| Generational poverty shock and awe in Pickens County |
 |
 |
"We all pay a price for poverty in our community"
By Barbara Schneider bschneider@bigcanoenews.com Don Russell shared some shocking statistics with Big Canoe’s Community Relations Committee to provide insight into the lives and needs of Pickens County’s disadvantaged residents. Russell, chairman of the Pickens County Community Resource Association (PCCRA) and founder of the Thrift Store, has been tireless in his more than 10-year effort to improve life for the community’s poor. His purpose at the CRC’s October 2009 meeting was to explain how pervasive poverty destroys lives—and why that loss affects the greater community. In a calm voice Russell threw out numbers that told a startling story:
The youngest are hit the hardest. Russell’s data painted a grim picture of student poverty above 17 percent, teenage pregnancies, child abuse, juvenile crime, drug and alcohol abuse in high school—and violence. Cultural generational poverty Cultural generational poverty, Russell said, is to blame for what has become a family tradition of poverty in Appalachia. Several thousand Pickens County residents remain in deep poverty year after year, generation after generation because of the lack of education and life skills, high drop out rates and pregnancy rate among 14+ year-olds. Children born into this culture have no expectation for their future. Typically, Russell says, there is no strong father figure or male role model. Instead, often the mother has a series of temporary boy friends. Kids aren’t encouraged to reach for the stars or much else. Childhood is stark, without hopes or dreams for a different future. No one reads to the kids, builds model airplanes or takes road trips to scout out colleges. “One 16-year old’s father burned his school books and told him to get a job, instead of studying,” said Russell. “For a child who wants more out of life, it’s like trying to move for forward with a ball and chain tied to his leg.” Appalachian culture traces its history back 1,000 years to Scotch/Irish roots and clans that defied authority for centuries, said Russell. “These people are like the tribes depicted in “Braveheart” who were born into fighting families. Religion and the concept of predestination also had a great influence on the culture, said Russell. If a child is taught to believe his future is already determined—predestined—what chance is there to change it or improve his life? Why go to school or learn a skill if the future is set? How do you change a mindset that has been engrained in family traditions for a thousand years? Most people want what’s best for their children, to see them take advantage of opportunities, to learn a trade or make a better life. That’s not the case with the families mired in generational poverty, says Russell. “If their children were educated they would leave and then the families would lose control over them.” That is the crux of the problem, the “hook” that often keeps kids tied to dysfunctional families rather than pursuing a better future. These are the “shock and awe” issues many in the volunteer community struggle with in their efforts to break the cycle of poverty and abuse in Pickens County. The needs are great. “Around 200 families a week come in to the Thrift Store and get free clothes,” he says. “Piedmont Mountainside Hospital provided more than $4.5 million in uncompensated care in 2009.” This isn’t “somebody else’s problem,” Russell points out. “We all pay a price for poverty in our community. If one child drops out of high school, the cost to society is $500,000. If that child gets on drugs, add another $250,000. If that child goes to prison, add up to another $1.5 million.” What’s being done to help? In 2000, a group of six or seven people got together to brainstorm ways to help Pickens’ residents. The group put together a list of 21 services the community needed to help less fortunate citizens. Items ranged from transportation, medical and family services, to aftercare for people in transition and life-enriching services. The first Thrift Store was founded to generate funds for these 21 necessary but costly projects. The store opened its doors in Jasper in March 2000. By the end of the year the Thrift Store had given $41,000 in grants to the community. By 2009, $2 million had been given. Today there are more than 40 organizations that together create the Community of Care, a network of services and support to help Pickens’ most needy residents. Organizations like the Joy House, CARES, Habitat for Humanity, ACES, Boys & Girls Club, Resource Center, Georgia Mountain Hospice and the homeless shelter use the grants to provide diverse and much needed services. As an example, the Community Resource Center, founded by the PCCRA, helps people find solutions to many issues through GED training, job skills evaluation, and job hunting. Russell points to Prevent Child Abuse Pickens, a support service that teaches new mothers—some barely more than children themselves—how to care for their babies. Headstart and Pre-K programs are vital in reaching children by age three. These programs provide children with at least one nutritious meal a day and introduce them to reading, games, playing together and some basic social skills. They also offer a safe place for children who might have been left unattended by a mother at work. Russell hopes a secure beginning and exposure to programs like Headstart will encourage children to go to school and complete their education. He quotes a Pickens truant officer who once told him, “I can tell you every child who’s going to drop out of school by the time that child is in second grade.” Volunteers make the difference What is Russell’s message to our community? “To those that much is given much is expected.” “There is more that can be done through our community . . . when you realize the need,” said Preston Foster, a CRC member and dedicated volunteer. Preston wants to encourage people to run for school board, to find the right people to challenge the status quo. Volunteers and donations are always needed. Volunteers are the heartbeat of a caring community. It takes 150 volunteers a month—many from Big Canoe—to keep the Thrift Store running. |
| Big Canoe Living Photo Gallery March 2010 |
 |
| Amicalola Deer Park ... |
Resources
| Share Your Opinion |
| Subscribe to E-mail News |
| Contact Us |
| Search Recent Articles |
| Archives May '01-Feb '07 |
| Copy Instructions |
| Site Map |
Our Weather
|
Marble Hill, GA
|
|||||||
 |
|
||||||
|
 E
|
||||||
| Show more details | |||||||
|
Provided by:
 |
|||||||
A Tennis Committee update to the tennis community.
...
This year is the fifth anniversary of bocce in Big Canoe
...
The fun begins in earnest with opening day – March 20
...
Get in the "swing" for 2010 with MGA and WGA—and the Jr. Golf Camps
...
The greens are unreal; they are fast, they are undulating and they are severe.
...
Come join the fun and learn bocce ball basics at boot camp!
...
Just how do we increase our good HDL cholesterol levels? Aerobic exercise helps.
...
"We all know the combination of excitement and dread that the pre-season tends to arouse"
...
Each year brings changes and transitions. 2009 was no exception.
...