The "Deserving" Poor

While talking to a school principal who was supervising her students’ visit to The Mustard Seed, she mentioned that one of her fellow teachers had served dinner here some years before and had left feeling quite disconcerted.

This man had noticed that a number of people coming through the meal line were carrying cell phones, playing handheld video games, or wearing brand-name clothing. To the teacher, this was a clear sign that these people were not truly “poor” and were taking advantage of the free meal. He left that night vowing he would not come back again, but instead would look for more "deserving poor".

It hurts my heart to hear this story. Misunderstandings like the one above only serve to further marginalize the inner-city community and deepen stereotypes and misperceptions. So, how do we tackle issues like this when people are brave enough to ask questions instead of just leaving feeling upset?

First of all, poverty is about so much more than just not having money. In his powerful article, “The Culture of Poverty”, Rick Tobias writes that, “Long-term poverty can crush our capacity to dream. When our sense of future dies, our hope dies. When hope dies, we have no reason to dream, no reason to plan for the future. Long-term poverty is not primarily about money in the bank; it’s about the loss of hope.” Poverty is also often about lack of opportunity, lack of equal access to resources, and a crushing cycle of dependency. Just because someone has scratched together enough money to walk around listening to an iPod, does not mean that she is not deeply impacted by this kind of poverty.

On the topic of consumerism and “poor people having nice stuff”- when I was in university, I was financially poor but I still owned a cell phone and a laptop. Was it the best decision to buy these things with my limited resources? Probably not. Why did I buy this stuff anyway? Well, why do any of us have these things? To fit in with popular culture, to stay connected and available, to look good, to “keep up with the Jones’”, because we think we need them…. And the list goes on.

These feelings exist in the inner-city community too. Many people here already feel marginalized by wider society because of their circumstances. No one wants to look poor or homeless, even if they are. Often a simple thing like carrying around a cell phone (even if it has no airtime on it!) may make someone feel like they fit in to wider society, even just a little. Just because someone is wearing a Hurley hoodie doesn’t mean they can afford an evening meal (they may have gotten the clothing from our Personal Assistance Centre!), and it certainly doesn't mean that they’re not lonely or isolated . I don't want to remove personal responsibility from this equation either- the reality is that some people have never learned how to budget and so spend their money unwisely.

Ultimately, I wish we could have had a conversation with the teacher who left with so many questions. Maybe we couldn’t have answered them all, but at least we could have engaged him in dialogue so that he was able to think a little differently about issues of poverty and the people The Mustard Seed serves.