Poverty

Addressing Poverty

At 19.8 percent, the Colquitt County poverty rate remains 7 percent higher than Georgia as a whole. Even though progress has been made since 1990, minorities are still disproportionately burdened by poverty. In 1999, community leaders joined together in establishing the Colquitt County Family Connection Collaborative on Children and Families to address issues that could promote success for families living in Moultrie/Colquitt County. The collaborative had representatives from many aspects of the community including Colquitt County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS). Extension FACS has assisted the collaborative in educating the community to help them better understand the nature and scope of poverty by conducting the "Welcome to the State of Poverty – a poverty simulation" with various community groups. The simulation consists of 4 10-minute segments in which participants play the role of various family members experiencing real life situations of people in poverty. The major emphasis of the program is to aid participants in developing more positive attitudes towards and facilitate their ability to effectively work with people living in poverty. Eight simulations were conducted with 432 individuals. The simulations were conducted for community leaders, Colquitt County school administrators, Colquitt County high school teachers, Funston Elementary School teachers, and Southwest Georgia Community Action Council district Head Start staff. The Colquitt County Archway Partnership has played a vital role in helping the group move forward in addressing the issues of poverty. (2008)

Sources

top