Education

This series is designed to get a deeper understanding of what poverty is, what it looks like, and how it affects each of us, our church, community, city and America. We will delve into the myths and truth of what it means to live in poverty, fight poverty and how we can make a difference. For example…did you know 24% of active military are food insecure? Are you aware that 50% of America’s homeless population spent time in foster care?

During this class (4 class meetings and 1 field trip opportunity) we will learn who the people of poverty are and the “toxic stress” they live with. We will also examine God’s word for guidance and counsel in loving our neighbor as ourselves. We will use our Bibles for the last 2 sessions but no other study guides will be necessary. At the end of the classes a list of resources used will be provided. 

Resources Used in Class 

Books

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTADING POVERTY by Ruby K. Payne

THE WEALTH OF THE POOR by Larry James

A MIND SHAPED BY POVERY 10 Things Educators Should Know by Reginia Rawlinson

WHAT EVERY CHURCH MEMBER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT POVERTY by

Bill Ehlig & Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D.

THE WEALTH OF POVERTY by Rev. Dr. Tina Carter & Rev. Dr. Mindy Johnson-Hicks

THE POVERTY AND JUSTICE BIBLE   American Bible Society

FLAT BROKE WITH CHILDREN Women in the age of Welfare Reform 

by Sharon Hayes

MAKE POVERTY PERSONAL by Ash Barker

AN INVISIBLE THREAD by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

STRANGERS AT MY DOOR by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Videos/DVD and DOCUMENTARY

PEOPLE LIKE US   PBS

A PLACE AT THE TABLE

THE LINE Poverty in America

A PATH APPEARS

ONE CRISIS AWAY (Forum) KERA

POVERTY, INC

Noted experts and authors

Ruby K. Payne

Dr. Donna Beegle

Larry James

Additional Resources

NICKEL AND DIMED by Barbara Ehrenreich

SEE POVERTY…BE THE DIFFERENCE BY Dr. Donna Beegle

CHANGING POVERTY, CHANGING POLICIES edited by M. Cancien and S. Danziger

ALL YOU CAN EAT How Hungry Is America by Joel Berg

THE PRICE OF INEQUALITY by Joseph E. Stiglitz

OUT OF POVERTY by Paul Polak

OUR KIDS by Robert Putnam

WHY CULTURE COUNTS Teaching Children of Poverty by Donna Walker Tileston and

Sandra K. Darling

WHEN HELPING HURTS by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

PEDOGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED by Paulo Freire

THE WORKING POOR by David K. Shipler

TELL THEM WHO I AM The Lives of Homeless Women by Elliot Liebow

EVICTED by Matthew Desmond

Final Thought (Page 4,5 THE WEALTH OF POVERTY)

“But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”

Gustavo Gutierrez (Christian author and professor at Notre Dame University)