Marion Matters Seeks Help With Creating Pathways Out of Poverty

Marion Matters (MM) will hold its monthly meeting for members and the public this Thursday from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at Epworth Methodist Church, beginning with a light supper (free of charge) followed by a program meeting. Marion Matters is a local effort to reduce the sizable presence of poverty in the Marion area by mobilizing community members – residents, businesses, community leaders – to help create pathways out of poverty through education and other community support measures.

Executive Director Heidi Jones and MM organizers are very hopeful that more members of the Marion community will attend the meeting to participate in trouble-shooting and problem solving discussions targeted to address the barriers and issues that poverty residents encounter as they make efforts to improve their lives and get themselves out of the poverty ranks.

To help focus discussion efforts at the meeting on February 13, 2014, Jones will briefly describe Study Groups that recently have been formed, and ask those in attendance to choose and participate in the one that most interests them. The Study Groups established at this point are based on the results of a Community Analysis survey conducted by Marion Matters during last fall’s meetings.  The main purpose of the Study Groups is to make certain that the people in poverty have a voice in helping to identify the barriers/difficulties they face in the community, and to be part of the actions taken to resolve the issues.

The survey identified several community barriers to getting out of poverty:

• a need for more sustainable “living wage” jobs;
• a need for greater access to Rehab Programs with inpatient/outpatient sober house/detox programs;
• increased police presence/block watch to help reduce crime and drugs in our community;
• city and county residents need greater access to transportation (for jobs, medical and other appointments, school, child care, etc.);
• a need for greatly improved enforcement of home inspections for rentals, as well as more affordable housing for low income;
• a need for improvement in the schools’ state report card ratings;
• the need to terminate predatory lending practices;
• the need for more opportunities for  many types of ex-offenders to be employed in the community.

Marion Matters is based on a nationally known and research-based program called “Bridges Out of Poverty”, which, since the late 1990’s, has become a training resource for communities around the nation that want to reduce poverty. “Bridges” provides insight into the cultures of poverty, middle class, and wealth, and maintains that the unspoken knowledge or “hidden rules” for each socioeconomic class are vastly different, which makes communicating and relating to members of the other classes difficult.

On the basis of very sobering poverty statistics for Marion and from her experience on the bench, Marion Municipal Court Judge Teresa Ballinger convened a local group of citizens in 2010 to spearhead bringing “Bridges” concepts to Marion’s poverty setting.  With the help of local businesses and organizations, money has been raised to finance the cost of bringing a nationally renowned trainer to Marion for conducting two day workshops from time to time to train representatives of the social services, schools, churches, businesses, the health care community, local residents, etc.  The next “Bridges” workshop is set for March 17 and 18, 2014.

Marion Matters also holds “Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World” classes for those in poverty who wish to move into middle class.  Once these students graduate from the two month, twice weekly classes, they are matched with community mentors or “allies” to help them find their way through middle class systems.

To be successful with reducing Marion’s poverty, Marion Matters says they need very significant support from the community at large.

Volunteers are needed for:

• serving as an Ally for a Grad (graduate) from the Getting Ahead classes;
• food preparation for the Getting Ahead Classes and for the monthly meetings;
• providing Transportation for those who want to take the Getting Ahead classes and for attending the monthly meetings – as well as for rides for other important meetings that will help with goal achievement efforts;
• child care for children of the Getting Ahead class participants and for the monthly meetings;
• being a Facilitator – volunteers are need to facilitate the Getting Ahead classes, usually helping to lead 14 – 18 classes with another Facilitator (training provided through a video series and from past facilitators).

Membership is also earnestly sought to add support to Marion Matters, Inc., which is a membership-based organization.  Members receive an annual Newsletter with updates and a progress report.  Dues-paying members are also eligible to sit on the MM Board of Directors.  The current board includes:  President – Tera Simon; Vice President – Michelle Wood; Treasurer – Joe Hooper; Secretary – Erin Hughes; and Board Members Dr. Jim Barney, Judge Robert Fragale, Peggy Lee, and Timmy Thacker.

For more information on Marion Matters, or to volunteer or donate, contact Executive Director Heidi Jones at [email protected] or 740-223-2999.