Leader decries poverty, calls for summit

from The Brunswick News

By BRANDEE A. THOMAS

The Brunswick News

Seeing is believing – a truism the Rev. Ken Adkins takes close to heart.

There's poverty in Brunswick, a lot of it, and he wants everyone from the governor on down to see it first-hand and offer solutions for helping individuals and families out of the clutches of economic despair.

It's the goal Adkins has in mind for the War on Poverty Summit he and others are planning for early February in Brunswick.

"We want to call attention to the situation," Adkins said. "We've invited the movers and shakers of the state."

Movers and shakers like Gov. Sonny Perdue, as well as other state and community leaders.

Adkins would like for leaders like Perdue to ponder Brunswick's problems the same way they pondered the problems of Jekyll Island, where the state is now proposing a $441 million revitalization plan.

"We believe (Perdue) has the power to look at the issues and help put together some strategies and programs to create solutions," said Adkins, pastor of First Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It has to do with more than just rescuing people from poverty. There's also a question of public safety.

Like thunder and lightning, poverty and crime tend to go hand in hand, Adkins said. When one takes up residence, the other generally isn't too far behind.

Adkins ought to know. He sees it every day from his church, across the street from McIntyre Court Apartments, one of the larger low income housing projects in Brunswick.

Adkins says he has seen the effects poverty can have on a neighborhood. In 2007 alone, McIntyre Court was the scene of a murder, a shooting, and multiple assaults and robberies.

Don't get the wrong idea, he quickly adds.

"Everyone who is poor isn't a bad person," Adkins said. "A lot of people have indicated to me that they've been working in their jobs for many years but they still aren't making any money.

"Knowledge is power and we want to put people in a room with the state's leaders where they can get information to help take their lives to the next level. This isn't about giving them a hand out; it's about giving them a hand up."

The summit, planned for 6 p.m. Feb. 4, will follow a very concise format. A speaker will define poverty and another will discuss the affects of poverty on education and neighborhoods. There will also be a question and answer period.

Although the event's organizers are looking to political leaders for solutions to help Glynn County's poorer citizens, they are also looking to citizens themselves to work on their own solutions.

"We are expecting residents to come and listen to what is being said and to also take personal responsibility for pulling themselves out of the doldrums of poverty," Adkins said. "What that means is they need to get an education and make sure their children get an education, too.

"It's also about not making decisions like having five kids when you know you can't afford it."

Although Perdue and others will be invited to the summit, there is no guarantee that they will attend, he said.