🌻📖 Story Garden Counters The Struggle: 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 ninth story: Story Garden counters The Struggle.
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.
The Struggle
The Struggle 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:
This aspect of poverty describes the motivation of some people facing adversity to strive to grow personally in order to overcome poverty and to experience some peace of mind: "The struggle is to be determined not to give up on what you’re striving towards." (p25)
We strive to be the best we can, for ourselves and our families. But we also question why it is the poor who are always expected to adapt and change, but not the system, structures, and regulations that support the continuation of poverty. (p26)
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
Growing Through Encouragement
When Katrina first met Gilvari at Story Garden in Brownsville, New York, he was eight years old, bright, curious, and full of energy. But one thing she noticed right away: Cutting with scissors was a real point of frustration for him.
Throughout the year, Gilvari participated in activities which quietly invited him to keep trying, snowflakes, hand turkeys, crafts that require patience and precision. Bit by bit, Gilvari’s confidence grew. One winter day, he asked to make an alligator. This time, he traced the lines for the body and head himself and cut carefully along each curve. His focus and pride said everything. Encouragement had helped him grow.
Reading, however, was something Gilvari didn’t naturally gravitate toward. He preferred to play during the time with books until the arts and crafts began. Yet, week after week, through gentle encouragement, a love for reading began to take root. He already had a strong foundation: sounding out words, pausing at commas, and finishing sentences with conviction. The more he read with Katrina, his confidence blossomed.
Soon, he was reading not just one book but two or more each session. His favorite moment came when he read Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs. Seeing himself, a Black boy, reflected in the story, lit something inside him. It was more than just reading; it was recognition, belonging, and pride. Another favorite was a book about shapes and patterns in nature. That story marked a turning point: Gilvari began asking his own questions, connecting what he read to his world and his experiences.
Through steady encouragement, Gilvari flourished. He learned that patience leads to skill, and curiosity opens new doors.
Gilvari demonstrated the power of growth through encouragement. A child who is supported finds new joy in learning and discovery. What begins as a small success, a pair of scissors, a single book, becomes a foundation for lifelong learning and a reminder that every child thrives when met with patience, trust, and care.
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.