Food Bank of Lincoln
The Food Bank of Lincoln and a local church have issued an open invitation to area businesses, organizations and individuals. The event page reads:
“If you have ever seen someone on the street and thought, ‘if they just make better choices they would be better off’ – Bridges Out of Poverty is for you.”
Tuesday, Feb. 20th, at 6:30 p.m. in the Southwood Lutheran Fellowship Hall (4301 Wilderness Hills Blvd), the “Bridges Out of Poverty” workshop will educate attendees on the experience of poverty and the many factors that produce income disparity.
To learn more about the program, KLIN News spoke with Community Resource Manager for the Food Bank of Lincoln, Georgann Roth, who is leading the workshop. She said the Bridges program can range from a two hour class to a multi-day course.
“What we’re doing Tuesday is offering an overview of the Bridges model. Really it’s about the common language that Bridges offers our community. So we can all come around the table and help solve the causes and conditions of poverty.”
A corner stone of the Bridges model is developing a wholistic understanding of how poverty manifests. Looking further than the individual, Bridges recognizes poverty of 4 community conditions:
- Environmental (or personal circumstances)
- Economic/Political Conditions
- Individual Choices
- Predatory factors/actors who take advantage of the impoverished
“All four of those create poverty. It is not just one person’s life choices. I would want everybody to walk away with a deeper understanding that we’re all responsible for poverty,” said Ruth.
The program also breaks down how different societal systems contribute to poverty, the use of casual language vs formal language to get what we need out of our environments, and the 11 resources of stability. Each are applied specifically to the Lincoln community and how its residents can be/are actively involved.
Ruth says everyone brings something different to the conversation around poverty. “Did their family have money? What kind of school system did they attend? Where did they live? Whats their social circle like? We all have a unique perspective on it… I think everybody has these ‘Aha!’ moments about something they didn’t really consider to be a piece of poverty.”
She added that Bridges is designed to offer value to those struggling with poverty, and those who may be unfamiliar with the hardships of financial instability,”It’s for everybody. The Bridges training model is for those who do have enough to make it day-to-day and feel stable in their lives, and the flip side of the coin, which is the ‘Getting Ahead in a Just Getting by World’ workshop. Which is for those who are under-resourced and struggling to make it day-to-day.”
Those interested in attending the “Bridges Out of Poverty” workshop can register to attend at southwoodlutheran.church.