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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 15:10 |
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 Paul Vukelic
President-COO
Try-it Distributing Now that a week has passed since our involvement with the
Poverty Challenge, I have had some time to reflect on those two days living on
about $13.00 a day as a family. From a awareness standpoint, I received many
call and emails acknowledging mine and my family’s participation. In
fact, I had one of my brothers tell me he received a call from a friend who
along with a bunch of friends were backing me for Mayor of Buffalo. For some
reason, based on my participation, there was a rumor I was running for office.
Other calls congratulated us for bringing attention to our poverty issues here
in Buffalo . I
will based on all the calls I received invite my friends to participate in next
years challenge thus expanding the scope of the Challenge.
We do plan on getting together as a family and talk about
our overall experiences and next steps. With what we have learned about poverty
and our two day experience, what can we do every day to somehow make a
difference? Are there specific actions we can take that will help in dealing
with poverty? Do we change the way we purchase certain goods? I can tell you, I
will think harder about what and how much food I bring home every week. We
simply throw away too much left over and spoiled food on a weekly basis. We
also eat out and take out more than we need to.
One thing is for sure, this year’s Challenge has left
a lasting impression on me. I find myself thinking back to those two days and
what it must be like to endure such a struggle every day. I hope to take this
awareness to a higher level, whatever that is. I am open now to accepting
whatever that may be.
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 16:10 |
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 Sr. Sharon Goodremote, FSSJ
Public Policy Coordinator
Catholic Charities
Today I gave a presentation to new employees at Catholic Charities on poverty - I gave it feeling very hungry and with low energy. My energy is even lower as I write this. Because I took the car to work because of the placement of the presentation, I only had an apple for lunch. By the time I got back to my office, I was hungry-even after I ate the apple. A friend at work was thoughtful and shared her soup with me. At first I wasn't sure if this was in the spirit of the challenge, but then I realized - friends help people out when they live in poverty. Also, while I was eating the soup I truly enjoyed every spoonful and loved that there was vegetables in it and I was soooo grateful for the soup. I remember seeing gratitude in the eyes of many people who live in poverty when you give them the simplest necessity of life - like soup. Now I know why their gratitude is so strong.
Giving soup and food etc. do help people living in poverty because it significantly changes the immediate situation. But what we need are systems of education, job training and assistance that truly respect the dignity of the person. All levels of society: government, non-profit service agencies, faith groups, business, education and so many more groups need to talk openly, honestly and with each other about how to end poverty. It may be complicated and hard, but we can and must do it. It is unacceptable that children go to bed hungry every night in WNY. |
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Hunger and How to Address Poverty |
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 13:59 |
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Paul Vukelic
President-COO
Try-it Distributing
After dropping my car off at the house so my son could use for his
evening function, I was picked up by a co-worker so that I could attend a
Buffalo-Niagara Partnership function. In the spirit of the Challenge, I chose
only to drink water where there were tables of food and two full bars. For the
most part, all I could think about was how hungry I was and how I really could
not wait and have my pasta with plain tomato sauce and bread dinner. I also
could not help but think what would happen to all the left over food once the
function ended. The mountain of gigantic strawberries & rice crispy treats
from the Melting Pot restaurant table come to mind. Do they reuse this food, or
is it thrown out? Is a local food kitchen ever considered by local restaurants
and caterers when they have large amounts of leftover food? How can we as a
community educate and create awareness for the poor and their great needs? I
certainly do not pretend to have any answers other than I would like to be a
part of a possible solution going forward. It is easy to throw money at the
poverty issue through various fundraisers, but what really needs to happen is a
community-wide conversation between many parties to address jobs, homelessness,
poverty, living wages, and an array of justice issues. There is no quick fix,
or wave of a magic wand that will solve this problem. The conversation however
needs to take place with many area leaders who have a stake in this community. |
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 10:36 |
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 The Vukelic Family
By Amy Vossen-Vukelic
Yesterday morning, I wished that the Poverty Challenge could last for
five days, so our family would really have the opportunity to get angry
enough about poverty, and work to end it. By 4 PM, I was extremely grateful
that today is the last day, because they are angry enough already! :) Living on
this budget has genuinely changed our spirits in two days. As short as
fuses have been, last night I realized that life is good, too. Erin mentions the
game she started playing while we were making dinner. To me, she was trying to
make the best of a hard situation, and we really did have a good laugh. Then
two, then three. Sure, we understood that this is a serious issue, and that she
was right to question everything. How nice that poverty does not have to rob us
of our joy. It takes a lot of work to keep it, though. We gave up
television and cell phones yesterday, which Emma mentions in her entry. How nice
for me to walk in from work (an hour late because a meeting went long, and then
I had to walk home), and hear silence. Because they had nothing better to do,
these two teenage girls helped with dinner unsolicited. With some food in their
bellies, they were even giggly and funny. After dinner, one word quickly
escalated into an argument between them. We had no reserves to stay calm in the
conflict, and that ended the moment. Ordinarily, I can keep my cool and maintain
some respect. Not so, last night. I got up and left the room, no help at
all. We heard news of a good friend's serious illness yesterday. The loss
of one friend took its toll on my already reduced attention-span and energy
level. Then I remembered something from a memorial service last year for all
those who were killed in the city of Buffalo. The speaker, a 19-year old,
tearfully said that he knew four people who were on the list of names. Where
would I ever get energy to rightfully grieve four good friends in one year if I
continued to stay on this budget??? My mind then took me to all of the
choices that are taken away for people of poverty, including their choice of
neighborhoods. As cranky as we have become in our household, I can just imagine
how impatient I would be, given even one more day. I wonder if I would stop
smiling at passersby, at work, or to my own family in a year? As wordy as
this entry is, it could be pages longer with all of the adverse effects of
poverty that I have realized (again) in these last few days. Thanks for
reading.
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Not "Pretending to be Poor" |
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Thursday, 04 June 2009 11:50 |
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The Vukelic Family
By Amy Vossen-Vukelic
Last night, as we talked about the conversation we need to have that allows
for that all important reflective piece of our experience, we each agreed to
post our last blog entry. We will use those as the springboard to discuss, as a
family, what we are called to do about the poverty epidemic that is hitting our
city, just to start. This morning, back to my morning routine, where I am
able to listen to music that feeds my spirit, I hear myself reflecting on our
directive to stay away from the idea that we are "pretending to be
poor." We certainly did not pretend to be poor here, and we certainly can
never pretend to know what it is really like to be poor. I also can no longer
pretend that my one voice is unimportant or insignificant, that I need to speak
up about our responsibility to do our part in ending poverty. I find myself
promising to no longer worry what others think when I ask if something is a
necessity or a luxury, most importantly the five people I call husband, sons,
and daughters. I also can no longer quietly consider "the least among
us" in my decisions or actions, that I need to add that piece
publicly. Thankfully, our family has been called to a city street that
does not allow us to pretend that poverty is imagined, nothing to concern
ourselves about, or easily forgotten. We could easily shut our doors to the
sight. My strong hope is that our common experience will encourage us and call
us to keep our eyes and ears open to being part of the solution. When
asked if he ever gets discouraged in his efforts, Jim Keady, an activist who is
working to create awareness about the inhumane working conditions in sweat shops
(most notably Nike), answers that he knows movements take decades, years,
sometimes centuries to end. His actions spring from the human stories he hears
firsthand from the factory workers. Our efforts to end poverty need to be same:
we need to enter into people's stories, for they are the ones for whom we will
find the energy and perseverance. I am grateful for the opportunity to
understand, just a little bit more, about the struggling, blank faces I see in
our neighborhood (as well as those I see in the Catholic Charities Central
Intake each day), and to keep them with me, wherever I am privileged and blessed
enough to go. |
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 16:05 |
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 Michael P. Kearns
Councilmember, South District
City of Buffalo
One of the most common symptoms of poverty is a lack of steady employment. Searching for and applying for available jobs are necessary treatments for this symptom. Unfortunately for many of our City’s unemployed population, the job search process is difficult at best and impossible at worst. Because a growing number of employers are recruiting exclusively via electronic media, many unemployed and low-income individuals—those who have the highest demand for job information—have limited or no access to the resources required in finding the employment they so desperately desire.
Today I needed access to the Internet to perform a few of my duties as a Council Member. I traveled to the Cazenovia Resource Center in South Buffalo, and what I saw was inspiring. At the facility, a former Erie County library now operated through my office as a community center, every public computer in the building was in use. People without access to this technology in their homes were enjoying it free of charge in a once-vacant building that has been creatively reused by a number of community partners.
While at Caz I had the opportunity to chat with a woman who was at a computer near the library’s reference section. She told me that she and many others use the facility’s Internet access on a daily basis to search and apply for jobs. She indicated that, without the vital resources available at the community center, she would have far less hope of succeeding in her job search than what is currently an optimistic outlook.
In addition to computers, Internet access, books, and various programming, the Resource Center hosts a full time WNY AmeriCorps VISTA member who assists job seekers with resume writing. The VISTA member also regularly posts tips and educational materials on a job board featured at the front of the library.
Although I visit the Cazenovia Resource Center quite often, I am grateful for having had the chance to attend as a patron, rather than an observer. I feel that it is crucial for the essential services provided to the patrons at Caz to be supplied ubiquitously throughout the City. We must do what we can to make equal the opportunities available to all of our citizens. |
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 11:52 |
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 Justin Azzarella
Executive Director
Elmwood Village Association
First, let me say that I am famished. I mean
really, really, really hungry. I’m so hungry that I’m having a hard time
focusing on work and even writing this email is difficult. My mind keeps
floating back to being hungry. I can imagine that after a few more days
of this I’d start getting short with friends, family, and coworkers.
Living in poverty is definitely affecting my productivity and ability to
work at a high level.
Some of the perceptions I’ve heard about people who
are poor include;
Those people need to get a job They don’t even try to help themselves It must be easy to have a free ride from the
government Why don’t they just go to school and get an
education All poor people are mentally ill All poor people are alcoholics They just keep popping out babies so they’ll
get more assistance from the government Poor people are lazy Poor minorities need to “raise themselves up”
and stop asking for the governments help. It’s “reverse”
discrimination (this one makes my head explode when I hear it!)
General stereotypes and perceptions of those in
poverty are definitely not fair! I think many of them come from simply
not knowing how the “other half” live.
It’s very easy to lose touch with people in your life
when you’re living in poverty. Without my cell phone and constant texting
I’m completely out of the loop socially. I can see how family safety nets
quickly erode when you’re poor. It’s difficult to stay in touch and there
is a negative stigma to having a family member that is living in poverty and/or
homeless. I can directly attribute the majority of my successes in life
to having a wonderful network of family and friends to rely on and help me
through challenging moments. Creating stability must be nearly
impossible.
Racism and xenophobia also play huge roles in the
challenges of poverty. I’ve overheard some people with rental properties
say , “I won’t rent to those people on Section 8 housing assistance” knowing
that to them Section 8 means Black and poor. Housing opportunities and
the ability to choose to live in a desirable neighborhood in Western New York
are difficult when you’re poor and more negatively compounded when you’re also
a minority, or have dependent children, and so on and so on.
After participating in the challenge I feel like
the only way to get people to change their attitudes is to take them through an
exercise like this. It seems like a perfect fit for NYS high school
curriculum. Why not have the Challenge be part of a Government &
Economics course? Maybe this would help generations that follow us to
better understand and sympathize with those living in poverty? |
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 09:34 |
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The Vukelic Family
By Emma Vukelic, Age 15
A
challenge that was difficult for me today was the amount of money we
had for meals. i usually consume a lot of food in one day without even
thinking about the cost. I can only imagine how much my dad spends on
the amount of food he buys each week for a family of six. i've never
looked at the situation as a complete luxury. But because of today and
last year's challenge, I've realized that a lot of people have a hard
time even saving money for a dinner! Today, I didn't have anything for
breakfast. for lunch, i had a peanut butter sandwhich and an apple.Not
much compared to what evryone else was eating at my luch table. Of
course the day i can't buy luch it's a taco bar day, but I survived. At
the end of the day, my friend Jordi told me that tonight we were going
to have our weekly phone conversation! We don't have a lot of classes
together so it's nice to talk with her about what has been happening in
the past week. when she asked, i told her that she had to write her
cell phone number on my palm so i could call her from my house phone.
She was surprised and told me, "I haven't done this in a while!"
Usually people just whip out their phones and keep the numbers stored
on their phone! After school, since we only used one car for the day,
my dad was picking me up from high school. Usually he calls me when
he's right outside and i get homework while waiting in the library.
Today was different, though. Since we banned the use of cell phones, I
was forced to sit in the foyer and wait to look for a light green
car! When i got home, it's hard to admit that i didn't know what to do
with myself. It's pretty embarrassing. Today i realized that i depend
too much on technology each day. Usually when i get home, I watch
television as a break from being in school for six hours. It definitely
calms me down and keeps me rested. But, no T.V. today! You can only
imagine how m
y attitude has changed. I'm less patient for sure! I definitely need to
learn how to cut down on the amount of technology i use. With so much
time on my hands, i decided to start my homework right when I got home!
I have exams next week, so i thought it would be a good idea to type a
review sheet for myself for class. because i didn't have the
distraction of turning on the television, I finished the entire study
guide before seven o'clock! it was seven pages long! I thought to
myself, I can only wonder when i would actually type this if i was allowed to use the television today!
it probably wouldn't be finished until Friday! For dinner, we had
spaghetti noodles with tomato sauce and bread. It wasn't bad, since I'm
pretty much obsessed with bread! It was a shock when i had the duty of
dishes! instead of just sticking everything in a dishwasher, i had to
handwash everything! I'll tell you, I wasn't too thrilled about doing
this challenge for a second time. I've realized how selfsih I've been
about the whole experience. i take everything for granted and it's
pretty pathetic. I hope this will change my outlook on what I do every
day and how I look at how much i have and how much I am blessed!
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