By Samantha Strong
Herald contributor
There is no single solution to solving poverty in Oshkosh, with many factors contributing to the problems faced by those dealing with it.
But the community can take a step forward, the Rev. Connie Weiss of Christ Lutheran Church explained, by being more compassionate and trying to meet people where they’re at rather than where we think they should be.
The pastor said churches are sometimes the first to see people in need because they are generally considered a safe space where people genuinely want to help.
“They come to the church with needs but what I found out was I was ill-equipped to deal with it and not knowing if I was really helping,” Weiss said. “And you can give money, but was this the help they were needing?”
Weiss said the tips she has received from Oshkosh Salvation Army social worker Al Rolph have been instrumental in the church’s efforts to be more mission-based and help the community work against poverty and the stigma surrounding those experiencing it.
Rolph leads a free class called The Culture of Poverty, which uses the work of Dr. Ruby Payne to explain the differences among societal classes through different lenses — time, language and driving forces — and how those factors lend themselves to perpetuate stereotypes.
Payne is an educator and author of “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” and her Aha! Process company works with schools, companies and other organizations about poverty.
“They look at the world differently,” Rolph said of people in poverty. “Just like wealthy people look at the world differently, and so do middle-class people.”
Culture of poverty
The first step to meeting people where they’re at is to be compassionate and understanding by looking at the issue through a cultural lens, not a financial one.
Rolph said people in generational poverty, defined as two or more generations, have different driving forces behind their decisions, which can lead to confusion and frustration among those in the middle or upper class of society trying to make sense of their actions.
Relationships, entertainment and survival are the driving forces behind every decision made by people in poverty. Once survival needs are met, relationships and entertainment take priority over work and achievement, which normally drives the middle class.
“Middle class runs the institutions in our society — the schools, agencies, businesses,” Rolph said. “So because I was brought up in the middle class I’m familiar with the concept that you get to work on time and you work hard because achievement is important. If you’re out on the streets in January, you’re not going to be thinking about achievement, you’re going to be thinking about how you’ll survive.”
Relationships become important among communities in poverty because there is a lot more bartering going on.
“If your brakes are grinding in your car, you’re going to pay money to get them fixed,” Rolph said. “People in poverty have relationships with others, because that’s a driving factor for them, so they can barter. They might say, ‘If you can fix my brakes I’ll fix your leaky roof,’ so if they have a relationship with someone with different skills, they can barter and there’s no money exchanged.”
Another example Rolph gave tied into the stereotype of poor people being lazy. He said if someone in poverty has a sick child and asks their sister to watch the child, typically that sister will call into work because relationships are their driving force. He said this can perpetuate the stereotype that people in poverty are either lazy or can’t keep a job.
“None of those things are true; they’re simply making decisions based on different driving forces than the middle class,” he said.
Another difference between middle-class people and those in generational poverty is the perception of time.
“You’d never hear someone in poverty or the upper class call ahead to tell someone they’re going to be late – that’s a very middle-class thing,” Rolph said. He explained that time for those in generational poverty is measured by what’s going on at that moment and what they need to survive.
“Someone’s kid gets sick – they have to call in to work and lose wages,” Rolph said, setting up a common scenario many parents face. “Well, the rent’s due and the electric bill is due and with those lost wages, you have to decide which to pay. They know the heat won’t be turned off right away so they decide to pay the rent first.”
When a utility bill is due is when someone might come to the Salvation Army for help.
“Someone might ask them, ‘Didn’t you know last week that the utility bill was due today?’ Rolph said. “The answer is yes, but that wasn’t their crisis of the day. It looks like, if you look at it through the middle-class lens, that they’re making poor choices but it’s just a difference in perception and priorities.”
Exit from poverty?
Getting out of poverty requires a monumental shift in many things, according to Rolph. Someone must learn to mimic the behaviors of middle-class people and change their way of thinking to make work and achievement the driving forces of their decisions.
Matt Johnson, Day By Day Warming Shelter executive director, said a change in poverty and homelessness cannot be made without community support and a continuum of care. He gave the example of going from an emergency shelter to a temporary shelter where a little more independence and responsibility can be gained. From there someone would go to short-term housing with limited income, where they would learn to budget and care for a house, then eventually to independent housing. But not before they’ve been supported and educated.
“People think it’s a choice, that people decide to do this,” Johnson said. “People don’t make bad decisions when they’re not in bad circumstances. In reality you or I probably wouldn’t do things much differently – it’s just the circumstances they’re in and people don’t act effectively when you’re trying to meet your most basic, primal needs.”
Next week: A personal look inside a woman’s daily challenges
