🌻📖 Story Garden Counters Subjugation: 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 first story: Story Garden counters Subjugation.
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.
Subjugation
Subjugation is 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:
For different reasons and in different ways, subjugation takes away people's freedom of choice and control over their own lives. The process gives power to some people while making it out of reach for others. It has seeped into institutions and policy, and has caused the marginalization of specific segments of the population, denying them resources, services, and voice. (p8)
Subjugation is also linked to a tolerance of the idea that some people are worthy and others are worthless. The label those people, when talking about people living in poverty, is a mark of dismissed identity. This distinction is embodied in U.S. society through oppression, exclusion, systemic violence, institutional practices, discriminatory policies, and a refusal to honor the history of communities. (p14)
Story Garden counters Subjugation by supporting the uniqueness of each individual and exemplifying how diversity enhances society.
Celebrating Individuality
When the ATD Fourth World team in New York first met Cory, age five, he didn’t want to participate in the arts and crafts at the end of each Story Garden and wasn’t interested in reading either. He preferred to play with blocks or run around with his cousins. At first, it seemed that the structure of the activities reminded him too much of school: a place where rules and uniformity often dominate.
The breakthrough came during a conversation with a Story Garden facilitator about individuality, when Cory asked, “Why is everyone so different?” The conversation helped him see that difference extends beyond people to creations we make together. While everyone followed the same steps to build Easter basket nests, each nest turned out uniquely: different numbers of chicks, various colors of grass, candy in unique arrangements. Cory realized that, at the Story Garden, there was no “right” way. There was room for unbounded creativity.
This insight transformed his participation. In the Story Garden theater series, he eagerly wore costumes, sometimes two at once, becoming the Apple Hulk, for example, and collaborating with friends to defeat monsters in imaginative narratives. He learned that his ideas, his creativity, and his unique contributions were valued. Cory brought his individuality into the community, enriching the experience for everyone.
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.