Throwback Thursday - The Worthy Poor

From 2006 through 2008 I blogged fairly regularly, posting more than 300 entries. As I look back over those, I find that some are as relevant today as they seemed then. Others show glimpses of my life that that may reveal a little more fully who I am. I will share one of these occasionally in a series I'll call Throwback Thursday. 

Poverty continues to be a significant factor in the lives of students and their families. In the current political environment that appears to be chipping away at the fragile safety net  that has evolved over time, this post from 2007 is perhaps more relevant today than it was then.

From 2007...

There is a chapter in Robert Lupton's Theirs Is The Kingdom entitled "The Truly Worthy Poor". I was reminded of this chapter this week as I was finishing Loretta Schwartz-Nobel's Growing Up Empty. Here is an excerpt from "The Truly Worthy Poor"...

A truly worthy poor woman: Is a widow more than sixty-five years old living alone in substandard housing; does not have a family or relatives to care for her. Has no savings and cannot work; has an income inadequate for her needs. Is a woman of prayer and faith, never asks anyone for anything but only accepts with gratitude what people bring her; is not cranky...

A truly worth poor family: Is devout, close-knit. Has a responsible father working long hours at minimum wage wherever he can find work. Has a mother who makes the kids obey, washes clothes by hand, and will not buy any junk food. Lives in overcrowded housing; will not accept welfare or food stamps even when neither parent can find work. Always pays the bills on time; has no automobile. Has kids who do not whine or tell lies.

I want to serve truly worthy poor people. The problem is they are hard to find. Someone on our staff thought he remembered seeing one back in '76, but couldn't remember for sure...

As I read the stories of individuals and families in Growing Up Empty I couldn't help but think that many of them resembled the tongue-in-cheek profile that Lupton described. One of the people interviewed for this book put it this way...

But there is a belief in our culture that if you work you will not be poor or hungry, and the truth is that many of the people who work, even the people who work full-time are very often poor and often very hungry. They never get above the poverty line... A lot of the people we see here simply can't make ends meet no matter how hard they work or how well they manage... Most have no medical benefits, so they have to choose between medicine, food and housing.