🌻📖 Story Garden Counters Disadvantaged Areas: Become a Story Gardener!
Become a Story Gardener.
Cultivate community.
Counter the multiple dimensions of poverty.
Through the end of the year, we will share stories through a series of posts about Story Garden countering each of the nine dimensions of poverty. Each story will be posted here in Latest News.
This is the second story: Story Garden counters Disadvantaged Areas.
Here is the introduction to the series.
Poverty goes much deeper than income level.
Story Garden goes much deeper than children’s activities.
Story Garden builds community to counter the multidimensional aspects of poverty.
Disadvantaged Areas:
Disadvantaged Areas are one of the nine dimensions of poverty in the report Pushed to the Bottom: The Experience of Poverty in the U.S. The report states:
The geographic concentration of the aspects of poverty not only worsens the consequences of poverty, it constitutes an aspect of poverty by itself. …
Some describe this as "a state of psychological warfare" where a person's mind is broken down, where there is resentment and an inability to function. "They put you in a crappy place, don’t give enough services and ‘hopefully’ you die in this crappy place because that’s all you deserved." (p15)
Story Garden counters the idea that people “do not deserve more” by collectively creating beauty in Disadvantaged Areas very visibly for all who live there.
Oasis of Joy
In the square where we host Story Garden,
We were approached by a mother,
Soraya, accompanied by her children,
And the eldest, Remy, was her daughter.
Soraya was delighted to find this space
Where children connect, play, and learn.
Remy learned to love this place
And their lives began to turn,
For Remy could not attend a school
In order to be educated
Because she was not able to adhere to the rule
That she had to be vaccinated.
With her mom and dad, she lived in a shelter
With other families, girls and boys.
They needed a place to play and grow together
In a community of creativity and joy.
Now, in the square, on a regular basis,
Story Garden could supply
For the family, a little oasis –
Something money couldn’t buy.
Remy thrived at the Story Garden as planned
But Soraya didn’t have a prayer –
The little ones, too young to understand,
Demanded her attention there.
Soraya needed to rest her brain.
At a special Story Garden, she found self-care
Exploring fragrance with the company, MANE,
“Creating Aromas” all could make and wear.
Father, watching the little ones,
Mother and daughter in the square below the skies,
Creating smells and having fun,
Soraya exclaimed, “I love everything you do, guys!”
Through December 31st, stories of Story Garden
countering the dimensions of poverty
will be posted here in Latest News.
From 2016 to 2019 ATD Fourth World conducted participatory research that determined the various dimensions of poverty as identified by people who live in poverty every day.
This Multidimensional Aspects of Poverty (MAP) research project identified nine dimensions of poverty, two constants, and four aggravators:
Read more or download the whole report,
Pushed to the Bottom: The Experience of Poverty in the U.S..
Subjugation labels people living in poverty as "those people,” which Story Garden counters by supporting the uniqueness of each individual and exemplifying how diversity enhances society.
Disadvantaged Areas reflect the idea that people "do not deserve more,” which Story Garden counters by collectively creating beauty in "crappy spaces," very visibly for all who live there.
Resources at bare minimum are denied to people living in poverty, including education which is limited and highly standardized. Story Garden counters this by creating communal and inclusive learning environments.
Work and Employment Related Hardships minimize social capital, including the availability of professional networking, which Story Garden counters by offering children role models to enrich their dreams and reveal possibilities.
Stigma and Shame of poverty is internalized by institutions, which Story Garden counters by supporting the efforts of people experiencing poverty to fulfill their hopes and aspirations for their families and communities.
Lack of Adequate Health and Well-being result from the toxic interaction of all the dimensions of poverty. Story Garden counters this by meeting, listening to, and accompanying often-ignored people who need support to access services and resources.
Unrecognized Voice and Exclusion from Participation leads people to suffer in silence and believe they don’t matter, which Story Garden counters by creating a welcoming space for everyone to be seen and heard.
Social Isolation damages the human need for community which Story Garden counters by creating a welcoming and visible space without walls or doors, where people of all ages can comfortably connect.
The Struggle is the personal effort people experiencing poverty constantly make to adapt to systems that don’t adapt to them. Story Garden counters this by creating person-centered programming that follows the lead and the needs of individuals
Through December 31st, stories of Story Garden
countering the dimensions of poverty
will be posted here in Latest News.