Poverty

I spent last week up in Salt Lake City at the Lt. Governor's Utah State Commission on Volunteers Conference. (side note: I like referring to the conference by its full name because I feel like it makes it sound way more exciting and important than it actually is) For the most part the conference was pretty boring (who wants to sit through an hour long workshop on federal grant writing??) and the food was horrible (they gave me a salad for dinner. that's it. a salad...and a little one at that!!!). However, there were a couple of workshops that I absolutely loved and really made me think. My absolute favorite was one entitled "Bridges out of Poverty". The presenter talked a lot about how poverty isn't just about lack of dinero. Where you fall on the poverty-middle class-wealthy scale has a lot to do about social circles, mindset, and support from others. For example, according to the federal poverty guidelines published in the Federal Register, I fall in the 100% poverty category. (I love working for AmeriCorps but I'm definitely not getting rich here). However, I would still categorize myself as middle class and I think a lot to do with my social circle and support and relationship with others. Anyway, it was pretty interesting. The presenter ended his workshop by telling a story that I want you all (well...all 2 of you who read this blog) to think about. Several years ago he went to Chicago on a Church assignment to help train stake leaders on the Church's welfare program. As part of his training, he went with 2 Relief Society leaders to visit a woman in their ward. They showed up at a trailer in a pretty rough area of Chicago. The house was a dump and there were kids running around and screaming which only added to the atmosphere of complete chaos. As the three sat down to talk with the woman, Lloyd (the presenter) asked the woman, "What do you want to do with your life?" Without hesitating the woman responded, "I want to be a lawyer." "What do you need in order to be a lawyer?" Lloyd asked. "To get my GED so that I can get into college." "And what do you need in order to get your GED?" "I just need 5 hours of silence so that I can study." The woman had previously taken the GED but missed passing it by just a few points. She was unable to send her rambunctious kids outside to play while she studied because of the rough neighborhood they lived in. If she could just study for a few hours in peace, she would be well on her way to reaching her goals. As the 3 Church leaders left the woman's house, Lloyd asked the two Relief Society leaders, "When we walked into that woman's house, what was the first thing that you wanted to do to help her?" Both women replied that they had wanted to clean the house. Lloyd ended the workshop by teaching us that so often we feel that we know what people's needs are and how to meet those needs (clean the dirty house) when the true need (5 hours to study) can only be discovered as we take off our prejudiced glasses and truly get to know others, heart to heart.