{"id":4122,"date":"2018-09-17T03:47:11","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T10:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/?p=4122"},"modified":"2020-06-06T14:21:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T21:21:46","slug":"poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/2018\/09\/poor\/","title":{"rendered":"“But I wanted to help POOR people…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A friend works\u00a0as a manager of volunteers at Meals on Wheels somewhere in the USA – I’m not going to say exactly where, to protect her anonymity. She recently got a response from a volunteer that left her head spinning.\u00a0“He said his experience has been 5\/10 so far because he didn’t expect to deliver Meals on Wheels to people in such nice houses!”<\/p>\n

This volunteer is serving in a county where there are not many people living anywhere near the poverty line. Home ownership is quite high. She calls the county “affluent.” However, as she points out:<\/p>\n

Meals on Wheels has no age requirement and no income requirement to receive our services. People who have greater incomes <\/em>do pay a higher fee for their meals,\u00a0and it’s not like they’re stealing food or volunteer time someone who “needs it more.” I can’t get over\u00a0this volunteer. You expect for volunteering to magically lead you to a pocket of poverty, and you’re the only person from the outside going in to help?<\/em><\/p>\n

As\u00a0one\u00a0official Meals on Wheels <\/a>web site says:<\/p>\n

Whether you want the convenience of healthy and ready-to-eat meals delivered to your home, or are unable to prepare nutritious meals for yourself, you can receive meals from Meals on Wheels! Meals are available both on a long-term basis and temporarily if you are recovering from surgery or illness… While we ask for a modest contribution toward your meals, the price is based on need.<\/em><\/p>\n

She asked me, “Do you encounter a lot of people that are unsatisfied with the demographic they’re helping?”<\/p>\n

And I said, “Girl…” (I’m from Kentucky, it’s how we start a rant).<\/p>\n

I have heard people who have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity say they\u00a0were disappointed that the people they are building a house for aren’t REALLY poor –\u00a0because they saw them and they didn’t LOOK poor. I’ve heard volunteers who think if someone isn’t in rags and\u00a0doesn’t have sunken cheeks then what in the HECK are they doing at that food pantry?! I’ve heard people in the county where I live, one of the most affluent counties in Oregon, talk about how they long to go for a few weeks abroad and help people in another country learn to read, and when I say, “you know, you could get some experience right here at home first doing that” and they look at me like, huh? Why would I do that when the selfies wouldn’t be NEARLY so interesting as in Africa…<\/p>\n

I volunteered to be an overnight host at a family shelter hosted at a church near me. The families that night were all single moms with two to four kids each. And how did they look? Like any other family. How exactly are homeless families supposed to look?<\/p>\n

My grandmother wasn’t living in poverty – but she most CERTAINLY needed Meals on Wheels. Did the volunteer that came to her well-kept apartment in the senior living complex think, “Oh, geesh, she’s not poor, this is such a let down!”?<\/p>\n

Need isn’t limited to the most economically-poor amongst us, and you cannot always see why someone is in need just by looking at their house or clothes or car.<\/p>\n

In addition, volunteers shouldn’t start with the mentally of “I am Super Man \/ Wonder Woman, parachuting in to save the day and I can’t wait to blog about it.” Because they are not Super Man nor Wonder Woman and probably not even Dead Pool (yes, I know, I am mixing the DC and Marvel universes). Make sure volunteers understand what their role is – and what it isn’t. Make sure they understand that\u00a0they very likely won’t<\/em> be saving someone’s life or inspiring a child to become a doctor on that afternoon shift next Friday. They most certainly will be making a difference, but talk about what making a difference really<\/em> looks like, and why doing something that doesn’t seem all that flashy or interesting enough to post to Instagram is actually very important – even vital.<\/p>\n

Also, nonprofits, governments and politicians have to stop outreach and messaging that equates poverty or even general need regarding food, shelter and healthcare with someone’s appearance, and stop messages that equate needs around food, nutrition and healthcare with only those living in abject poverty. Poverty and need are complicated issues – let’s stop the stereotypes and embrace the complexity.<\/p>\n

June 6, 2020 update: A Meals On Wheels volunteer in Clearwater, Florida may no longer be delivering food in Pinellas County after she refused to drop off meals to people at an upscale condo complex<\/a>. “Why are we delivering to these wealthy people who can call a deli or Publix or McDonald\u2019s and get their food delivered?\u201d she asked. But the non-profit\u2019s marketing director disagrees with Barnes. \u201cUnfortunately she kind of thought some people on that route didn\u2019t deserve that food,\u201d said Sandra Narron of Neighborly Care, the organization that runs Meals on Wheels in Pinellas County. Narron said the non-profit assesses every applicant and some people pay to have food brought to them. \u201cWe don\u2019t distinguish between who pays and who doesn\u2019t pay, whether they\u2019ve got a nice house or whether they don\u2019t have a nice house. That doesn\u2019t matter to us. We\u2019re there to help that client with the food they need\u201d said Narron. Narron said Helen will be able to return once she gets retrained.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAs long as she\u2019s willing to play by those rules, we want her back,\u201d said Narron.Barnes says she will comply. Narron tells us this is the first time she\u2019s had to let a volunteer go in her 26 years with the agency and is using Barnes\u2019 story to remind readers that some people are house rich and cash poor.<\/p>\n

Also see:<\/p>\n