Believe in what is possible, and act accordingly

How can we possibly believe that ending poverty is possible? Look at our history and how prevalent poverty has been - not only here but around the world.

Poverty has been in our midst for your entire lifetime - no matter who you are - and in generations of lifetimes before us.

So why now? Why believe that ending it is possible?

Swiftness of social change

I first heard the phrase, swiftness of social change, from journalist Steven Pearlstein when interviewing him about his 2018 book, Can Capitalism Survive?

The phrase resonated, as I saw an energy then — and even more so since then — in addressing injustices and bigotries against people of all types, whatever the social construct. This lack of tolerance for heretofore-accepted marginalization and demeaning behavior is evident almost everywhere, except for those in poverty.

Whatever allows us to turn our heads away from the struggles of those born into poverty remains intact. It remains a metaphor for the inhumanity we continue to tolerate.

Why? Why are we not working just as hard to address poverty as we are to address injustices against those based on race, sexual preference, gender, or religion?

Is it because we blame people for their poverty?

If so, that seems quite an uneducated stance to take. After decades of this work — researching and, more importantly, meeting people in poverty across the country and building relationships in communities of deep poverty, I can tell you there is not even a close second: the number one reason people are in poverty is birth. And the reason they remain in poverty is indifference — our indifference.

Poverty is the number one cause of death…

…for many age groups, especially young people. It is more of a killer, more of a threat, and more of an insult to our humanity than just about any other aspect of modern American life. Think of all the places you categorize in your mind as “bad neighborhoods.” Think of all the places you will not go at night - or even in the daytime. Yet you accept that other people live in those conditions, live with those struggles and desperation.

We even create monikers, such as “at-risk youth,” without internalizing that the risk is that they do not live through the night. I could scroll a list here of children under ten years old who have been shot in the last decade simply because they lived in poverty. Is it any more acceptable if the kids are in their teens? Because the list of teens who have been killed simply because of the poverty they face each day is longer than you might care to imagine.

We have the resources

Ending poverty is not about finding resources. We have plenty of food, space for housing, and all the supplies needed to ensure people have their basic needs met. We know how to build healthy communities; there are thousands of them in every state. It is simply about will. More specifically, it is about a decision you make and a belief you can choose to have — or not to have.

You do not even have to leave your community. Just solve the problems where you live. If nobody in your own home is in poverty, extend your vision to your neighborhood. If nobody is in poverty there, extend your vision to your community, then to your town, and your region. Stop as soon as you find it, and then ask why. Why do your neighbors need food, and what can you do about it? Why are your neighbors not safe, and what can you do about ? Sure, it might take courage or compassion — or better put, it will take your humanity.

You don’t have to come in as a savior; just find a way to engage. And you don't have to end poverty everywhere. You don’t have to end it in Tennessee if you live in Colorado. You don't have to end poverty in Ohio if you live in Arizona. You don't have to end it in Northern California if you live in Southern California or in Baltimore if you live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Just end it where you live. Make sure people have what they need — including the opportunities that you and your family have. You don't even have to worry about whether or not they succeed. Just help ensure they have the opportunity to do so.

This does not even have to be about passion, and you don't have to find somebody espousing values with which you agree. Just do what you would minimally do for your family member. For example, learn about the schools in your region as if your kid goes to them. If you find that only 5% of the kids at a local school can read at grade level, that’s a good school to reach out to. Maybe your company can do something to help.

Make similar inquires relative to housing and employment opportunities. And just do this in your community; that’s what it takes.

The question is not if ending poverty is possible. The question is, what are you willing to do for a family member?