Group fighting poverty gathers

from The Brattleboro Reformer

By PAUL H. HEINTZ, Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO -- Community members working to combat poverty in Windham County are coming together tonight to celebrate the work they have done thus far, to share ideas with one another and to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The project, called "Thriving Communities" and sponsored by the Alliance for Building Community, was launched in October with a forum that drew scores of people concerned about poverty's impact on the region.

"There's a lot of work to be done, but when I reflect back on the progress we have made and the number of people participating in the action groups, it's very heartening," said ABC spokeswoman Diana Wahle, who has facilitated the events.

Following the October forum, participants met again in December to form an action plan, and they broke into four groups that have begun meeting regularly to tackle issues ranging from government advocacy to meeting "urgent needs."

"This is a chance for these action groups to come together and learn from one another. The Alliance for Building Communities sees itself as the hub or connecting link between these groups," Wahle said.

Greg Moschetti, a facilitator of the economic development group, said his committee is working to "develop some kind of business incubator that would be especially focused on bringing people into the work force who are having trouble getting into or staying in the in the work force, or people who are underemployed and moving them up to the next level."

Maggie Bartenhagen, who is co-facilitating a group focusing on mentoring for job skills and life skills said, "We are all aware this is a sprint, not a marathon, and that we need to pace ourselves and bite off reasonable, realistic chunks of this very large problem."

"I think this is an issue that concerns people more as we go forward now because the issue of homelessness in the Brattleboro area is really a great concern to people in the interfaith community," she said.

The event will take place at St. Michael's School from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and will include a potluck dinner. After eating together and working in the smaller groups, there will be a group discussion and a "closing circle" with inspirational words from King.

Wahle is encouraging those who have not yet taken part in Thriving Communities but are interested in helping to tackle poverty to come to the event and get involved.

"While there are people who have been part of this process since its inception, it is still an open invitation to the public to participate," she said. "None of these groups have worked on so much that they cannot take on more members."