Most all of us have been poor. Fresh out of college, living in a cheap apartment and scrimping on groceries, I was as poor or poorer than a welfare recipient. What I did do was work harder and smarter. What I didn’t do was drugs, alcohol, father children or commit crimes.
More often than not it is what people don't do that makes them who they are.
America became great because of what the Constitution prohibiting the government from doing. You can see what happens to America when government does what the Constitution forbids government from doing. It is not different for people. You can see the consequences of the life style choices people make.
The problems most people face in life are the result of the choices they made. Their problems begin when they take the decision to exchange what they want most for what they want now.
While I am not 4-for-4 like you, growing up in the lower end financially ensured that I knew what I did NOT want to do, which was a great motivator for me to do what needed to be done (college education). While our family was always struggling in the early years of my youth, my upbringing was well grounded in Christianity, hard work, education, etc. Looking back, I owe everything I am today to those early years.