By John Kennedy, Director, Community Action Council, former Portage County Treasurer
Talking about poverty is not easy. Not because it is unimportant — not when tens of millions of Americans live in poverty’s vice grip. Talking about it makes us uncomfortable because it forces us to confront hard questions about fairness, responsibility, and whether the systems we have built are...
Read moreThank you for this thoughtful, well written piece. Now it’s up to us, members of the Portage County community and beyond, to develop appropriate policies and address the problem.
Rick Feinberg
Thank you, John! This is so important for us to understand. Don’t miss Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis’s work as well. She is the co-founder of the latest iteration of the Poor People’s Campaign with Rev. Barber. Her work on poverty is seminal. She also co-leads the Freedom Church of the Poor (online! Sundays at 6pm) and the Kairos Center, on the frontlines of fighting poverty not the poor.
Locally, we have created a new mutual aid network called the Standing Stone Care Collective right here in Kent. Right now, we are attempting to reclaim food waste from area businesses, restaurants, and community members to fill our free fridge, “freedge”, right next to Bent Tree Coffee. We also host a community meal every Sunday at 2pm at Standing Stone Cultural Arts. All are welcome!