The United Way of Paducah-McCracken County has been working with city and county leaders and local volunteers for the past nine years on the ten-year-long plan to reduce and hopefully stop the cycle of generational poverty in the city and county.
Anne Bidwell, Community Impact Manager for the United Way, says the seed for "Impact Poverty," was planted in the mind of John Williams, Sr., when he saw poverty statistics about Paducah and McCracken County. His desire to change the trend grew to involve lots of people over the last decade.
Accomplishments were celebrated Tuesday in areas of critical care and community wellness, addressing substance abuse, support agency tracking and collaboration, childhood education and mentoring, and addressing community perceptions of poverty.
The presentation on Tuesday included a report card (see link below), which highlighted which parts of the plan have been implemented and what still needs work.
Bidwell said, "We've accomplished a lot of these community collaborative goals and we should be very proud of that. But, of course these goals are going to expire here soon, and we don't want to let go of this momentum that we have and we still have further to go to make our community better for all people."
She acknowledged that the one big area that hasn't seen significant progress is jobs and income. While many goals were identified to move unemployed and under-employed people into better income-earning positions, none of the proposed catalysts for change took root.
That has led several entities to begin meeting to discuss what to do now, and they're calling the next phase, "Impact Opportunity."
Bidwell said, "We really want to impact the ability of all of our citizens to seek new opportunity, take advantage of existing opportunities, and we know that there are a lot of gaps as we try to get these people to the wonderful programs that we actually have in our community."
Tuesday's event was also an invitation for other groups and people who want to help in the next step.
"We want you all on board, nobody is an expert in this area, we all have a piece to share, so we were letting people know what we have ahead of us," she said.
Immediate plans include reintroducing a class called, "Getting Ahead in a Getting-By World," which Bidwell says worked well for folks who previously participated.
The ten-week program helps individuals in poverty assess and build resources to plan for a more prosperous life, and graduates will be invited to join the collaborative community group to identify barriers to accessing existing employment programs and services, as well as other obstacles to obtaining and retaining employment.
The classes will be free, with childcare and refreshments provided. For more information, call Latoya Burton at 270-450-4235 or email her at lburton@paducahhousing.com.
Everyone in the community is also encouraged to take the course, "Bridges Out of Poverty," so they can understand the issues surrounding poverty and how anyone can help individually, or through their jobs, organizations or churches. She said these efforts can change systems that are in place that may be unintentionally holding people back.
In 2020, the group aims to have a new community strategic plan to address these gaps and impact opportunity.
On the Net:
Impact Poverty Report CardImpact Poverty Study
