Taking on poverty in Perham: Local group creates social network in different income levels

After working in developing parts of the world, Rynell Freeland felt like she understood poverty. But after moving to Perham four years ago, Freeland was struck at how many students in her child's elementary school class were in foster care.

"I felt the community was thriving, but I never saw that side of it," Freeland said.

Now Freeland is a lead organizer of a local program bridging the gap between Perham residents of varying income levels to expand their network and learn from one another.

The program known as Navigators was started last year as a collaboration between the Otter Tail County Family Services Collaboration, Mahube-Otwa and Perham School District.

Heart of the Lakes Elementary School Principal Jen Hendrickson said it all started after attending a series of training sessions on addressing poverty within Otter Tail County.

Driving home with Liz Kuoppala, executive director of Mahube-Otwa, the group got to a point where they wanted to start.

"We know there's a need, we have a very supportive community to pull resources from," Hendrickson remembers thinking. "We want everyone in the community to thrive."

From there, Hendrickson started by giving a personal invite to a small handful of parents.

The core group started by discussing how poverty manifests itself in the Perham community.

One of the main things that stood out to Freeland is how much society shames people living in poverty.

Freeland said poverty is a broad word that has different meanings to different people.

"Poverty is so complex, there's so many situational issues. If you ever take a deep look, it'd be impossible to break free," she said. "A lot of times it's financial, but it's social as well."

According to research from the Brookings Institute, a child's family income largely determines their future income, and those who start poor often remain poor.

Often times, people think poor people are using the system, but they're some of the hardest working individuals out there and are taking paths to make their lives better, Freeland said.

Each monthly session is designed to be valuable for everyone, and not at all targeted at low income individuals.

Freeland said the group is still fresh and new as they formulate trust and understanding while making relationships that were never in existence.

Kuoppala said the program isn't a charity, but rather an effort to build a social network that's beneficial for both sides.

"When people know there's a challenge, they're willing to get together and tackle it," Kuoppala said. "It's just about building belonging across income levels."

Low income people only know other low income people, a lot of the time it's who you know rather than what you know, Kuoppala said.

"If people who have access to resources partnered with low income people, they could learn about barriers, and also their strength and resilience," she said.

"Ultimately we all learn from one another," Hendrickson said.

So far, Kuoppala said the middle class participants have been impressed with the resilience of low income people, and knowing their hopes and dreams.

"No matter what walk of life, they care about community," she said. "They have worries and concerns, too."

Now that it's off the ground, those original "test pilots" are encouraged to bring their own friends in an effort to engage more people. A Changemaker Grant from West Central Initiative is also encouraging expansion by bringing in guest speakers on meal planning and creating a budget.

"A lot of people haven't been given the skill set to go through normal life situations," Freeland said. "Instead of thinking about today and being in survival mode, but how to plan for the future."

No one talks like they're better than anyone else, and each session is heartwarming, Hendrickson said.

Kuoppala reiterated the group's main theme has been warmth.

"People feel supported and feel they're thriving," Hendrickson said. "Maybe we all have tough times, but we can turn to one another for support and celebrate success."

While Freeland acknowledges poverty can't be solved by one person, she says people in Perham want this to be the place for everyone to live.

"Perham is the perfect spot to try this out, it's amazing how you give and get more in return," Freeland said. "Perham has that figured out, there's so much philanthropy that makes life better for so many."