Pushback on poverty

Imagine having a net monthly income of $1,307.

Your monthly bills are $3,317.

Car insurance is late. Final notice.

Electricity is about to be shut off.

Health insurance is astronomical.

You have no choice but to go without. You have to decide, "Do I buy groceries this month, or do I put gas in the car?"

It's not an uncommon scenario for people in poverty and those living paycheck to paycheck. When you put yourself in their ragged shoes, it becomes a little clearer what they're going through.

"Poverty steals hope, and it not only steals hope for the people in poverty, it steals hope from the people who want to make a difference," Donna Beegle said Wednesday.

She told a story of a welfare case worker she encountered who was overwhelmed by a staggering caseload.

"She said to me, 'I just wait for 5 o'clock every day, I have 600 people on my caseload, there's nothing I can do,'" Beegle said. "I said, 'Well, that will steal your soul.' If you're just doing time in your helping professional job, you'll lose your soul. You got to take back your power. You got to be able to examine those hands and say, 'Can I leave this person in a better place?'

Beegle — author, motivational speaker and educator who escaped the cycle of poverty in a life of migrant work — delivered powerful learning experiences to those who participated in the second and final day of her virtual Poverty Immersion Institute.

This session delved into differing perspectives and what it means to remove shame and rebuild hope.

"Most people are not conscious of their worldview," Beegle said. "We are truly like fish in water and we can’t see the water."

Elia Moreno, national program director for Beegle's organization, Communication Across Barriers, shared experiences with race and communication.

"We only have two choices: You take value or you add value, there's no in between," she said. "A moment to impact a life is 90 seconds. What will you do with that moment when you encounter a person?"

The approximately 75 attendees who graduated from the training are now qualified to become certified Beegle coaches to effect change in their communities.

The training was presented by Charity Reimagined, which was founded by Maggie Lyons.

Amy Voeller, Opening Books, Opening Doors program manager at Innovia Foundation, said she exited the training feeling energized and humbled.

"Having been in such close contact with Maggie over the last year has helped me to start to get a clearer picture of her vision, that we build bridges and we create collaboration between different sectors of our community that never have collaborated," Voeller said. "These last two days have been a huge step in that direction.

"I feel like this is what we needed, and Maggie had that vision all along."