often using that as cover to case your apartment. They know where everything is, and what you have.
If you avoid this trap through some deft diplomatic skills, you will soon get a call from the neighborhood "welcome wagon". This will usually be a mother with children the ages of one or more of yours, or an older child, whose babysitting services she will offer. While there, they will case the place and you have virtually no chance of your goods remaining secure. They will watch your movements in and out of the apartment. They will often pry as to where you're going, so they will have an idea of how long you'll be gone. And, when your possessions disappear, they will mysteriously not have seen a thing, which is odd since they've been sitting on the porch drinking Colt 45 the whole time. And where are you? Stuck even further back in the cycle of poverty, having to replace the things you've lost on your already limited income, and despairing more every day.
These are but two examples of the traps commonly used in poverty pockets of the city. They are why most honest poor truly fear "the projects" or other forms of low income housing (some of the other reasons have to do with the fact that child sexual abuse in these projects is at least 75%, and gang participation will become a necessary component of survival for your adolescent child).
If we are to address poverty and truly try to help those who wish to obtain help, we MUST remove them from these "poverty traps". Nothing less has even the slightest chance of long term success, as there are FAR too many in these people who DON'T wish to improve their situation, and they will often dedicate their lives trying to destroy those who do.