In her TEDx talk, “The Price Of Placement Poverty,” Bex Howells sheds light on the unseen consequences of placement poverty within the foster care system. Howells, a former foster youth, dives into the harsh reality that children in foster care face when they are moved from one placement to another, often at a moment’s notice. She discusses the emotional toll this instability takes on these children, who are already vulnerable and in need of stability and security.
Howells also highlights the financial costs associated with placement poverty, from the expenses of relocating a child to the impacts on their education and future prospects. She calls for a shift in how we view and support foster youth, emphasizing the need for longer-term placements and better resources to help these children succeed.
Through her personal experiences and insights, Howells delivers a powerful message about the importance of providing stability and support to children in foster care, urging us to consider the true price of placement poverty.
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Author Video Description
With global shortages in healthcare, mental health, and teaching, countries the world over must invest in training a homegrown workforce. But New Zealand is struggling to train and retain people in its essential services. Professionals are retiring or migrating and students are dropping out of training at alarming rates. Meanwhile, the public are left waiting days, weeks, or months for treatment, care, and support services.
To qualify as a nurse, midwife, teacher, social worker or mental health professional, students complete hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of compulsory unpaid placements. The associated financial hardship is known as ‘placement poverty’. Paid training could improve equity in access to applied learning programs. It could help diversify the workforce and ensure trainees can live with dignity. This is a global call to action to enable sustainable workforce growth, accessible services, and thriving communities. Bex is a community activist and advocate for paid training in healthcare, education, and social work. Originally from the UK, she moved to Aotearoa 10 years ago to study and stayed. Bex has worked in the public sector and her local community, Te Awakairangi (Hutt Valley). A failed attempt to train as a social worker became the catalyst to advocate for labour rights and equity in education and training.
Bex is now writing her Master’s thesis on unpaid clinical placements in healthcare professions. She founded Paid Placements Aotearoa alongside this to unite students to campaign for paid training in essential services. Her passion is sustainable workforce development for student wellbeing, diversity of staff, and accessible services for thriving communities. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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TEDx is an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere — celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED’s format and rules.
Video “The Price Of Placement Poverty | Bex Howells | TEDxWellington” was uploaded on 06/04/2024 to Youtube Channel TEDx Talks