FAYETTEVILLE -- Why do poor people have pets when they're struggling to make ends meet? Because, "Dogs love you no matter if you have a job, a house. All humans crave that unconditional love," Donna Beegle told a crowd of about 50 educators and social service professionals Thursday.
Beegle trained the group on the nuances of poverty, explaining in a workshop at a Hilton Garden Inn conference room the barriers faced by poor people, how poverty affects their thinking and ways that agencies can better communicate to help.
Jobs for the poor are often at places where workers are not respected and there is little chance of advancement, Beegle said. So it's better to talk about earning a living rather than finding a job, she said, explaining that it's a more effective phrase for communicating with poor people.
The group meeting Thursday wrapped up a two-day training event. Attendees will become coaches for others in their schools or organizations on the topic of understanding poverty.
"The poverty realities are pulling, demanding your attention," Beegle said to the group, describing the hidden ways poverty affects lives. "It's pretty hard to focus on moving forward when you're getting an eviction, your car breaks down, you get towed."
Attendees were part of a larger group of about 80 people from across the state who earlier in the week went through training that Beegle calls "The Poverty Institute."
As part of that training, group members traveled throughout Northwest Arkansas in a role-playing exercise, attempting to get basic services. For example, some visited a medical clinic to try to get help as if they were uninsured, while others tried to find affordable housing or visited a pawn shop, among other activities.
"One of the women tried to pawn her wedding ring and was offered $35 for her diamond wedding ring," Beegle said in an interview before Thursday's workshop.
Another training event is planned for Little Rock.
Her method involves drawing on her own life experiences, which include living for 28 years "pretty much homeless." Beegle also talks about differences between types of poverty, with immigrants having different experiences than others entrenched in poverty across generations.
She spoke Thursday about the need to distinguish between race and poverty issues, scribbling the percentage of minority group students who drop out of high school compared with a lower percentage among white students.
"The public reads stuff like this and says, wow, look at the racism -- and certainly there's deep embedded racism in here," Beegle told the group. "I see it and hear it on a daily basis in my work. It's embedded in policy, it's embedded in individual attitudes, beliefs and values about who can learn, about who deserves to learn, who deserves a chance."
Beegle said even if poverty were eliminated for minority groups, it would remain a large problem. Poverty cuts across race and other barriers, she said, noting that being hungry feels the same among all people.
The event, hosted by the University of Arkansas Early Care and Education Projects office, was funded through a larger state grant from the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Child Care and Early Child Education.
Sara Reeves, an assistant principal at J.O. Kelly Middle School in Springdale, said the training helped her understand how students might be raised in a culture that's based on things that aren't emphasized in an academic setting, such as a strong emphasis on telling stories and getting information verbally.
"I think one of the big things is the difference between oral culture and print culture," Reeves said.
She said she now better understands the difficult and uncomfortable process for poor people trying to seek assistance. Reeves said she wants her school to do more to help families connect to other services they may need.
Beegle told the group that it is important to explain to others what they've learned in the training.
Metro on 03/13/2015