Understanding Poverty: Beyond Financial Hardship

When we talk about "Getting Ahead in a Just Gettin’ By World," we refer to working with people in poverty. For our purposes, we define poverty as "the extent to which an individual does without resources." Financial resources are just one piece of the puzzle. After three rounds of teaching this class, the concept finally clicked for me.

I always believed Getting Ahead was about changing one's mindset, and it is, but it's also about building a person up. Some individuals need to be rebuilt, while others are beginning a process that may never have occurred for them until adulthood.

Here are the resources we identify and focus on in the Getting Ahead and Staying Ahead program:

• Financial: The ability to purchase goods and services and sustain a certain standard of living.

• Emotional: The ability to choose and control responses, especially to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior. This includes motivation, persistence, integrity, and trust.

• Mental: Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to navigate daily life.

• Spiritual: Believing in a purpose beyond oneself, finding (divine) purpose and guidance in life.

• Physical: Maintaining physical health and mobility.

• Support Systems: Having friends, family, and backup resources available in times of need. These are external resources.

• Relationships/Role Models: Regular access to adults who are appropriate, nurturing, and do not engage in destructive behavior.

• Knowledge of Hidden Rules: Understanding the unspoken cues and habits of different social groups.

With this information, can you identify areas where you have strengths and areas where you might struggle? I believe in this program. I believe we can all grow and become our best selves, though that looks different at various times in our lives. So, when we talk about poverty at Thrive 10:10, we are referring to a multitude of facets of life!