HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Rotary Club met for its luncheon meeting on Monday, May 14, with special guests Jamie Chandler and Amy Murchison of the Aroostook County Action Program.
The guest speakers, hosted by Rotarian Nate Bodenstab, took turns speaking about their recent training and certification in “Poverty Coaching”.
Donna Beegle presented her program about “Generational Poverty” at the University of Maine at Presque Isle recently and Chandler and Murchison were able to attend. Beegle founded “Communications Across Borders” in 1989 with her mentor Bob Fulford. Their mission is to help communities fight poverty and not the people who live in poverty.
Beegle grew up in poverty and began her adult life in generational poverty until she turned her life around beginning with getting her GED at the age of 25 and continuing her education all the way to obtaining a doctoral degree in educational leadership. She has written the book “See Poverty… Be the Difference.”
The goal of her Oregon-based company is to connect educators, justice professionals, health care providers, social service agencies and other organizations who work to improve the lives of those people who live in generational poverty.
Chandler defined poverty as having insufficient income to meet basic needs. People in poverty do not tend to own their own homes, they have no valuable possessions, lack education and lack the sense of working hard to make a change.
There is a lack of a safety net as these people just survive day to day. Murchison mentioned that there is a sense of being deficient and a sense of guilt that poor people feel. There are greater causes in poverty beside not having employment.
The current poverty line for a family of four is $25 thousand one hundred dollars. In 2018 a family of four can expect Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) at the amount of $733 per month when spending less than 75% of income on housing costs.
Chandler mentioned that if heat is included in the rent then some folks think their other benefits for heat will go away. Actually this is not true. Folks should still apply for heat assistance and the benefits in other areas such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could increase, sometimes almost doubling in value. There is a social stigma around poverty that can be hard to change.
Beegle recognizes that to leave poverty most people need a mentor to guide them. Chandler said that there is a new approach at ACAP to survey those in poverty with a whole family approach. New services will address the quality of education, building social capital and financial planning and long term planning. ACAP’s mission is to “provide services and resources to help individuals and families achieve greater economic independence”. Their office in Houlton is at 91 Military Street and their phone number is 532-5300.
Paul Callnan and Nate Bodenstab hosted their guest Lynn Callnan. Rotarian Frank Thompson reminded everyone that the Soap Box Derby will take place on June 16 in Houlton.
