Introduction: a rural community can be defined as one that includes all the population, homes and territory not included within an urban area (Definition of rural population). Poverty can be defined as the state of someone who does not have a customary or socially acceptable amount of money or material goods or who as a member of a religious order renounces the individual right to own property (Dictionary.com). Domestic violence is defined as violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving violent abuse of a spouse or partner (Dictonary.com). It is important to note these three definitions because each word will be discussed throughout the document. Furthermore in this article I will talk about domestic violence and poverty as rural problems, explain the theoretical context of each problem, give the strengths of the community, discuss how the code could be applied, do a self-assessment and conclude the paper with recommendations to solve these problems. Rural issues/problems: The first problem encountered in the rural population is poverty. . According to the US Census Bureau app. Three-quarters of the United States are classified as rural residents, as three-quarters of the 41% of people living in rural areas live in poverty. Along with these, rural residents aged 20 to 39 reported higher levels of unemployment than those living in metropolitan areas during the first half of 2012 (Youth Today). These numbers show that as time goes on, poverty will become more and more widespread in that population. The main causes of poverty in rural areas are little or no income, high unemployment rates, fewer job opportunities and lack of education (rural poverty). One reason poverty goes unnoticed in rural communities is that it is not... half of paper ......m http://www.ruralhome.org/storage/research_notes/rrn_poverty.pdfNational Association of Caregivers social [NASW]. (2008). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp.Mazur, R. (2005). Domestic violence in rural communities. Retrieved from http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/Rural Innovation7.26.05.pdfRyan, R. (2010, May 05). Poverty in rural areas goes unnoticed. Retrieved from http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/poverty-in-rural-areas-often-goes-unnoticed-119771.htmlShriver, J. (2011). Human behavior and the social environment: Shifting paradigms in knowledge essential to social work practice (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn Bacon.Swift, J. Youth Today, (2013). Rural America. Retrieved from the Center for Sustainable Journalism website: http://issuu.com/csjournalism/docs/yt_special_report_18e64feb59c709?e=4285254/3069926