New initiative brings ‘poverty to prosperity’

Posted 8/21/12

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — A new initiative has been undertaken by the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission. The aim of DIALOGUE2CHANGE is to create a community dialogue with the goal of bringing …

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New initiative brings ‘poverty to prosperity’

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SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — A new initiative has been undertaken by the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission. The aim of DIALOGUE2CHANGE is to create a community dialogue with the goal of bringing citizens out of poverty, partnering with 20 community organizations.

It was developed under the guidance of Everday Democracy, a Connecticut-based foundation with 25 years of experience in putting on such workshop-based programs. The commission will receive funding from Sullivan County Division of Planning and Environmental Management’s Small Grants Program.

Sullivan County has been struggling with poverty for a long time. According to the 2010 census, 14.8% of people are in poverty. This initiative was created in part because of problems that came up one year ago within the Sullivan County Department of Family Services. Judy Balaban, chair of the Human Rights Commission, said the department is supposed to foster a community of respect and to field complaints, but the people who needed those services were treated like they were “less than.”

The goal of DIALOGUE2CHANGE is to bring a diversity of citizens together to listen respectfully, to explore the assets and challenges that exist in their communities and to develop workable ways of addressing poverty. This will be done through community outreach workshops held in all nine legislative districts of the county. These workshops will be led by volunteer facilitators who have been trained to create a safe environment where everyone can speak freely and deal with conflict in a respectful manner.

The organization hopes to reach people who are not typically heard, allowing all voices in need to be acknowledged. They want people from all walks of life to come together and share their stories, their resources and their solutions. There will be two to three facilitators per district, and about 15 participants per district. If you would like to participate, contact the Human Rights Commission and fill out an interest form.

Balaban said the meetings are “the process of taking a look at what poverty looks like to people. It looks different to different people, especially in a county that’s so diverse.” From these meetings, action plans will be created and carried out in future meetings. These dialogues will also increase the awareness of present programs that are available throughout the county and encourage communities to connect with these services.

They will hold the dialogues in May through June, and a planning meeting will be held in July to review action plans and begin implementation of agreed upon strategies. Dialogue groups will be encouraged to address many issues, including racism, gangs and police/community relations.

Poverty affects everyone. “It’s a problem we share,” Balaban said. “We see it from different sides.”

The River Reporter will continue to follow this story.

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