One of the most intractable social problems is poverty.It will take global effort to end completely, but each individual can play a part.Reducing poverty is different from helping a poor person.Being poor is not a social problem.You can make a difference if you have the knowledge, commitment, and effort.You can support policies that reduce poverty with your money.You can raise awareness and advocate for change with your voice.Change can be made from the bottom up with the help of like-minded people.
Step 1: Quality education for everyone.
One of the strongest predictors of income potential is the degree of a person's education.Supporting programs that strengthen the educational system will help people stay out of poverty.Education is more than one thing.A good education results from a combination of factors, including the skill of the instructors, funding for educational supplies, and attention to performance in every grade level.Supporting a variety of programs that help students maximize their academic potential is what it means to support quality education.A good education doesn't eliminate poverty, it just makes it less likely that a child will be poor.There is a lack of resources in the modern economy.No one will be poor if everyone has resources.Education does not directly address that problem.The world would still need janitors, cashiers and fruit pickers if everyone got a medical degree.
Step 2: Make sure people are paid fairly.
Setting minimum wage levels that keep people out of poverty is one of the simplest ways to do this.The evidence for minimum wages increasing unemployment is weak.The best evidence for a high minimum wage is that not a single rich country has one.Although there are a few European countries with no national minimum wage, trade unions negotiate rates for each sector of the economy.High wages are usually associated with strong unions.The United States has the weakest labor laws in the world.The US has one of the lowest rates of unionization in rich countries.The rise of working poverty has increased in tandem with the decline of the unionized workforce.
Step 3: The social safety net needs to be increased.
The social safety net protects those who fall into poverty from falling into it in the first place.Cash transfers and in-kind benefits are included in the social safety net.The stronger the social safety net, the more people are out of poverty.Social safety net benefits in the US are often insufficient to pull someone out of poverty, meaning that even with their eligible benefits factored in, they still fall below the poverty line.Social Security Disability benefits and Supplemental Security Insurance are examples of US cash transfer programs.SSI gives certain types of poor people money, which is a cash transfer from the government to the individual.Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) and Medicaid are in-kind benefits.These programs don't give a person money so that they can get their own food and health care, they give them the good or service directly.Statutes contributing to the social safety net might include usury laws, which define the maximum allowable interest a person can be charged.
Step 4: Broaden ownership is what it is.
Income and wealth are determined by the amount of money a person makes.Increasing wealth is just as important as increasing incomes in poverty reduction programs.Increasing access to low interest credit for poor people is one of the ways that broadening ownership can be accomplished.The price of money is interest.People can buy assets, like real estate or businesses, if money is lent at a low price.Giving employees ownership of the firms they work for broadens the distribution of assets.If the employees of a huge corporation like Walmart were all stockholders in the company, the wealth distribution would be different.A house is a metaphor for wealth and income.The construction crew that builds the house makes money, while the building materials represent the beginnings of wealth.The crew's benefits are fleeting.Building materials have a permanent benefit if the crew is used to build the house.
Step 5: For more serious advocacy, talk to your friends and associates.
Ask your friends, family, and acquaintances about the issues you care about.Make them care about that issue is your goal.You can craft an appeal that's most likely to succeed if you think about their experiences, sympathies, and temperaments.Imagine that your uncle is a police officer.You care about education.If you want to get him to care about education the same way you do, talk to him about how the lack of educational opportunities contributes to crime.You could say something like, "You know they just cut funding for afterschool programs in Sandtown?"It's time to start chasing kids in the city.It is easier to influence someone's opinion about a new topic than it is to change their mind about something.Talk with them about new subjects.
Step 6: Social media can be used to take advantage of it.
It is possible to raise awareness of an issue by using social media platforms.These tools allow you to reach large audiences with relatively little effort, and numerous issues have gone viral with the aid of social media.If you want to end poverty, use social media to promote articles, videos, and memes.The effect of social media is often shallow.Social media is a great way to spread a message, but it doesn't always produce lasting change.People who are constantly hitting the "share" button on social media are at risk of being "slacktivists."
Step 7: Become a content creator.
If you want to take your advocacy to the next level, you should create content about poverty.All it really means is creating any type of media, whether it's audio, video, visual, or written.You can contribute to someone else's platform or create your own in order to publish your content.There are many ways to publish your message.If you think you can attract an audience and you want complete control over messaging, you are able to create your own channel.There are two ways to learn more about Start Your Own Podcast and Start a Blog.You can either give them what they want or convince them to accept what you're offering in order to publish your content on someone else's site.Ask the channels that you think would make a good platform for your message if they have policies on submissions.They will either want you to create something about a certain topic or they will want to pitch you on something you're working on.
Step 8: Join a group.
Many voices are more powerful than one.If you join a group that is concerned with the same issues, you will gain access and credibility.If you're concerned about poverty among working women, you can join a group like 9 to 5, which lobbies and advocates on that issue.9 to 5 members gain credibility when they talk about poverty among working women.9 to 5 is a group that lobbies and organizes on behalf of issues of special concern to poor and working women.Broadcasting your ideas about poverty and working women to a group you already know cares about that issue is a great way to spread them.
Step 9: Get in touch with the decision makers.
You can be an advocate if you take your message to people who have the power to make changes.There are a lot of ways to communicate with decision makers when there is a problem like poverty.You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, your congressman, senator, mayor, or other political figure.You can call your representative.You can start an online petition.Let the decision makers know how many people care about the issue you're passionate about.Change.org is one of the best places to start an online petition.If you have enough signatures, invest the money and time in printing a hard copy.Sending an email with an attachment is more impressive than hand delivering a stack of papers.
Step 10: Take care of your issue.
Reducing poverty is a laudable goal.The number of people who want to increase poverty is zero.Why is poverty still a problem?Most people don't know where to start when it comes to poverty.If you organize a group to fight poverty, people will want to know how you plan on doing it and where they fit in.It's going to be a tough sell if you can't give them an answer that will make them understand how their specific action will lead to less poverty.You narrow your message because of that.The issue should be concrete and specific in the beginning.People don't understand how they can reduce poverty, but they know how to build 500 tiny houses.To get the homeless off the street.
Step 11: Make a list of your allies.
Even if you have a perfect message and an ingenious strategy to solve a problem, you need to have allies to execute it.If you approach them instead of waiting for them to approach you, you will make much better progress.Rate your allies and enemies on a scale from friendly to hostile.Leading activists and allies should be on one end and opponents on the other.If you want to make the Tiny House Project a reality, leading activists and active allies might be those that already help the homeless, like the directors of soup kitchens and shelters.The leading activists will be those with a public profile, while the active allies are those that are involved in the work but have a lower profile.Developers, members and leaders of nimby groups, and their elected officials are some of the leading and active opponents.
Step 12: The preliminary details of your plan should be worked out.
You need to work out the basic details of how you will accomplish your goal once you've identified who is likely to be with you and against you.You don't have to plan out an itinerary for every day of the year just because you have a budget.You should estimate the cost and project how long it will take to hit your goal.When it comes time to recruit your allies, you're sketching your basic plan so that you can have an effective pitch.Try and figure out how the success of your plan will benefit your allies.Explain to the director of the shelter how many beds the Tiny House Project will free up.
Step 13: A core group is needed.
You need to recruit a team of leaders who can execute your project after you've identified your allies and created a basic plan.Work your way back after approaching the leading activists.Look for people with ties to the community who have experience working with elected officials.Before you approach a target ally, try and warm up your lead.Even if it's just through a friendship, a warm lead is still a possible ally.It's easier to get a warm lead than it is a cold one.Face-to-face meetings are the most effective form of contact, followed by warm phone calls, warm emails, and cold emails.Don't be surprised if most of your emails go unanswered.
Step 14: Go out of your way to get feedback from your core group.
In the beginning stages of an issue organization feedback and input is absolutely necessary.Unless you have a legendary reputation in the activist community, people are going to want to do more than just listen to you.You're recruiting from a base of allies.They wouldn't be in the core group of activists if they were not qualified to do so.In unexpected ways, your venture will benefit from their input.One of your core team members might have a connection to a discount building supplies dealer that could help the Tiny House venture a lot.
Step 15: Your base of support will help you build power.
The ability to do something is power.If a lot of other people want to do the same thing, you'll be more likely to go for it.There are strong popular bases of support for the most successful issue organizations.If you want your organization to succeed, you need to build support within the community.Start building your base with the connections of your core team.Ideally, they recruit members and volunteers, who in turn recruit others.Next, get in touch with other sympathetic organizations.If someone on your team is a member of a church, a union, or just part of the club, start there.If you don't have a connection to a large club or church, you need to reach out.They are able to offer volunteers, possible members, in-kind and financial assistance.Finally reach out to the community.clipboarding at a local event or door to door canvass are examples of direct outreach.They're the least effective, but still worthwhile, if you explain the purpose of the Tiny House Project and how it will benefit homeless people off the streets.
Step 16: Your memberships connections should be strengthened.
You need a strong commitment from your membership to make it happen, because you're building an organization to address an issue.The members should talk a lot about the issue.In order to raise awareness of your specific issue and come to a consensus plan of action, hold meetings open to the community and lead by your members and core leaders.The first rule of a meeting is to start on time.The second rule is to have a structured discussion.You're building a plan of action regardless of whether or not the attendees know about it.One way to apply this to the Tiny House example would be to hold a meeting to clear a lot for the start of construction.
Step 17: Listen to what people have to say.
You want to foster connections between the group during your meeting sessions, but that's not the only use for them.You and your team need to listen to what the membership and community have to say about the problem, how it affects them, and what a successful resolution means to them.A lot of homeless people attend the meetings of the Tiny House Project.They want a home, but what if you hear feedback about how they want to work?If you can get the homeless to help with the construction of the houses, it will help your budget and the local economy.
Step 18: Pick a fight that you can win.
If the powerful wanted to solve the problem, it would have been solved already.No one with power will listen to your requests unless you show them you have the power to change their lives.Since power is the ability to do a thing, you need to demonstrate that your organization can do things.Pick a fight that you're sure to lose and don't undermine the perception of your power.City Hall is an intimidating and well defended target so you don't want to storm it for your first demonstration of power.If the local developers are standing in the way of the Tiny House Project, you can probably stage a very disruptive demonstration at the Chamber of Commerce Picnic.A demonstration of that type gets a lot of attention, which increases your power.
Step 19: Rehearse, then execute.
Practice makes perfect.Make sure everyone knows their roles before you start.If law enforcement shows up or the crowd turns hostile, make sure the demonstrators know what to do.A lot of people think role-playing is boring.Role-playing is one of the best ways to prepare people for a hostile crowd.
Step 20: Until your opponent folds, up the ante.
A positive feedback loop can be started by a successful demonstration of power.You should be able to pick a more significant target with the success.You have to pick fights until your opponent gives in.The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s was started by the Montgomery Bus Boycott.The municipal bus system of a small Southern town is a relatively minor target, but the success of the Boycott strengthened the movement.Woolworth's, the state of Mississippi, and the 1964 Democratic National Convention were all targeted by the movement.The same principle applies when it comes to your Tiny House Project.