MANSFIELD — Seven Richland County organizations gathered with community members Wednesday night to discuss poverty and housing issues facing the region.
Kaleidoscope: Continuing the Conversation was hosted by the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library on Wednesday evening — an extension of last week’s Kaleidoscope Community Conversations with author Matthew Desmond.
The 90-minute event aimed to keep Desmond’s conversation about poverty and housing insecurity alive within Richland County.
A panel of seven representatives from around Richland County began the evening by sharing information from their respective organizations and their offered services.
Organizations in attendance included Catholic Charities, OhioHealth, Third Street Family Health Services, Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority, Wayfinders, the Domestic Violence Shelter and Habitat for Humanity.
Continuing the conversation
Kaleidoscope Community Conversations aims to bring together thought leaders, innovators and changemakers to engage in meaningful dialogue on pressing social issues.
Chris May, MRCPL director, said Wednesday’s event provided a chance to learn about local organizations and resources related to poverty and housing.
“What we wanted to put together was just an opportunity for everyone to hear about some of the organizations in our community who are doing great things around issues related to poverty,” he said.
Each organization represented Wednesday addresses poverty and housing insecurity in Richland County through a variety of efforts and resources.
As panelists took turns presenting, a clear theme emerged — partnerships and collaboration are vital when addressing social issues at all levels.
Sarah Metzger from the Domestic Violence Shelter explained how survivors facing poverty and housing insecurities often create an intersection among the separate organizations.
“The Domestic Violence Shelter can be an intersection of all of these organizations coming together and the issues that the survivors might be facing,” she said.
Additional panelists shared similar examples of how these issues often lead to conversations and referrals among each other.
Blockers to ‘abolishing’ poverty
Following presentations from each organization, those in attendance were given a chance to ask questions. The first question inspired a conversation which continued until the event’s conclusion — what are the biggest “blockers” to “abolishing” poverty?
Panelists had an opportunity to share an answer prior to small group discussions.
Aubri Them, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Richland and Crawford Counties, noted that education and financial literacy are two frequent obstacles.
“I think education is a huge piece of it for us, in terms of Habitat (for Humanity) and what we do in our little corner of this affordable housing space,” she said. “The financial literacy piece is so crucial and it’s something that lacks.
“I think really kind of beefing up the education that surrounds affordable housing and the struggles that we’re all kind of facing in that way is really helpful.”
‘It’s not enough just to say statistics’
Following Them, Metzger added a lack of community awareness regarding these issues can also be a barrier to change.
“Education goes right with awareness,” she said. “This event is a huge step in that direction — but I just don’t think many people realize how severe some of the needs in our community can be.
“It’s not enough just to say statistics … I think just being willing to talk about these not-so-glamorous topics is a huge step in the right direction.”
After each panelist had a chance to address “blockers” to decreasing poverty and housing insecurity, those in attendance worked in small groups with the speakers to brainstorm what can be done locally to address the issues.
Groups recorded their thoughts and ideas on sticky notes, which were displayed on large pieces of paper around the MRCPL Community Room. Images of their thoughts and ideas are included below.
The next Kaleidoscope event features Amanda Ripley, a New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist. Her research focuses on healthy conflict resolution.
Tickets for the Aug. 29 event are available at a pay-what-you-can model.
The Kaleidoscope Series event is made possible by the support of sponsors including the Richland County Foundation, Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, Renaissance Performing Arts Association and Richland Source.
(More images from Kaleidoscope: Continuing the Conversation, which was hosted by the MRCPL on Wednesday evening.)
