Fairfield hosts workshop on ‘Bridges Out of Poverty’

FAIRFIELD - More than 400 people attended an all-day training on 'Bridges Out of Poverty” Monday, Feb. 24 at Fairfield High School.

Bridges Out of Poverty is a community training that is offered to business owners, resource providers, local government officials, religious communities, educational staff and anyone looking to learn more on how to help the poverty situation in their community. The workshop is a comprehensive approach to understanding poverty and generational poverty. Bridges Out of Poverty uses the lens of economic class and provides concrete tools and strategies for a community to alleviate poverty. This particular event was attended mostly by teachers and staff in the Fairfield Community School District, since it was their professional development day.

The event was divided into two parts, a morning session and an afternoon session. In the morning, participants filled the FHS Auditorium to listen to Vern Reed, a Bridges Out of Poverty consultant and an at-risk coordinator in the Ottumwa Community School District. His talk was based on lessons contained in the book 'Bridges Out of Poverty,” published in 1999. In the afternoon, participants divided into small groups where a leader talked to them about a specific subject.

Jefferson County resident Dee Sandquist was one of the main instigators of the event. Bridges Out of Poverty grew out of the Hunger Dialogues that she started in 2016, a series of meetings that sought to address hunger in the area. Sandquist had heard Reed speak on issues relating to poverty three times before, and felt that he would be the perfect guest speaker to educate local residents on the subject.

'He's real. He's experienced this firsthand as a teacher and as a coach,” Sandquist said, referring to Reed's background as a teacher at West Burlington and Ottumwa. 'The first time I heard him speak, he talked about a six-year high school graduate. Through the support of the school district, he was able to graduate and become an assistant manager at a convenience store.”

Sandquist spoke to Fairfield School District Curriculum Director Chuck Benge a year ago about her desire to bring Reed to Fairfield, and to involve the school district. Benge said he would ask the teachers in the fall of 2019 if they'd like to make Bridges Out of Poverty one of their professional development days, and they did.

Sandquist also got sponsorships from other organizations such as Fairfield Economic Development Association.

'I spoke to [FEDA Director] Josh Laraby because we have a workforce shortage, and at the same time there are people who lack the skills necessary to work,” Sandquist said. 'We need workers with the appropriate soft skills like showing up on time, dressing up, using the right language and passing a drug test.”

Sandquist said people who grow up in generational poverty - families that have been poor for generations - look at the world differently from those who did not. This was one of the points that Reed made during his talk, too. He said those who grow up in poverty focus on relationships. Those who grow up middle class develop their own mental model, centered on achievement. Those who grow up wealthy focus on connections.

Sandquist said she's talked to people about poverty, and she's gotten the response, 'That's what the Lord's Cupboard is for,” referring to the town's food pantry.

'That's not treating the root cause of poverty, just a symptom,” she said. 'I tell people that what we've been doing hasn't been working. We need to help [low-income people] get beyond just surviving.”

During his talk, Reed spoke about what some communities have done to address the problem. One of them is to host training programs. The catch is that there need to be incentives to get people to attend these classes. The most common incentives were gas cards and providing child care. Sandquist said that large employers can host the trainings as well, removing yet another obstacle for people with limited transportation.

'When we talk about offering these ‘classes,' we really mean more of a dialogue,” Sandquist said. 'Some communities have offered meals at them, and have even gotten a grant to pay for them.”

Fairfield High School Principal Brian Stone said he enjoyed Reed's talk, which brought up different avenues the district can build relationships with its students, and to get a better sense of the challenges they face on a daily basis.

'Mr. Benge spearheaded this as director of curriculum, and he did a great job,” Stone said. 'I heard nothing but good things about the breakout sessions in the afternoon.”

One of those breakout sessions was led by Brian Simmons, a mental health counselor at River Hills Community Health Center in Ottumwa. He was asked to speak to the teachers, staff and other participants about suicide. He spoke about trainings that anyone can sign up for through a company called Living Works about how to help someone contemplating suicide.

'It helps you get over your own fear of approaching someone to talk about suicide, and debunks the most common myths, such as the idea that mentioning suicide to someone will make them even more likely to commit it,” Simmons said. 'The initial connection in talking to that person is simpler than people realize. At least you're able to identify the problem, do what you can, and turn it over to a professional if it becomes too imminent or serious.”

The organizations that sponsored Monday's workshop were Pathfinders RC & D, Jefferson County Public Health, Fairfield Economic Development Association, Fairfield Community School District, Indian Hills and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.