Still more on the Conference

After Jereann King Johnson's presentation, Leslie Franklin did a fabulous job of presenting some the data that Paula Fisher and others had collected on poverty in the Northern Neck. Leslie pointed out that 1 in 10 families in the area live below the federal poverty level. One in ten! That's a lot of families who are struggling to get by. She highlighted the power of education and wished we could let young people look into the future to see what a lack of education could cost them. Drop-out rates range from 6 to 12% across the four counties. Without an adequate education, what are their chances? One in five Virginians without a high school diploma live in poverty. Leslie talked about children. It is shocking to hear that nearly 1/2 of the students in Lancaster and Northumberland County qualify for free or reduced lunch. To quote Leslie, "Fifty percent of our children should not have to go hungry without the aid of the school." Finally, she highlighted the issue of housing. People working in the Northern Neck cannot afford to own a house in the county where they work. Even if they could, there is very little available for those with low purchasing power. Leslie finished with an eloquent appeal, a call to action, one we hope to continue to share with people who can make a difference.

To see the statistics handout on poverty in the Northern Neck, check this link:
http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12840610/5zgjpy1jvzhea8xkj23
My apologies for the disrupted format, please comment on this post or let me know at visions@lancasterlibrary if you would like me to mail you a hard copy. Don't forget to give me your contact information.

We broke for lunch and did some less formal networking over food. At the end of lunch, we were encouraged to share one thing that each of us would like to do to reduce poverty when we left the room at the end of the day.

From 12:45 to 1:45, we worked in 5 smaller groups on some of the common themes we had identified in the morning. Each group had a task, a theme to address. One group discussed the history of VISIONS and the three-part plan for future action. Another group focused on ways to involve everyone in the process. Yet another tackled the thorny issues of race and culture. A fourth group had a spirited discussion on jobs, economy, training and mentoring. Advocacy and support for people at risk or in poverty was the theme for another group. Some wonderful ideas and information came out as each group reported to the conference as a whole, a process facilitated by Jean Burkhardt and Gwen Whiting.