Anti-Poverty Work

Poverty is a complex problem. Counting the number of families that fall below a certain level of income may give some rough sense of the size of the problem, but it helps us very little in our efforts to understand or confront our willingness to tolerate huge disparities between the “haves” and the “have-nots” of our society.   The experience of poverty isn’t just about lack of money.  It is about stigmatization, alienation and hopelessness.  It is about race and disability, age and gender.   The negative effects of poverty are devastating. The pathways that people take into and out of poverty are diverse, as are the experiences they have while living in poverty.  For these reasons, poverty is truly a problem that requires a comprehensive, multifaceted and coordinated response.

TNC frequently works with people and organizations that are attempting to attack the problem of poverty.   We help people understand and interpret data about the causes and consequences of poverty, and we help to gauge the success of new and creative ideas for action.  Wherever possible, we try to support those living with low incomes to participate actively in the development of solutions.