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Facts about Poverty in Our Area:

• In the Newton School District 46% of students are receiving free/reduced lunches and the fraction keeps increasing.
• Businesses that thrive in poverty, such as rent-to-own, payday loan, and dollar stores, have become more present in Newton.
• A homeless shelter has opened in the past year in Newton
• Health Ministries of Harvey County, a clinic serving low-income residents who are underinsured or without health insurance, had a 50% increase in 2004 in patient visits.

In light of the above facts, throughout the past year Peace Connections, along with the Harvey County Asset Building Coalition, has been instrumental in helping get our community the information we need to help those living in poverty. This information, called Bridges Out of Poverty, comes from the aha! Process organization developed by Dr. Ruby Payne. It is an educational framework intended to help businesses, schools, community agencies, and others gain understanding on how to better relate to and serve those who come from a background of poverty. Peace Connections has coordinated events and funding to bring the Bridges Out of Poverty information and presenters to Newton, recruited various agencies to send individuals to the training sessions, hosted monthly meetings for community leaders, and coordinated classes for those from generational poverty.

As a result of Bridges events and information, a wide variety of groups and individuals have gained new ideas & strategies about how to better relate to and work with those in poverty:

• One of the largest employers in Newton revised their policies of working with low-income persons.
• The Newton school system decided that every employee would attend Bridges training held this past fall.
• A judge in the Harvey County court system has been studying ways to improve dealings with children in need of care.
• Several churches are studying What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty in Sunday morning or Wednesday evening groups.
• Human service agencies such as Prairie View and SRS are also excited about how usable and easy to implement the concepts really are.

• Community leaders meet on a monthly basis to continue work on education & implementation of Bridges principals in community agencies

• A list of information on Free/Low Cost Summer Community Events was gathered and published by Peace Connections
• A list of Free/Low Cost Food resources was published by Peace Connections

Peace Connections, 612 N. Main, Newton, KS 67114 www.peaceconnections.org

Bridges Out of Poverty Events of 2005:

• Monthly meetings have been hosted by Peace Connections regularly during 2005. A number of community leaders have given brief presentations on how the Bridges information is being used at their place of employment. The group has heard from Judge Richard Walker of the Harvey County court system, Brad Schmidt of Prairie View, Racquel Thiessen of the Newton Area Chamber, Tina Payne of Coordinator of Harvey County Community Health Initiative, Vicki Adame of USD #373, Sammie Simmons of SRS, and Mary Sailors & Melinda Munsell, attendees of Bridges Trainers workshop. At the meetings time is also given for discussion on a variety of issues regarding poverty, ways to collaborate between agencies , and planning for how to increase community awareness.
• The Bridges Out of Poverty 2-day seminar with Jodi Pfarr was held in March. Peace Connections scheduled these events which focused on understanding generational poverty & hidden rules of class, what this means for our community, and the beginnings of what can be done to change the situation. In addition 60 people from the community attended an evening presentation with Pfarr as well at the Newton Fox Theatre.

• "Getting Ahead" classes designed especially to help those in poverty gain a better understanding about how to improve their situation were started in September. The class was taught by Melinda Munsell, who was able to go to specialized Bridges training in the spring of 2005, and Sammie Simmons of SRS. Ten people completed the study of the book Getting Ahead in a Just Getting' By World. Funding for the classes, which include meals and childcare, came from a number of community organizations and individuals and was coordinated by Peace Connections.

• Kim Ellis, senior aha! Process consultant from Houston, TX, was contracted by the Newton school district to provide a 2-day training to their staff in October. An evening session for the community-at-large was again scheduled by Peace Connections.

• The Newton's Lions Club requested a presentation on poverty in October. Peace Connections' Board Member Steve Richards spoke to the group about the Bridges principles, including information on hidden rules of class, resources individuals do without, the role of language and story structure, etc.
• The Shalom Mennonite church women asked PC Director Myrna Krehbiel to speak on the Bridges Out of Poverty movement in October. She focused on how Peace Connections has helped the Bridges Out of Poverty group develop in our community.
• A number of area church groups have done a study of the book What Every Church Member Should Know About Poverty. Many of these groups have ended up spending much more time on the topic than was originally planned due to the interest and enthusiasm the material created.
• A task force was created to organize a seminar on poverty for churches

Peace Connections is very encouraged by the interest we have seen grow and expressed over the past year by individuals, agencies, schools, etc. in the area in helping build understanding and make changes in how people from middle class and those from poverty relate to each other. Already plans are being made for another Bridges seminar, specifically for churches, with the author of What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty. The group of community leaders will continue to meet monthly at Peace Connections. Another "Getting Ahead" class is being organized for early spring. Our hope is for the Bridges information to continue to make a difference in our community and help sustain it as a whole.

Comments (listed as sidebar or in a little box)

• "This has been one of the all time best & most useful trainings [Jodi Pfarr] I have attended in my 25 years of higher education & CEU workshops!" wrote Julie Hart.
• Candice Ford commented on the Jodi Pfarr conference, "I didn't nod off once. It just makes you think about a whole lot of things."

• After the Kim Ellis school district training Vicki Adame, assistant principal at Chisholm Middle school, told us that teachers were especially impressed with the importance of making a connection with a specific child. A number of teachers commented, that they "had never thought about it [poverty] that way."
• "This was a compelling experience, and I'm deeply grateful to the organizers, to Jody, to all concerned," stated Piet Knetsch, of the United Methodist clergy, Topeka, KS.

Additional Ways We are Building Resources within Individuals & Communities

• Giving Garden - Thanks to Harvey County Extension Master Gardeners 2,200 pounds of fresh vegetables were grown to be given to the Salvation Army food pantry.
• Taste of Newton & Bethel College Fall Festival - Peace Connections offered healthy food alternatives and a peace presence during this Newton downtown event and at the college, held Peace Fair activities for children & offered items relating to peace for sale.

• Newsletter - Published 6 times yearly, this resource listed upcoming events and reported on what had been happening in our work for peace.

• Monthly Board Meetings - A highlight of their work was planning for 2006 which included a Visioning workshop and several sessions of setting goals & priorities.

• Newton Sidewalk Sale, Taste of Christmas, Halloween Walk - Peace Connections participated in these Newton Area Chamber events which drew visitors to the store.

• Peace Connections is a part of these community groups: member of Newton Ministerial Alliance, Newton Area Chamber, Communities in Schools, Asset Builders Coalition

• Heartland SHARE - Peace Connections is a site for purchasing SHAREs and also helped promote the opportunity with local churches.

Teaching and Practicing Nonviolence

• Season for Nonviolence 2005 - Peace Connections offered materials for the Season, January 31-April 4, and helped raise awareness about the event.

• Palm Sunday Iraq Invasion 2^nd Anniversary - An event held for the community to remember and reflect on the Iraq invasion by the U.S. in 2003.
• Kindness Keys Storytime - Six sessions on the Pledge of Nonviolence were held for children this summer, especially targeting kids from families dealing with poverty.
• Playing Creatively - Daily activities were offered during June & July for children of all ages to come in and stretch their minds.

• Gift Shop offerings & resource material - The store offered a wide variety of products and resources that promote peace.
• Nonviolent Communication - Director Myrna Krehbiel was able to attend a workshop on this topic and Peace Connections now offers a good selection of resource material.

• Calendar project - Peace Connections chose to offer the Peace Calendar and study guide, a great resource & educational tool on peace topics, as our fundraiser this fall.

Nuturing Personal Well-being

• Card making - A personal expression that spreads peace and an activity that groups enjoy doing together, as well as, one that many individuals also want to come in for.
• Hosted weekly Bible Study - This group was grateful to use the community area weekly.
• Breathing Room - A unique space for relaxation & meditation - the only one in the state!
• Shawl Knitting Ministry - A new ministry group that started this fall and met weekly for conversation and to knit or crochet. Seven shawls were made for the Safe House.