Breaking the cycle of poverty

For more than a century, gender and race have dominated discussions of diversity and difference. When class or issues of poverty enter the conversation, it is generally assumed that people are making choices that determine their "lot" in life. This myth of choice continues even with astounding evidence that children born into poverty in the United States (regardless of their race or gender) face dramatically different futures than children born to affluence. Their chances of continuing to be as poorly endowed as their parents are great in spite of hard work. As the gap increases between those who are educated and those who are not - between those who are making it and those who are not - so does the awareness that poverty is a diversity issue which cannot remain silent.

People from poverty are isolated and have few opportunities to interact with others who are not in situations like them. When they do have interactions outside their own group, it is most often with four kinds of professionals: educators, social service providers, health care workers, and police officers and other law enforcement officials. Universities train these professionals to maintain their distance from the people with whom they work: "Don't get personal." "Do not share personal stories." These teachings prevent people from connecting in ways that can break the cycle of poverty. There is little training or education about poverty in the United States, so these helping professionals are left on their own to discover how to effectively educate, communicate, and work with those they are trying to serve. It is our goal to help create an understanding of poverty and to promote the development of meaningful ways to help people living in poverty have genuine opportunities for getting out of poverty and finding pathways to lifelong success.