I am an AmeriCorps VISTA. An acronym that stands for Volunteers In Service To America, AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program with the aim of fighting poverty. Members of the program commit to serve in local community organizations for a year working to expand and strengthen programs designed to bring individuals and those communities out of poverty. (1) John F. Kennedy originated the idea for a service program focused on fighting poverty and in 1965 Lyndon Johnson created a domestic version of the Peace Corps resulting in the AmeriCorps program. In his first State of the Union Address, Johnson declared the War on Poverty stating, “It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until the war is won.” (2) Programs such as Head Start, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formally known as Food Stamps), and work study were such victories that came from this battle; however, it is fair to say that the war on poverty and equality has not yet been won. While poverty rates have decreased since Johnson delivered his speech (decreasing to a low of 22.9 million individuals in 1973), they are higher than ever before, reaching 46.2 million in 2010. (3)

Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. (4) In the United States, official poverty rates are issued each year by the Census Bureau. In 2010, the poverty rate for a family of four was set at just over 22K. (5) However, the face of poverty does not lie in definitions or numbers, but it exists in our communities, our neighborhoods and in many cases, our own families. Growing up in a lower-middle class family (whose parents both work for the United States Postal Service), I have experienced some minor inequalities. Knowing this injustice of disparity has driven me to join the war against the cyclical ailment of poverty and the system that imposes it; meeting the faces behind the casualties of our losing battle.

As an AmeriCorps VISTA, I have lived at the poverty level (a requirement of service) in two communities (not originally my own) serving in organizations that focus on education as a bridge out of poverty. My first position (in Tucson, Arizona at the University of Arizona) exposed poverty rates unknown to my pleasant and (needless to say) less than diverse upbringing in rural northern Wisconsin. In 2010, Arizona ranked among the top five states with the highest poverty levels. (6) My second term, here in Maine, also involved the forefront of a population experiencing high levels of poverty. Although many think of (with appropriate support) Maine as the whitest state in America, it is also one of the leading states in refugee resettlement. Populations within the state represent over 25 different countries. (7)  (If you are unfamiliar with refugee resettlement in Maine, please click the footnote to learn more!) While diversity, and the acceptance of that diversity in Maine, is (in my opinion) refreshing, there are still many barriers being faced by these new populations that can push them into the cyclical system of poverty.

Working at the University of Southern Maine in the Office of Community Service Learning as a program coordinator for after-school programs, I define myself outside of these titles as simply someone who seeks to end poverty. If you too believe in equality and are ready to take practical action in your community, please become an AmeriCorps member, serve at a local after school-program in Portland, or simply learn more about poverty in our nation. For further inspiration stay tuned for my next post highlighting one of your fellow USM students who fights poverty by dedicating his time to a local educational program.

Footnotes-

1. http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/vista.asp
2. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1589660
3. http://npc.umich.edu/poverty/#3
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty
5. http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparebar.jsp?typ=2&ind=6&cat=1&sub=1&cha=15&o=a
6. http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2011/09/arizona-poverty-levels-among-highest-in-nation-census-figures-show/
7. http://www.ccmaine.org/refugee-immigration-services/facts