The University of Blog

Last week, I traveled to San Francisco for a conference on poverty. It was put on by the National Network of Presbyterian College Women—and my church paid my way. Last year the conference was in D.C., but I thought that the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge was a significant indicator that I should go again this year.

At first the topics did not seem to tie into the theme of The Power of Poverty much. We talked about race, class and gender and the intersections among them. I found that what really resonated with me was the discussion about class. With everyone so quick to classify themselves as in the middle class, class as a topic is generally glossed over. However, I learned that class actually includes more than I would have expected, and the divisions among class have very little to do with a person’s income. I learned that it actually has more to do with knowledge of middle class values, and access to resources such as education, emotional connections, coping strategies and health resources.

This really opened my ideas to understanding the different classes. For example, if a person won 10 million dollars–that would not automatically make them in the upper class (two generations are needed to change class) but rather what would make them mobile within class would be acting and having the understanding of the upper class and so forth. I really enjoyed the discussions, and I learned that it actually had a lot to do with poverty because it is all interwoven.

What opened my eyes to poverty was our visit to the Tenderloin district—one of the most concentrated poor districts in San Francisco. We walked the streets and saw a man pull out needles out of a black bag, smelled pot on the streets and say people just standing around looking hungry, but not necessarily begging. When we returned to the Network Ministries (an outreach nonprofit in the area) to discuss what we had seen, it seemed as if each girl saw a different thing. The buildings weren’t decrepit, the people seemed to have a sense of community, but we all saw that there was a need for something to be done. With less funding for mental health services, many people are not getting the help that they need. Network Ministries helps prostituted women leave that lifestyle as well as provides other services including counseling.

After this workshop, I left refreshed. After seeing and hearing all of this, it is easy to become really discouraged about all the poverty in all the different forms that exist. However, I live in a community where there is poverty as well – maybe not as severe as the Tenderloin district- but still I could make a change if I decided to. And you know what? It is possible if I find my niche and a way to contribute that I could make a difference. I just need to find where I fit.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:29 am and is filed under Professional, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.