When we think of the word “Poverty” do we think of a homeless guy on a busy street corner with a cardboard sign in his hand? Or do we think of an impoverished part of town where the houses are small and the families are large? Or perhaps we think of the images we see on late night TV of war-torn Third World Countries.

When considering the Blog Action Day 2008 topic of Poverty, it occurred to me that given our current economic climate Poverty is not as far away as we might think from the average American family. How many lost jobs, lost homes and lost hope before you are in what would be considered Poverty? All to often we are finding it’s a quick road from loss of work to loss of home. Thankfully, in the US we can count on various social service groups for hot meals, warm blankets and a place to sleep for the night.

Is this ideal?

Not by a long shot.

Can you survive this way?

Yes.

But at what cost?

The true cost of poverty is the loss of hope and self-worth. No amount of hot meals and blankets can feed the soul.  For that we need faith and belief in the future.

Is there a future after poverty?

Yes.

In a perfect world, Poverty would not exist. It should at best be a temporary situation. One which we all have the power to change. However we have to believe there is a better future.

We must have hope.