The Culture of Poverty:understanding and successfully

working with poor clients

Sponsored by:The california Association of Food Banks

Sacramento, Calltorrna

Developed and Presented by:Charles (Buzz) Blick, M.Ed.

Principal, Changeforward Consulting and TrainingVashon, Washington

A Little Quiz...Could You Survive in Poverty?

Put a check mark beside tho5e items you know how to do.

1. 1 know which churches and sections of town have the best rummagesales.

2. I know which rummage sales have "bag sales" and when-

3. I know which grocery stores' garbage bins can be accessed for thrownaway food.

4. I know how to get someone out of jail.

5. I know how to physically fight and can defend myself physically.

6. I know how to get a gun even it I have a police record.

7. I know how to keep my clothes from being stolen at the laundromat.

8. I know what problems to look For in a used car.

9. I know how to live without a checking account.

10. I know how to live without eIectridty and without a phone.

11. I know how to use a knife as scssors.

12. I can entertain a group of friends with my personality and my stories.

13. I know what to do when I don't have money to pay the blUs.

14. I know how to move in one-half day.

15. I know how to feed 8 people for 5 days on $25.

16. I know how to get and use food stamps.

17. I know where the free medical dinics are.

18. I am very good at trading and bartering.

19. I can live without a car.19

--~1Types of ResourcesI:l.;2

• Financial• Emotional

• Mental• Spiritual• Physical• Support Systems• Relationships/Role Models• Knowledge of Hidden Rules• Coping Strategies

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COULD YOU SURVIVE IN WEALTH?

Put. check by e«h Item thilt you know how to do.

1. I can read a menu in Frenchr English, and another language.

2. I have several favorite restaurants in different countries of the workt.

3. During the holidays, I know how to hire a decorator to identify theappropriate themes and items with whiCh to decorate the house.

4. I know who my preferred financial advisor, legal service, designer,domestic employment service, and hairdresser are.

5. I have at least two residences which are staffed and maintained.

6. I know how to ensure confidentiality and loyalty from my domesticstaff.

7. I have at least two or three "screens" that keep people from me that Ido not wish to see.

8. I fly in my own plane, the company plane, or the Concorde.

9. I know how to enroll my children in the preferred private schools.

10. I know how to host the parties that "key" people attend.

11. I am on the boards of at least two charities.

12. I know the hidden rules of the Junior League.

13. I have an artist that I support or buy his/her work.

14. I know how to read a corporate financial statement and analyze myown financial statements.

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1

The Hidden Rules of Economic ClassFOVEKri-' ~lIDOI.Y.~ W~I.:I11

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Common~I- Characteristics (continued)

• Ownership of people• Negative orientation• Punishment = penance and

forgiveness, not change (see nextslide)

• Belief in fate• Polarized thinking• Mating dance• Time = the present, flexible and not

measured, linked to emotions ratherthan length

• Sense of humor valued• Lack of order/organization• Lives in the moment - does not

consider future ramifications• Addictions and family dysfunction

"anchor" poverty

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Common Characteristicsof Generational Poverty

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• Background noise• Importance of personality• Importance of entertainment• Importance of relationships• Matriarchal structure• Oral-language tradition• Survival orientation• Identity tied to lover/fighter role for

men• Identify tied to rescuer/martyr role for

women• Importance of non-verbal/kinesthetic

communications

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Poverty, Addictionsand Family Dysfunction

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IJbso:ssi'll: Drinkin(! Conl:nuesin \'i(icu$ Ci:c:o,!J

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Implications for Helping-., ProfessionalsIt..;.

• Individuals leave poverty for one of fourreasons:• A goal or vision of something they

want;• Escaping a very painful situation;• A sponsor, mentor or role model who

shows another way;• A specific talent or ability that provides

an opportunity for them.• Being in poverty is rarely about lack of

intelligence or potential ability• Many individuals are in poverty because

they don't perceive a choice and/or theyhave no one to teach them the hiddenrules or provide resources.

• Social institutions and helpingprofessionals are potential resources forlearning the rules of the middle class.

References andResources

Gibbs, J. c., Potter, G. B. & Goldstein, A. P. (1995). The Equip Program:teaching youth to think and act responsibly through a peer4Jelping approach.Champaign, Illinois: Research Press.

Grinder, M. (1991). Righting The Educational Conveyer Belt Portland, Oregon.Metamorphosis Press.

Goldstein, A. P. (1999). TIle Prepare Curriculum (revised edition). Champaign,IL: Research Press.

Henderson, N. &. Milstein M. (1996). Resiliency in Schools: making it happenfor students and educators. Corwin Press.

McKnight, J and Kretzman. (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out:a path toward finding and mobilizing a wmmunity's assets. ACTA Publishers.Chicago, Illinois.

Mills, R. C. (1995). Realizing Mental Health. New York, NY: Surzburger andGraham Publishing.

Natklnal Poverty Center, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Polley, The Universityof Michigan.

Payne, R. K. (1995). Poverty: a framewod for understanding and Workingwith Students and Adults from Poverty. Baytown, TX: RfT PubliShing.

Payne, R. K., DeVol P. & Smith, T. D. (2001) Brit:Jge50utofPoverty.Highlands, Texas. Aha! Process, Inc.

Pew Research Center, Americans' y;ews about Poverty and Economic Well-Iloi!!9. DVera COhn, (report released September 12, 2012).

Smiley, T., & West. C. (2012) The Rich and the Rest of Us: A PovertyManifesto, New York, N.Y.: Smiley Press.

Stewart, E. C. & Bennett, M. J. (1991). American Cultural Pattems(revisededition}. Yarmouth, MA: Intercultural Press.

U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington D.C.

Weller, J. E. (1965). yesterda~ People: life in contemporary Appalachia.Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.

• ~ a 2010 American Independent drama film, an adaptation ofDaniel Wocx1rel1s 2006 novel of the same name.

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Rapport, Relationships~- and ResiliencyI!..

• Connect with information and know-how.

• Provide temporary relief fromemotional, mental, financial and/ortime constraints.

• Build rapport and influence - verballyand non-verbally

• Build resiliency and help mitigate riskfactors in the environment.

• Teach behavioral, emotional andcognitive skills.

• Create meaningful roles andcommunity connections:• Building youth-community assets• Inclusive community planning

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