Psalm of Lament
Holy God, Proclaimer of Justice, are you awake? Ordinary folks who simply worked their jobs, Paid their bills, loved their children, Come seeking help. Their world has fallen apart Through no fault of their...
Volunteers are Wonderful!
Volunteers are wonderful. Through my time at United Ministries and also now with Our Eyes Were Opened, Inc., I realized that I could not do the work I do without volunteers. Every time I...
Point–Counterpoint Part Two
Point: XYZ wants to require a pay stub each week OR a person will work in a government job. She’d also eliminate fancy car tire rims and stereos. Counterpoint: Assuming that people with tricked...
Getting out of Poverty
On January 7, 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that nearly one third (31.6%) of Americans lived in poverty for at least two months between 2009 and 2011. Of the 37.6 million people who...
A Common Foundation
Back in 2004, a group of religious bodies endorsed what they called A Common Foundation: Shared Principles for Work Overcoming Poverty. I share them with you. A Common Foundation: Shared Principles for Work Overcoming...
Trailer Park Living
This is one of the sights on the poverty tour. When a trailer park is the best housing a person can afford, that usually means that they are on the bottom of the rental ladder....
What an Exercise!
At Tuesday evening’s Straight Talk SC: Can’t Win for Losing sponsored by the Riley Institute and the Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Furman University, Dr. Kyle Longest led a powerful discussion about how...
This house is currently on the poverty tour. If you look closely, you will see the letter D spray painted in two different places. This means that the house will be demolished. This is...
Happy Endings
My husband loves to go to the grocery store. I do not. However, my husband worked it out with the store manager that I can take as many magazines from the shelves as I...
Synchronicity
I am a great believer in the idea that when the time is right for something to happen, things fall into place. For me as a faithful Christian, I believe this meets the ideas...
Moving Involuntarily
When families must move involuntarily, all kinds of issues happen, especially when compared with families who moved voluntarily in the previous year. Families may be forced to move for a variety of reasons. There...
A compassionate and caring solution for a Tent City
How Do We Deal with a Tent City? People have been living under the Pete Hollis Bridge since it was completed. Providers of services for homeless people knew people were living there and often...