Bridges Out of Poverty Conference- Toledo

What an informative two days!

The keynote speaker was Ruby Payne, author of Bridges Out of Poverty.

Her topic covered the Autonomic Nervous System and its response to trauma.  People experiencing poverty experience trauma.  Workshops I attended included “Economic Development that Benefits Everyone: Poverty Reduction is a Key Strategy”, “Deepening Your Impact:  Beating Poverty with a Two-Generational Approach” and “Collective Community Impact with 100% Community Model”.  We also toured a renovated high school that houses over 200 unsheltered men and women while empowering residents by teaching job skills, interview coaching, and providing healthcare services to name a few.  What we learned was that poverty can be addressed in our communities in healthy, productive ways.  The bottom line is, we all benefit when this happens.