United Way Women's Leadership Council of La Porte County has been working to inspire women to make a difference in their communities since 2004. Their goal is to bring about positive change in their communities through philanthropy and service. On November 6, the organization took another step in doing so by unveiling a philanthropic initiative to combat poverty in La Porte County.
Members Sharon Wright, Alexis Pontius, Diana Gore, and Bobbi Petru gave an informative presentation on the problems of poverty in La Porte County and how it affects not only those struggling under the poverty level, but the community as a whole.
Astonishing statistics show that one in three families in La Porte County is living in poverty. It affects 32.1% of individuals, 26.2% of children under 18, and 46.3% of children under the age of 5. The mission of the Women's Leadership Council is to change the way we think of poverty and how we can help to reduce it. But not only do they want to change the way the middle class sees poverty, but those in poverty as well.
The council has the vision to act as a catalyst to change the view by thinking of it as an economic development issue. According to the council, changing the view of poverty can help prevent poverty, alleviate suffering, aid in the transition to economic stability, and address structures in the community.
The first step is to change the mentality of how poverty is interpreted so as not to manage it but to transition out of poverty. A program called "Bridges Out of Poverty" is being implemented to begin this transition. The council stated that this program has been used in several other communities, not only in Northwest Indiana, but nationally. Two programs have been scheduled to present the public. There is a stakeholders meeting scheduled for December 10, to introduce the planned initiative. Stakeholders would be anyone interested in taking a hands-on approach to this mission. A second meeting is scheduled for January 23. This would be a training session for the program. There will be guest presenters from Northwest Indiana and the nation who have implemented the "Bridges Out of Poverty" campaign. Both meetings will take place at the Northern Indiana Education Foundation (NIEF) at 402 Franklin Street in Michigan City.
For more information on the "Bridges Out of Poverty" program, or the Women's Leadership Council of United Way, go to www.unitedwaylpc.org/womensleadershipcouncil