Working toward a world without poverty

Poverty refers to the condition in which people lack financial resources and access to the necessities required to live a healthy and secure life. It generally means not having enough income to meet basic needs such as food, clean water, shelter, education, and healthcare, and there are roughly 2,266 people living in poverty in Taylor County.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, locals heard a presentation from Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz of ESSDACK as part of Core Community, a Youth Core Ministries organization designed to provide direction for fighting poverty within the county. Lewis-Pankratz gave those in attendance an alternative to simply offering financial assistance to those struggling; rather, she asked the community to consider giving the reins to the people who are directly affected.

Core Community stresses solving poverty, not alleviating or reducing it. They believe that people do not often spend time in social settings with people who are not like them, making it difficult for the middle class to understand the challenges of those living in hardship. Core Community presents an opportunity for families living in poverty to have a voice in a space where they’re treated with honor and dignity.

The process is completed in stages starting with Phase 1, a 20 week class called “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By-World. Phase 1 is a weekly evening program which starts each meeting by serving a family-style meal to families and volunteers. Following the meal, the families’

See CORE COMMUNITY on page 12 children go to childcare where they experience fun activities with caring adult volunteers. During that time, the adult participants, called Core Leaders, gather to share their lives and grow through various programs. Core Community is not a financial program, though it does look at finances and is wholistic in its approach.

Phase 2 is about connecting families in the program with middle class community members called Core Friends. Core Friends commit to befriending someone who is working their way out of poverty and attending meetings one night a month for 18 months.

Core Community reports having success at 14 sites (including one in Burlington) with 483 program graduates and 538 children directly impacted by the results. Of those numbers, 98 adults and 70 children have completely climbed out of poverty. Combined, program graduates increased their annual income by $4,502,455 and decreased their overall debt by $1,591,990.

Core Community states that it takes two to five years on average for an individual or family to walk out of poverty by participating in a project like this one. Core Community defines leaving poverty as having an income that is 200% above the federal poverty guidelines as stated the year that success is achieved.

Lewis-Pankratz stated that she is a program graduate herself, and that the program changed her life.

“Poverty is very isolating, and there’s a lot of shame involved in it, so being brought into a community does a tremendous amount of things,” she said.

Lewis-Pankratz reported being born to a single mother who was a high school dropout. When Lewis-Pankratz was three years old, her mother became addicted to heroin. When she was five her grandmother moved her from California to Kansas and thankfully, her mother got sober and was able to move with them. Though her mother was now clean, life continued to be tumultuous.

“There was a lot of stress in my home, and a lot of it, looking back, centered around survival,” said Lewis-Pankratz.

Lewis-Pankratz continued to repeat self-destructive patterns, eventually becoming addicted to drugs herself. She gained sobriety, taking care of her three small children, but was never able to get ahead. When a friend told her where to find free diapers at the “big church,” she jumped at it. While there, “the diaper lady” convinced her to attend the Core Community program even though she was skeptical.

“They sat us down and they said ‘Here’s the deal, we see families struggling in our community and we think the root cause of that struggle is poverty, and we want to solve it, and we need people like you guys who are living it to tell us what to do.’ Instantly they disarmed me and they empowered me,” said Lewis-Pankratz.

Medford Area Public School District Administrator Laura Lundy reported that she began speaking to Lewis-Pankratz about a year and a half ago after Lewis-Pankratz came to the school district to do a poverty simulation. An advisory board was subsequently created and began meeting monthly.

Core Community will be the administrator of the program in Taylor County as the 501[c]3 tax exempt nonprofit organization. They will manage the finances including payroll and IRS reports, provide health insurance to any full-time staff and a 3% retirement match to any employee who makes $5,000 a year or more, hold the liability insurance, train and coach individuals in fundraising efforts, and provide brochures and newsletters. They will do this in exchange for $10,000 per year.

Board members are currently working to raise that $10,000 to begin Phase 1. They will hire a Community Liaison who will be responsible for spending nine to 12 months sharing the Core Community story, raising funds and finding volunteers and families before the program can be launched.

Vital to the program is securing a sponsoring location that can sufficiently host the weekly meeting as well as finding groups to volunteer preparing and serving the weekly meal. Lewis-Pankratz invited attendees to get involved by volunteering to help with childcare and playing with the children during the meeting.

People interested in getting involved should contact lundyla@medford.k12. wi.us