Leaders call Summit on Poverty a step for change

from The Fort Worth Star Telegram

By TRACI SHURLEY
tshurley@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — Ideas to help Tarrant County residents pull themselves out of poverty hit the table Thursday as about 100 social service providers met at the Tarrant County Public Health’s facility for a Summit on Poverty.

The event, hosted by the recently formed Tarrant Coalition Against Poverty, is an initial step toward coming up with a strategic plan for change, organizers said. The meeting’s afternoon sessions focused on literacy and ways to increase residents’ financial stability. Speakers included representatives from a Tarrant County credit union and the Internal Revenue Service.

Ideas included increasing publicity about tax breaks like the earned-income tax credits and starting individual development account programs, in which nonprofits can use government or private funds to match their clients’ savings.

Nancy Dahle, an administrator from Foundation Communities, said some low-income people need incentives to sock away even a little money. Saving is difficult, and they sometimes haven’t seen the benefits firsthand, she said.

“It’s just not part of their lifestyle,” Dahle said. “It’s never been a habit. Their parents didn’t save. Their parents didn’t own a home.”

Foundation Communities is an Austin-based nonprofit that runs affordable housing communities, including two apartment complexes in Arlington.

The next meeting of the Tarrant Coalition Against Poverty will be Wednesday. For information call Lylette Pharr at 817-332-9177