Empowerment center takes action to reduce poverty

The Western Michigan University University-Community Empowerment Center is a poverty reduction alliance that brings stakeholders and residents of the community together with the University to develop tools, strategies and training to help people emerge from poverty.

This past January and February, the center collaborated with the WMU Academy of Lifelong Learning to hold five-week series of forums examining ways to reverse the negative impacts of poverty and its correlates on the well-being of individuals and families in our community. In these well-attended forums, led by expert panel members, participants shared information and lively discussions regarding poverty in relation to education, income security, affordable housing, mental and physical health, and legal issues and criminal justice.

The next steps in this collaborative, transformational effort were an inspirational public lecture, part of the Bill Burian University-Community Lecture Series, featuring Dr. Eva Evans the evening of March 25, and a special invitation "A Call to Action: Building Bridges Breakfast" on the morning of March 26 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The nearly 80 individuals gathered at the breakfast included community leaders, service providers, people living in poverty, forum attendees, and University representatives. After welcomes and brief, motivational speeches from Dr. Evans and University-Community Empowerment Center advisory board member Dr. Carla Adkison-Johnson, attendees broke up into smaller groups to brainstorm solutions and begin crafting a University-Community strategic action plan centered on poverty reduction in Kalamazoo County.

The University-Community Empowerment Center representatives and partners will continue to meet to shape that plan and engage breakfast attendees and others in the plan and its implementation. The shared vision of the growing network will be to work together to provide a caring and supportive environment in which everyone has the opportunity to dream, achieve and strive for excellence. 

With interest and for more information, contact University-Community Empowerment Center Director Linwood H. Cousins at linwood.counsins@wmich.edu or (269)387-8451.