1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: Life audio. 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 2: Hi from the Salvation Army. You're listening to Words of Life, the. 3 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: Words of Life. 4 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 3: Welcome back to Words of Life. Throughout this series, we've 5 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 3: been discussing some of society's most difficult challenges through the 6 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 3: eyes of ministry leaders serving on the front lines. Today, 7 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 3: we're focused on poverty and homelessness, from housing instability and 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 3: mental health struggles to generational poverty. These challenges affect millions 9 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 3: of families in our communities. If you'd like to learn 10 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 3: more about Pathway of Hope or to find additional resources, 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 3: check out the show notes for this episode for links 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 3: and more information. 13 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 4: Yeah, so, I think homelessness and poverty really don't stem 14 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 4: from one thing. It's often multiple intersecting crisis that people 15 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 4: are experiencing, whether that be unaffordable housing, trauma, mental health struggles, 16 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 4: domestic violence, medical debt, job and stability, generational poverty, where 17 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 4: they're caught in those cycles and much of what we've 18 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 4: already been discussing just all can lead to poverty and 19 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 4: homelessness or being at risk for homelessness. 20 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: And when you look at the statistics, there are. 21 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 4: Thirty eight point one million Americans in poverty below the 22 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 4: poverty line, and millions of those are families with children. 23 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 4: They've also found that children raised in poverty are thirty 24 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 4: two times more likely to remain in poverty, so there's 25 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 4: a generational aspect to it. From since twenty twenty three, 26 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 4: there's been a thirty nine percent rise in family homelessness, 27 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 4: and so just that's a challenge that we're seeing across 28 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 4: the board. And in the Southern States there's a higher 29 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 4: rate of child poverty, which affects the Salvation Army's southern territory, 30 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 4: but there's an eighteen percent child poverty rate. In some 31 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 4: of the Deep South states Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, it's 32 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 4: near twenty percent, and so you know, that kind of 33 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 4: gives you a picture of what we're facing in our 34 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 4: country and just the challenges we face. A few other 35 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 4: statistics that kind of show the scale of the problem 36 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 4: is that one third to one half of children in 37 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 4: poverty for substantial part of childhood will be in poverty 38 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 4: as adults. One in ten American children spends at least 39 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 4: half their childhood in poverty, and forty two percent of 40 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,839 Speaker 4: black children's stay in the lowest income bracket, and so 41 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 4: forty two percent of Black Americans born into the lowest 42 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 4: income category remained there as adults, compared to seventeen percent 43 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 4: of white Americans. So that speaks to some structural inequality 44 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 4: and that compounds the cycles of poverty that we're seeing. 45 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 4: And often we think when we think of poverty, we 46 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 4: think of financial poverty, but it really is the absence 47 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 4: of any of the following financial, emotional, mental health, spiritual, 48 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:57,839 Speaker 4: physical support systems, role models, and hidden rules. So that 49 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 4: comes from Ruby Payne Framework for Understanding Poverty, which is 50 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 4: a book that kind of we look to to help 51 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 4: understand the poverty crisis that we're in. And so it's 52 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 4: not just about finances, it's all of those things combined, 53 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 4: which kind of speaks to just the different topics that 54 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 4: we've been discussing and how they all intersect in different ways. 55 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 3: I mean, even just like very basically just discussing just 56 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 3: poverty and general not even homelessness. I think I read 57 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 3: that just within Atlanta, the average just studio apartment today 58 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 3: is going for thirteen hundred a month. And to be 59 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 3: just financially stable, I think they suggest that your rent 60 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 3: or your mortgage should be one week's worth of your income, 61 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 3: and so you're looking at well over four thousand dollars 62 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 3: a month to even just be in a small studio 63 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 3: apartment in Atlanta, And so it's not hard to understand 64 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,559 Speaker 3: how difficult it is to even get to that level 65 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 3: of financial stability, to be able to be on your 66 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 3: own and you know, be healthy and happy and eating 67 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 3: meals and stuff. It's pretty unattainable for a ton of people. Hey, 68 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 3: you're listening to the salvation armies of Words of Life. 69 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 3: We're going to take a quick, bad break. 70 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: And we'll be right back. 71 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 3: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about people experiencing homelessness. 72 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean there's a lot of misconceptions, but I 73 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 4: think one is that it comes from someone's personal failure 74 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 4: and that it's their fault, kind of back to that 75 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 4: shame piece. But I think in reality, families experiencing poverty 76 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 4: or homelessness are hard working their parents, they're trying to 77 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 4: survive impossible situations, and so maybe they were barely scraping 78 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 4: by a living month to month, and then their car 79 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 4: died and so now they don't have a car, they 80 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 4: can't get to work, they lose their job, and then 81 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 4: you know, it's just kind of spirals, and so I 82 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 4: think that it's not just one thing that causes homelessness. 83 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 4: I don't know if anyone else has other misconceptions they'd 84 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 4: want to highlight. 85 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 5: When you talked about there's not just one way poverty 86 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,679 Speaker 5: shows up. I didn't think about that until now. Actually, 87 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 5: I think also I wonder the lack of community and 88 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 5: support because I remember losing my car. I me and 89 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 5: my family had won and I got someone hit me 90 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 5: in the back on the way to work and total 91 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 5: of the car and we had nothing and I live 92 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 5: what We're thirty five minutes away from work. It's not 93 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 5: a remote job, and so it was like what do 94 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 5: I do? So gratefully I had community and family that 95 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 5: could come alongside me to help me raise funds to 96 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 5: get back on to get back on the street, to 97 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 5: get a car to get to work. But a lot 98 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,280 Speaker 5: of people don't have that aspect, And so I think 99 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 5: lack of community and support is a huge faculty. 100 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: We just we shared the loneliness epidemic. Yeah, and so that's. 101 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 5: It's a big part of it too, And I didn't 102 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 5: think about it to know. 103 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 3: So what role should the church play beyond temporary charity? 104 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 3: Before we hit record, I was just kind of saying, 105 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 3: you know, one of my own experiences in a large 106 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 3: church that I was a part of, we were in 107 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 3: a pretty rough part of town and being there on staff. 108 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 3: Pretty early on, a woman knocked on the door and 109 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 3: she just wanted some help with some gas money. And 110 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 3: I didn't know their policies or anything, and I just 111 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 3: happened to have cash on me, and so I, you know, 112 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 3: gave her twenty bucks and prayed with her. And when 113 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 3: I got back inside and I was kind of scolded, saying, 114 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 3: you know, if you continue to give that woman money 115 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 3: for gas every day, you're going to go broke. 116 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: So we have to have some type of policy. 117 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 3: But what should the church be doing besides just giving 118 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 3: someone twenty bucks for guests that's not changing their life. 119 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a great question to ask. 120 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 4: And I think that the Salvation Army is positioned to 121 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 4: really break cycles of poverty, and that's what the goal 122 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 4: of Pathway Hope is. And I think before Pathway Hope started, 123 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 4: what a lot of officers and social services employees were 124 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 4: realizing that we were doing those band aid approaches, we 125 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 4: were doing food pantry, and we were helping with rent 126 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 4: and utility assistants and doing emergency housing, which are all 127 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 4: great things, but they are band aids. It's not helping 128 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 4: break the cycle. And so what they were finding was 129 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 4: the same families and individuals were kept coming back over 130 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 4: and over year after year, and there wasn't really lasting change. 131 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 4: And so I think the church should be providing that 132 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 4: holistic care for families and going from just being transactional 133 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 4: and giving a handout to being transformational and seeking to 134 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 4: walk alongside these families. And so pathway of Hope are 135 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,680 Speaker 4: Our approach within the Salvation Army is to have three pillars, 136 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 4: and so it's case management, which is the social work 137 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 4: side of it, the church integration, having that community of 138 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 4: care that's walking alongside and welcoming in families and people 139 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 4: who are in crisis, and then community collaboration. We can't 140 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 4: do it by ourselves, so partnering and working with other 141 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 4: organizations that might help with workforce development or health care 142 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 4: or mental health. And so having that three pronged approach 143 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 4: is really a holistic way of. 144 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: Working with people. 145 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 4: We really prioritize trauma informed care and having a strength 146 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 4: based approach, so meeting them where they're at, letting them 147 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 4: drive the goals, letting them look get where they want 148 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 4: to end up and what they're working towards, and helping 149 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 4: them get there. And so we're not rescuing people, but 150 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 4: we're walking alongside them and helping them towards where they're 151 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 4: wanting to go. 152 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 3: Ray that you're enjoying and being blessed by this conversation. 153 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 3: We're going to take one more ad break and we'll 154 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 3: be right back. Give you give us like an example 155 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 3: of just a family who goes into pathway of hope, 156 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,679 Speaker 3: what steps are they taking, and maybe like a success 157 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 3: story that you could share with us. 158 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 4: Yeah, so I think it can look a lot of 159 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 4: different ways. But one particular story, there was a married 160 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 4: couple with kids who the husband had been in and 161 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 4: out of prison and was having trouble finding a job 162 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 4: and the wife was having some medical issues, and so 163 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 4: they were on the cusp of homelessness and getting evicted 164 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 4: from their house, and so they came to the Salvation 165 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 4: Army and worked with the case manager who was able 166 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,559 Speaker 4: to help her get her resume updated and find employment. 167 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 4: And then also they were getting evicted and so they 168 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 4: had to find another housing option. So they were able 169 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 4: to help with getting them a new apartment and provide 170 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 4: rent assistance for a few months while she was saving 171 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 4: up money with her new job. And then the husband 172 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 4: was able to get some help with workforce development and 173 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 4: get a technical skill so that he could get a 174 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 4: job that worked for him. And so really just walking 175 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 4: alongside them in their goals and seeing them start to thrive, 176 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 4: because you know, if they didn't have the support system 177 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 4: from the core, from the case manager, they might have 178 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 4: been on the streets because they might have fallen in 179 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 4: to actual homelessness, and then the cycle continues. But because 180 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 4: of the resources and support from the case manager, from 181 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 4: the church, from the community partners, they were able to 182 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 4: really get to a stable place to where now he's 183 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 4: the husband's actually volunteering with the Salvation Army and helping 184 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 4: to serve and the wife's doing a lot better now 185 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 4: that she's gotten through her medical issues. And so that's 186 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 4: the goal is to just empower those families to overcome 187 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 4: the obstacles that they're facing and provide the support that 188 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,719 Speaker 4: they need so that they can get towards self sufficiency 189 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 4: where they're not, you know, on the brink of homelessness 190 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 4: or poverty. 191 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 3: It's interesting that now a month ago we had Barry Brown, 192 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 3: who works with Correction of ministries, and one of the 193 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 3: things he was talking about is just you know, maybe 194 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 3: you made a mistake, maybe you're wrongly convicted. 195 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: We have no idea what your story is. 196 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 3: But then you get out of prison and now you 197 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 3: can't get a job because no one will hire you. 198 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,439 Speaker 3: Now you have fines to pay, you can't afford to 199 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 3: pay because you can't get a job to pay for 200 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 3: the fines, and now you're back to jail. 201 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: Hey, that's all the time we have for today. 202 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 3: Join us next week as we continue this conversation and 203 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 3: wrap up our series with our roundtable guests. 204 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 1: Have a great week, and God bless. 205 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 2: The Salvation Army's mission. Doing the most good means helping 206 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 2: people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part 207 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 2: of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. 208 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 2: Visit Salvation ARMYUSA dot org to offer your support. You 209 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 2: can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast 210 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 2: store or visit Salvation armiesoundcast dot org. Join us next 211 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,679 Speaker 2: time for the Savage Snarmies Words of Life. 212 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 4: These are the words are. 213 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: The words, The words of Life. 214 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 3: Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We 215 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 3: want to thank the team that Life Audio for their 216 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 3: partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio dot com, 217 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 3: where you'll find dozens of other faith centered podcasts in 218 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 3: their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, 219 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 3: and more. Thanks again for listening. 220 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: We'll see you next time.