Most people, even those who hang around this blog, don't really understand much about poverty and its challenges.
Oh, lots and lots of folks can confidently offer up opinions about poverty, throwing out their abstractions.
That is not knowing poverty, I can tell you.
Rosella Kelly knows poverty. You tend to know what you live.
Pamela Yip published a story in The Dallas Morning News (October 31, 2005) about Ms. Kelly's struggle.
The 65-year-old grandmother who lives in the Pleasant Grove section of Dallas is typical of hard working people who live in poverty.
Yip's story focuses on increasing expenses and falling income.
Ms. Kelly's latest utility bills threw her for a loop--$346 for electricity, $113 for water and sewerage, $94 for natural gas. She can't pay any of them right now.
Ms. Kelly earns $15,000 annually.
Trouble is a few weeks ago she lost her custodial job due to a layoff. She has since been rehired, but she finds herself way behind on her bills.
Her church helped out some, but they can't solve her on-going, chronic problem, nor do they intend to do so.
Gasoline prices are out of sight. Interest on a credit card has gone up due to her inability to pay down her balance.
She takes perscription medication for high blood pressure that costs $68 monthly. She cannot afford to purchase a month's supply all at once. Thanks to a cooperative pharmacist, she buys 7 pills at a time. She takes the daily medication every other day.
Poverty is about stress, depression, hard choices and a seemingly endless struggle to "make it."
I have never met Ms. Kelly, but I see hundreds of people every day whose lives are much like hers, some even worse. The sadness is palpable.
Ms. Kelly, and millions of Americans like her, has worked hard all of her life. In her "golden years" life seems anything but golden.
Larry, this story is really bothering me. I want to do something in my city for people like her -- got any suggestions? ben@newlifeodessa.org
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ben. Drive into the low-income part of your town. Park your car and walk around awhile. Stop and talk to folks. Survey the oommunity. Volunteer at the local Boys and Girls Club. Talk to your city council person or County Judge about the economics of your town. Find out who is working among the poor already. throw in with them. Look at the last census and focus on the tracts that are low-income. Ask your minister. If he doesn't know anything, consider changing churches. Let me know how you do. Thanks for caring.
ReplyDelete"Ask your minister. If he doesn't know anything, consider changing churches."
ReplyDeleteGreat statement. I hope that all the ministers, and Christians in general, that read your page take it to heart. I know that we all have our hands full, but we're also so easily distracted from the real life implications of the gospel. Thanks Larry. I loved the post, but your comment really struck home. We need to do more than just read the amazing stuff you put out each day.
Mike, thanks. The fact is people can make a difference. The key is to get acquainted across all the lines that divide us. Jesus was a master at this art. His people should be as well.
ReplyDeleteI've followed that advice so many times that I feel like I've been in every church in this city!
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but it's beginning to make me wonder about the importance of church. I realize that's probably not the best thing to say on this blog, but seeing what I see at CDM and then hearing what I hear in church... something doesn't mesh.
I'm a person who broke free from poverty, and I would like to briefly share my perspective.
ReplyDeleteReaching out is important to do; however, be prepared for disappointment. You can reach out with open arms and give them access to resources; however, a lot of them opt to turn away. This cycle is so powerful and is a way of life; so as a result, it becomes extremely challenging to break free.
I came from a poor hispanic background and was able to break the cycle. Growing up we often had to worry about what we would eat and whether we would have a new pair of pants for the upcoming school year. I saw close family kill themselves and others over drugs and violence. Now, I am a Software Engineer with a degree in Computer Information Systems with my own home and family.
My partner and I have spent the last 4 years attempting to help my youngest brother (now 15 years old) also break free. My mother (who is still trapped in the cycle) saw an opportunity for her son to also escape; therefore, she agreed to give him to us. He was thrilled, since he had always openly expressed a desire to live with us.
We opened up our home, hearts and treated him like our own child. We gave him love, affection, and an endless amount of resources (both financial and educational). We surrounded him with caring, hard-working people who embraced him and made him in integral part of their lives. Our expectations (since the beginning) never changed. He was to do the best he could in school and be an honest, caring young man. However, the environment we provided did not make a difference, since he became the exact opposite. Recently, he was sent back to his mother.
In retrospect, we had not spent the last 4 years helping a child escape, but had spent them attempting to help a child who simply did not want to be helped. Unfortunately, the first 11 years of his life were what shaped him into what he is now, and the 4 we gave him were irrelevant. Most of his life, he saw everyone around him take advantage of others in order to survive. He saw family members (including his own mother), continually have a roof over their heads, nice clothes on their backs, and food on the table without ever having to work a job. I suppose that explains a comment he made to us a few years back, "Well, I don't need to work." And the one he traditionally uttered, "My charm and good looks will get me through."
When presented with a "way out" he turned it away, and hurt the people who cared about him most. We did all that we could, and we say to ourselves "at least we tried."
Keep up this conversation, and please don't give up! There simply are not enough compassionate people in this world.
-Hopeful in Rhode Island
Hopeful in RI, thanks for the thoughtful and reflective post.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying. It reminds me of what Malcomb Gladwell says about the impact of negative environments on children. He posits that a child growing up in a really bad home in a good neighborhood has a better chance of success than a child growing up in a good home in a really bad neighborhood.
The story of your young brother is unfortunate.
We won't give up. The stories often end differently. And besides, we have no choice about attempting to do the right thing by our fellows.