The Power of Half Blog in your RSS Feed! http://www.thepowerofhalf.com Posted by Kevin Salwen on 02.01.2012. Sometimes it's awfully hard to see that we're making a difference -- or that the world is changing at all. Is poverty getting better? Is hunger decreasing? Do any of our efforts matter? So, I was thrilled when our family's good friend, John Coonrod, pulled together this list of the Top 10 Trends of 2011 for Ending Hunger and Poverty. John (or J-Coon as our kids dubbed him when they decided he needed a hip-hop name) has been working in the poverty-solutions arena for 35 years, all with The Hunger Project. Read and recognize again what we all know -- that we're part of a big, broad, sometimes sloppy set of solutions of people ending their own hunger and poverty.... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/Whats-New-in-Ending-Poverty Posted by Kevin Salwen on 01.16.2012. ... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/In-honor-of-Dr-King Posted by Kevin Salwen on 01.16.2012. The Legacy Project interviews the elderly for their advice on living, carved from decades of experience. This post boils down the counsel in a few simple-to-hear, harder-to-live steps. Can you do them?... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/Ask-those-whove-been-there Posted by Kevin Salwen on 11.08.2011. Last week, I wrote this post about the burial at Bear Creek Middle School, chronicling the cathartic event that begins our process of helping kids heal their social and emotional scars. We asked all 720 students in the 7th and 8th grades to write essays focusing on what's keeping them from being their best -- as students, as friends, as family members. Since then, Joan, Ed Morris (our social worker partner) and I have been reading the nearly 700 essays that kids dropped into the casket. We felt that if the students took the time to write, we owed them the respect of reading them all, even though the papers were anonymous. Many of the essays deal with what we'd see as standard teen problems -- being picked on, physical appearance or relationships. But so many of the messages were heartbreaking. Poverty, bad parenting, drug use, homelessness and sexual abuse pour off those pages, reflecting the pounding that some teens must endure. Many of the essays simmered with a sad self-awareness. "I seem cool at times but to tell you the truth I am always, always angry. I don't know why, I just feel angry." Another student wrote (all spellings are as written): "My life has been a totaly desaster. I have been adopted at a young age. I am bearly making it in my life.... To me I feel like I am left out in this world and family. It's just a pain in my heart that I just want to release. I think God put me on this world for a test to see will I pass or not, to see can I make my life better." For so many, the circumstances are brutal. "I put a smile on my face just to hide all the pain suffering and sorrow. Having a dad and mom in jail is hard.... It's made me hard, it's made me always have my guard up." Some letters came in as lists of problems. One read: "Drama; being bullied; doesn't have a relationship w/ father; relationship w/ mother isn't good; suicidal thoughts; alone; doesn't feel important; wasn't told I was loved." The feelings of loneliness and self-destructive behavior were so widespread. "I want to forget the memories of when I wanted to take my life and the pain of feeling not wanted and not loved," one child wrote. At the bottom, he or she added tombstone dates: 1998-??? I could only read essays for about 45 minutes at a time. The deeper I dove, the angrier I got. How could our society ignore these kids? How could we forget that their lives are as valuable as those of our own children? How could we as fellow Atlantans, fellow Americans, fellow humans just stand by? Still, the students' confessions flowed. "As a child, I tried to kill myself because I wasn't wanted. I was disgusted of myself. Because my father wasn't there I cry every father's day, have anger spasms and try to kill myself constantly. I cry because I don't know what to do." Indeed, parents are a huge issue for these teens. One girl described her mom: "She seemed to always be mad and yelled and whooped us so that made me mad getting whooped and stuff all the time for nothing. I always wondered why was she so unhappy? ... It seems my mama is at her best when I'm at my worst. She don't want to see me good." Sexual molestation and rape appear numerous times in the essays. "My brother (older) was my best friend, really he was. I used to talk to him before I would talk to my older sister.... I was in my bed asleep and he came in my room and touched me. I was so pissed. I woke up and he ran. So he kept doing it since I wouldn't say anything to him about it and just play it off. But then I just recently told my mom a couple of weeks ago. So now I feel so distant from my brother and I don't trust him at all." Another wrote directly to her molester of a grandfather. "Dear XXX, I'm writing this to let you know I'm very angry. You was supposed to be my granddad but the way you acted April-May when you tried to rape me and felt all over me as I asked you to stop more than once. But just know I will always be hurt and carry this inside with me." -- From your old grand-daughter. I could go on, but you get the picture. Ed once said to me, "You know, Kev, poverty is a mother f---er." He couldn't be more accurate. That said, if you know me, you know I'm an optimist. We knew this would be a low point -- in fact, it's designed to be. Burying the pain means the kids have to put words to the pain. We begin to rebuild from here, helping them recognize that they have gifts the world needs, that they can define themselves rather than have others or their circumstances define them. That work starts next week. I can't wait.... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/The-Students-Open-Up Posted by Kevin Salwen on 11.04.2011. Please, Lord, never let me grow callous or hardened about what I saw this week in our schools initiative. You see, this was Burial Week in our program at Bear Creek Middle School. And I do mean burial, as in funeral, as in final goodbye. Our partner in the Power of Half Schools, social worker Dr. Ed Morris, created the burial idea several years ago as a way for students to begin dealing with the pain in their lives. He reasoned that until students dealt with their social and emotional needs they couldn't focus on what schools were asking them to do -- study and learn. After all, what young woman is concentrating on geometry when she's fretting about her real life of poverty, molestation, a fatherless home, or no home at all? The burial is a central part of our schools initiative -- a dramatic, cathartic, jarring moment of symbolic release. So, on Monday, students in the 7th and 8th grades wrote essays about the issues that were holding them back from being their best. Then, on Tuesday, they brought those essays to an assembly/burial. As our master of ceremonies, performer Rodney Johnson set the stage powerfully, telling the students, "I don't want you to think of this as just another assembly. I want you to think of this as an event that will alter your life." And he continued: "I want you to know today is a serious day. Today you will take control of your own lives and your choices.... Some of y'all have lost hope, some of y'all have lost direction, some of y'all think you're never going to be successful. But I want you know that today's assembly is about change. Today's assembly is about a new direction." Radio host Derrick Boazman delivered a eulogy. "I wish we lived in a world where we could be less serious. But these are serious times," he told the students. "The butterfly can only come to life after the caterpillar has died. You, like the caterpillar, must die in some ways." That way, of course, Dr. Morris reminded the students in his talk, was to "deal with the hurt and pain that you feel -- to deal with those sores, to bury that pain." The star of the show was, of course, the casket. As it was rolled to the center of the gym by several of the student government members from Frederick Douglass High School (brought here by Athletic Director Dallas Allen to better understand our initiative), students stared in solemn thought. The metallic blue casket had been polished to a bright shine, the silver crosses adorning the outside sparkled. As the casket hinges opened, you could hear an audible gasp at the reveal of the padded, pillowed, silk-covered interior. Morris called for additional social workers and faculty to move to the center of the gym. He knew what was coming next: A stream of students, slowly and cautiously at first, then with more confidence began walking to the casket, dropping their essays -- their very personal reflections -- into the casket. Morris's words echoed over the crowd, "You are safe here today. You are safe here today. You are safe here today." Students cried, some into hard, wrenching sobs. Other sat glumly on the bleachers, deep in thought. Some, in desperate need of a hug, sought out a friend or a faculty member. There was no mistaking the solemnity of the moment. The Bear Creek counseling group of Morris, Ronnie Andrews and Naima Williams was bolstered by a Fulton County team of Michelle Hession, Grady Davis, Kedric Sledge, Jacqueline Cathey and Yesenia Carrillo. Their afternoon was filled with 7th and 8th graders who, often for the first time, brought forth their deepest pains. The work of moving forward is just getting started. But that work has indeed begun. I'm just starting to read all the essays -- more than 700 of them. I'll be back in a day or two to share what I'm reading. But I know this: I want to continue to feel these burial days. I want the students' pain to stay real for me. It helps me to stay present and vital for them.... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/The-Toughest-Week Posted by Kevin Salwen on 10.25.2011. There are so many misconceptions about poverty. That came to light several times in the past week and pushed me to write this post. -- Our cities are the sole problems. The New York Times ran a fine piece this morning about the growth of poverty in the suburbs. Forget leafy, green cloisters with a Lexus in every driveway; increasingly, statistics show, wrenching social issues are the domain of suburban communities. Food pantries are growing, demand for basic needs is soaring (without the public transportation infrastructure to help). Check out the data in that story -- poverty is now the big issue in suburbia. Need more evidence? Spend a day with me on the south side of Atlanta, where more than 97 percent of the students at Bear Creek Middle School (where we launched our Power of Half Schools) are on free or reduced lunch. Kids living in cars; kids without clothing or enough to eat. All surrounded by trees and houses (many of which are in foreclosure). -- The poor are inept. In Jacksonville last week, at a marvelous event hosted by Community Connections, a man approached me after my speech. His question, couched in code word after code word, was essentially this: "Don't you think the stupid people of Africa would be better off if some American entrepreneurs moved in to fix their problems? After all, if the Africans had the solutions, wouldn't they have already done them?" I stayed calm and tried to explain that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the most impoverished places on the planet. The problem isn't lack of creativity or desire, but access to what's needed to create a better future: capital; education, especially for girls and women; proper health care and nutrition; access to opportunity; and even a belief that life can be better. In fact, I explained to this man, the most creative, innovative people I've met are probably poor. After all, they make due with almost nothing. -- The poor are lazy souls just waiting for another handout. Damn, do I grow weary of this one. From my work at Atlanta Habitat for Humanity and Year Up Atlanta to our family's involvement with The Hunger Project, I've met person after person who wants to work her or his tail off. Mothers working two jobs and raising families. Grandmothers who are cashiers by day and child-care providers to their grandkids by night. When you grow up on the other side of the opportunity divide, without emphasis on education or a safe place to live, it's pretty darn hard to make the leap across that divide. In the end, my conclusion is simple: Poor people and rich people want the same things. They want a chance to wake up tomorrow morning and believe things can be better for their families. They want to help create a better world for their kids and grandkids. They want to be fairly compensated and fairly respected for what their work. So the sign being passed around Facebook this week, struck me: "Sometimes I want to ask God why He allows poverty and injustice in this world when He could do something about it, but I'm afraid he might ask me the same question." Let's get working on this together with those ready to help themselves. ... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/Myths-About-Poverty Posted by Kevin Salwen on 10.18.2011. I'm almost giddy. We launched the second year of our Power of Half Schools initiative today, at Bear Creek Middle School in Fairburn, south of Atlanta. There, we work with students who are growing up on the other side of the opportunity divide, usually without a dad present, often in poverty. Our goal: To help them recognize that they have the power to become givers and they have resources the world needs them to give. Joan worked hard this summer to professionalize our curriculum, and we were eager to roll it out. So, this year, we expanded our program to include both 7th and 8th graders, about 700 total kids. Today's assemblies featured our family's story and the point that Hannah realized she had the power to make change in the world. A 14-year old girl recognized that she could take on world-changing (and family-changing) action, and we wanted to make sure the Bear Creek students saw that they too had power. No house sale necessary, of course. Counselor Ronnie Andrews led today's events. "We don't ask you to do anything drastic," he urged the students. "We ask you to take one small step, get an education, come to school every day." Radio talk show host and former Atlanta City Council Member Derrick Bozeman pushed the students to defy stereotypes. "They say half of you won't graduate. They say one in four of you will be part of the penal system. They say most of you can't read," he said. "But we say you can do anything you want to do. Life is nothing but a series of choices." And he added, "Coming from broken homes, you can pick up the pieces if you choose to." The program closed with Dr. Eddie Morris, our co-founder of the schools initiative, reminding students that they "were born with purpose," a reason to be on this planet. "Get on your feet," he prodded, "and repeat after me. I. Was. Born. With. Purpose." The results last year astounded us: Grades went up, discipline referrals went down, students began working harder and caring more about each other. They began to recognize that they had the power to improve their lives. So excited about what they can achieve this year.... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/Year-2-of-Power-of-Half-Schools-Starts-Now Posted by Joan King Salwen on 10.08.2011. Photo © 2011 Brian Smale www.briansmale.com ... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/In-the-Gates-library-in-Kirkland-WA Posted by Kevin Salwen on 10.03.2011. Hannah and I will be leading a workshop for The Seattle Foundation on Thursday focusing on family giving. Afterward, we'll be joining Jason Franklin of Bolder Giving for a panel discussion about how to Power Up Your Giving. Should be a great event, and we hope our friends in Seattle will join us.... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/Seattle-come-join-us Posted by Kevin Salwen on 09.28.2011. The famine in Africa is in the news again, with severe conditions ravaging so much of the Eastern part of the continent. The pain is real, the crisis pronounced. By most estimates, 13 million people are starving. The famine has many good nonprofits rushing to help. Much of that work is marvelous. In particular, we love the organization Action Against Hunger, which is effective and efficient. But let's make sure we understand what's really happening here. While this is a natural disaster in the short term, the bigger problem is the long-term crisis of empowerment and self-reliance. As our friends at The Hunger Project wrote in a note to investors today, The difference between chronic hunger and famine. Famine is a very specific term, defined by the UN as occurring when malnutrition rates exceed 30 percent, more than two people per 10,000 people are dying each day, and there is a severe lack of food access for large population. Yet, more than 90 percent of hungry people — nearly one billion people or one in six — are experiencing chronic, persistent hunger; they are not getting enough food every day to be healthy and lead an active life. THP is not a humanitarian response organization — simply put, we are not equipped to deliver emergency food aid. Our mission is to achieve the sustainable end of world hunger…it is a long-term goal and requires a different type of action. So, let's address the short term; let's help the people in need, now. But let's not take our eye off the real issue, that we can stand with people as they end their own hunger and poverty. That's the long-term solution, brought about through the empowerment of women and men as they build their own sustainable futures. That's true progress.... http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/How-to-Help