• Thriving Communities Community Dialogue on Poverty Issues
Poverty affects us all. Even wealthy parts of our community are touched by poverty. No community is doing well where there is poverty. If we work on getting rid of poverty, everyone’s quality of life will improve.
In the summer of 2007, ABC joined with Youth Services and the Community Justice Center to convene a diverse team of partners to host a study circle dialogue on poverty issues. Our aim is to involve people who serve those living in poverty and people in poverty themselves. The title of the dialogue is “Thriving Communities: Identifying Barriers and Taking Action.”
We have chosen a study circle program to help us talk about the kind of community we want to live in. Study circles are small, diverse groups of people who meet several times to talk about a key public issue. Our effort is community-wide where many study circles happen all at once. Many people are already working on poverty issues but, to move ahead, more of us need to be part of that work. Study circles can bring new life and ideas to what people are already doing.
Poverty may look different to each of us. Our discussions explored police/community relations, racism, health care, education, politics, jobs, incarceration/justice and economy – all of these are linked to poverty. The goal is change in our community. First, people look at how poverty has touched their lives; then, they talk about why they believe poverty exists. Finally, people in each circle work on ideas for action.
The ABC Annual Meeting in December 2007 was a Thriving Communities Action Forum where the ideas generated by each of the study circles were presented. The recommended actions to reducing poverty in our community that came from each dialogue group have been organized into four themes. A Thriving Communities Action Group has taken on each of the four themes – here are the groups and their faciliators
- 1. Mentoring for Job and Life Skills – Janice Baldwin (254 5082)janicebaldwin22@yahoo.com/Maggie Bartenhagen (368 2906)pelbar@sover.net
- Meeting Urgent Needs – Heidi Flaherty (254 6071)heidif@sover.net/ Konstantin von Krusenstiern (257 4011)konstantin@unitedwaywindham.org
- Government Advocacy and Public Education – Alex Blakeson (257 5443)blakesonalex@msn.com/Zach Trent (251 8144)benightrent@yahoo.com
- Economic Development – Greg Moschetti (254 8714, cell 203 641 2692) gmoschetti@aol.com
If you have a particular interest, please don’t hesitate to contact the group of your choice:
Partners in focusing on Poverty Issues: These are our partners who are supporting the study circles and who each have a role in turning the curve on poverty in our area:
Brattleboro Community Justice Center
Youth Services
ALANA
Brattleboro Housing Authority
SEVCA
Early Education Services/Infant Child Guidance
Turning Point
Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce
Brattleboro Police Department
Brattleboro Area Drop In Center
Omega Optical
Vermont Adult Learning
Vermont Department of Education – Safe Schools
Vermont Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
Clark-Canal Street Association
With those partners, identify the indicator that shows a trend you want to improve. As the action groups proceed, we will have a better idea of what specific indicators related to poverty we want to improve. Throughout our investigation of poverty issues, we have been influenced by the Bridges Out of Poverty Framework (developed by Ruby Payne, Phil DeVol and Terri Dreussi-Smith). We understand that poverty is the extent that a person lives without resources. These resources include:
Financial: Having the money to purchase goods and services.
Emotional: Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior. This is an internal resource and shows itself through stamina, perseverance and choices.
Mental: Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal with daily life.
Spiritual: Believing in divine purpose and guidance.
Physical: Having physical health and mobility.
Support Systems: Having friends, family, and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external resources.
Relationships/Role Models: Having frequent access to adult(s) who are appropriate, who are nurturing to the child, and who do not engage in self-destructive behavior.
Knowledge of Hidden Rules: Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.
Coping Strategies: being able to engage in procedural self-talk and the mindsets that allow issues to be moved from the concrete to the abstract. It is the ability to translate from the personal to the issues.
Most of these areas can be measured. On the following pages, we report some key community indicators related to this resource listing that educate us about the different aspects of poverty in our region.
What strategic actions related to policy, procedure or resources will be developed? The study circle dialogues occurring in November are based on the question “How can we make a difference in the lives of people in poverty?” Through the establishment of four action groups in January 2008, we are in the process of defining the strategic actions we as a community want to take on to move from poverty to prosperity for all.
As our partners who work in institutions that serve people in poverty develop their strategic actions, they will ask themselves: “How does a formal institution create relationships with the people it serves?” and “How can we be strength-based and search for deficits in the system rather than in the client”.
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