Looking at the myriad of problems our country faces, Poverty is one of the largest; affecting nearly 14.5 percent of our national population, which results in more than 45 million people in the US currently living under the poverty line. Poverty is often addressed in a manor of the fastest way to bring someone above the poverty line rather than a way that will be sustainable. Following interviews, site visits, surveys, and hands on experience, communication became alarmingly important to the poverty relief process. Communication gaps between what people really need and what they are being given are becoming increasingly common. The steps between serving and creating sustainable members of our society are being lost. Organizations need to focus
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To the blind eye these organizations are tackling the issue of local hunger. However it’s not sufficient to purely nutritionally sustain people. Brenda Guisinger, the Program Administrator for City Rescue Mission (located in Oklahoma City) identified that “a lot of shelters are great resources but they fail to provide services that go far past solving the immediate problem.” In order to successfully tackle poverty relief the gap between helping and providing sustainability must be breached. One approach to tackle sustainability is to provide education and emergency services to those living under homeless or poverty stricken conditions. Educational lessons such as work skills, financial planning and most life skills allow the poor to be proactive in their life but still receive guidance during their transition from poverty. Communicating worth and value along with education is very important in the relief process and is known as the Whole Human approach. This type of approach is largely biblical, however a large amount of poverty work takes place within a religious context. “It’s just important to give the person the love, stability, and confidence as it is to give them a roof over …show more content…
Many churches and organizations provide services that assist the poor and homeless. However these organizations are largely run by volunteers from the general public. After surveying the local Norman population a few assumptions became clear. Though 84% had directly worked with the homeless, 96% of that specific population showed a strong need for wanting to learn more about poverty. General education about homelessness and poverty is not taught in schools. Poverty itself is a topic that is typically taught from within discourse communities. This results in a lot of stigmas and generalizations placed on those living in poverty. When the general population most closely involved with those living within homelessness or poverty remains uneducated, then how could the relief process be successful at all. Educating volunteers about homelessness is directly proportional to the amount of success the organizations and programs will produce. Due to this lack of education many members of our local town can actually damage the relief process while they are attempting to help solve it. “A big problem within the rehabilitation program is street corner begging” (Guisinger). Because the general public is largely uninformed when it comes to panhandling, organizations like City Rescue Mission have been forced to work around these obstacles. In order to reduce this form of
To the blind eye these organizations are tackling the issue of local hunger. However it’s not sufficient to purely nutritionally sustain people. Brenda Guisinger, the Program Administrator for City Rescue Mission (located in Oklahoma City) identified that “a lot of shelters are great resources but they fail to provide services that go far past solving the immediate problem.” In order to successfully tackle poverty relief the gap between helping and providing sustainability must be breached. One approach to tackle sustainability is to provide education and emergency services to those living under homeless or poverty stricken conditions. Educational lessons such as work skills, financial planning and most life skills allow the poor to be proactive in their life but still receive guidance during their transition from poverty. Communicating worth and value along with education is very important in the relief process and is known as the Whole Human approach. This type of approach is largely biblical, however a large amount of poverty work takes place within a religious context. “It’s just important to give the person the love, stability, and confidence as it is to give them a roof over …show more content…
Many churches and organizations provide services that assist the poor and homeless. However these organizations are largely run by volunteers from the general public. After surveying the local Norman population a few assumptions became clear. Though 84% had directly worked with the homeless, 96% of that specific population showed a strong need for wanting to learn more about poverty. General education about homelessness and poverty is not taught in schools. Poverty itself is a topic that is typically taught from within discourse communities. This results in a lot of stigmas and generalizations placed on those living in poverty. When the general population most closely involved with those living within homelessness or poverty remains uneducated, then how could the relief process be successful at all. Educating volunteers about homelessness is directly proportional to the amount of success the organizations and programs will produce. Due to this lack of education many members of our local town can actually damage the relief process while they are attempting to help solve it. “A big problem within the rehabilitation program is street corner begging” (Guisinger). Because the general public is largely uninformed when it comes to panhandling, organizations like City Rescue Mission have been forced to work around these obstacles. In order to reduce this form of