Voices that help us all do better #PovertyTruths
Voices that help us all do better #PovertyTruths
Many people believe that social assistance programs in the United States are imperfect, and yet the best they can be (yes, both at the same time!). As these programs are the best possible versions and we can’t do much better anyway, we need to just live with the imperfections. When we look at our country through the lens of the experience of poverty, not only is it clear that we can do better, but that we must.
Throughout this year, ATD Fourth World will share voices that help all of us to do better. #PovertyTruths
Let’s take an example that happens daily: When a family loses their home in New York City, in order to get support they have to first prove that they have nowhere to stay, that they have exhausted the hospitality of relatives and friends and have literally nowhere to go. At this point they go to the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH) intake center which assigns them to shelters across the city. As you can imagine, families that end up at PATH are facing multiple traumatizing experiences.
But when they meet with a PATH social worker there are no chairs for them to sit on so they can compose themselves (and help their children) to prepare for what is coming next. At a Fourth World People’s University in New York City, the intake room was described with just a yellow line people need to stand behind while explaining their situation to the staff. The message is clear and the power structure established.
As individuals, we hope that social assistance programs are set up to care for people well. But we don’t often know from people experiencing poverty what really happens. Without this knowledge we blindly trust that the way poverty is handled is okay. To see how things actually are, and to make improvements, we must listen to and trust the people directly impacted.
Guillaume Charvon
National Director
Our Community: Dierdre Mauss
"I was hoping to be able to build something with people with experiences of poverty, to not be on the other side of the desk, to do something side by side."
The ATD Fourth World community consists of people from very different backgrounds involved in many ways to eradicate persistent poverty.
Dierdre Mauss, who everyone calls Dee, is a Volunteer Corps member in New Orleans. She tells her story.
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