Rethinking Poverty
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The number of children living in poverty in Georgia has increased 81% over the last 10 years, with multiple census tracts in Macon having poverty rates of 70% or higher. The document discusses how a paradigm shift is needed to create change, and that neighborhood-based solutions that focus on community strengths rather than deficiencies can help end poverty in Macon by connecting community assets and acknowledging that everyone has gifts to contribute.
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Rethinking Poverty
- 2. The number of children living in high-poverty areas in Georgia has increased by 81 percent over the past 10 years. Macon has multiple census tracts of concentrated poverty of 70% or higher.
- 3. A Paradigm Shift Will Create The Change We Seek Neighborhood-Based Solutions Work Together, we can end poverty in Macon!
- 4. "Everyone thinks of changing the World, but no one thinks of changing himself.“ ~ Leo Tolstoy
- 5. For a dialogue to occur, we must suspend our mental models.
- 6. When You Change The Way You Look At Things, The Things You Look At Change -Dr. Wayne Dyer
- 8. Individual behaviors Exploitation A lack of Social Capital Political and Economic Structures
- 11. Focuses on Strengths, Not Deficiencies On discovering and mobilizing community assets Solving Community Issues by Connecting the Dots within communities Itacknowledges that EVERYONE HAS GIFTS, everyone is good at something, and everyone is motivated for something. And it supports residents in everyday life as the leaders of community initiatives rather than just helping agency leaders.
- 12. “We’re Not Here to Fix a Broken World” ~Eric Butterworth
- 14. “We’re here to manifest the light within us. It’s not just in some; it’s in all, everyone… -Marianne Williamson
- 20. "Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." ~Mother Teresa
- 24. We change our perceptions, which changes our behaviors We stop blaming poverty on the poor We see the value in every person Stop trying to fix people, Instead we build relationships of mutual respect
- 25. Wecreate and engage in strategies that address all the causes of poverty Wealready have everything we need to end poverty in Macon. We just have to open our eyes to see that everyone has a piece of the puzzle, and everyone’s piece is needed to complete our picture of prosperity in Macon.
Editor's Notes
- I have to start out by saying I Love Macon! We have so much to enjoy here—from the architecture to the parks, the festivals, the museums, the arts and music vibe, it’s a great place to live---for some of us.In February, Georgia KidsCount released a report showing that Bibb County has multiple census tracks with a concentrated poverty of 70 percent or higher.Now, for kids, growing up in high-poverty areas is not good. In areas of concentrated poverty:•Families struggle to meet their children's basic needs•Children are at greater risk for health and educational challenges. •They're more likely to have behavioral issues,•To have more school absences,To be expelled from school, •And have fewer opportunities for positive youth experiences.We’re already seeing the impact of this in our city in terms of:•Low Graduation rate•Uneducated workforce•Middle Class flight•Reduction in population• Projections say that in thirty years, you won’t want to live here.Now with so many intelligent, talented creative people in Macon, can’t we solve this issue by putting our heads together? I say yes, but we’re not putting our heads together with the right people! People in poverty are the experts on poverty, they are problems solvers, and have skills, but they are often forced to use reactive skills, not true choice, in order to survive.
- : So today I want to talk to you about re-thinking poverty and our traditional approach to addressing it:• A Change in Mindset Has to Occur• Asset-Based Community Development• Neighborhood-Based Solutions Work!
- Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a powerful approach to community development that focuses on discovering and mobilizing community assets. ABCD emphasizes: EVERYONE HAS GIFTS With rare exception people can contribute and want to contribute. Gifts must be discovered. This workshop will help you find it. RELATIONSHIPS BUILD A COMMUNITY See them, make them, and utilize them. An intentional effort to build and nourish relationships is the core of ABCD and of all community building. CITIZENS AT THE CENTER CAN ENGAGE THE WIDER COMMUNITY People in leadership in everyday life must be at the center of community initiatives rather than just helping agency leaders.
- We all have this thing called the Righting Reflex: When we see something wrong, we want to right it. When we see something broken, we want to fix it. So we keep doing charity because it makes us feel good, and it’s relatively easy. But if we’re bringing resources and not building those resources in people’s lives, then we’re keeping people trapped in a cycle of dependency and poverty. So we have to do the harder work. We have to build a relationship with people to discover what their gifts are, and working together, we build on them.In the process we transform ourselves and others
- Mother’s Day Tornado story
- In our city and in our people, start seeing the glass as half-full, instead of half-emptyBuild relationships of mutual respectStop blaming poverty on the poor and trying to fix peopleWe create and engage in strategies that address all the causes of poverty
- In our city and in our people, start seeing the glass as half-full, instead of half-emptyBuild relationships of mutual respectStop blaming poverty on the poor and trying to fix peopleWe create and engage in strategies that address all the causes of povertyEliminating poverty is not something we do for people or to people, we do it with people