A Campaign’s Contest Puts the Spotlight on War on Poverty’s Contributions Today

Half in Ten, a 10-year campaign that aims to cut poverty in half by 2020, is sponsoring a 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty Storytelling Contest. The winner, who will be announced on December 16, will meet with Rep. Barbara Lee, Democrat of California, who will read the story on the House floor.

Following are stories from several contestants:

Jennifer, Union City, Ga.

Housing assistance

My family and I have greatly benefited from multiple War on Poverty programs. The most beneficial was the Housing Choice Voucher program. As a single teenage mother, I had to overcome great obstacles to provide better opportunities for myself and five children. The Housing Choice Voucher program provided my family and me affordable housing in great neighborhoods, which allowed me to further my educational pursuits to earn a decent salary to care for my children.

Due to the Housing Choice Voucher program, this high-school dropout, who had all five of my children by the time I was 21 years old, was able to obtain a GED diploma, an associate in liberal arts degree, and both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

In addition, I also managed to break the generational cycle of teenage child-rearing for my children. Four of my five children have graduated from high school. My youngest son will graduate in May 2015.

I am currently working as an analyst for a large youth-serving nonprofit organization and hope to become a successful entrepreneur in the near future.

Becki, Barnesville, Minn.

Head Start, food aid, child care

As a young single mother, I benefited from War on Poverty programs in ways that led me to a life where I am educated, self-sufficient, and giving back to help others get out of poverty. Head Start helped educate my son and identify a behavioral issue that, once addressed, helped him be successful in elementary school and no longer require an IEP [individualized education program].

Food support allowed me to feed my son an adequate diet. Child-care assistance allowed me to continue my pursuit of a college degree as well as work.

What became very difficult was during the final year of my bachelor’s degree, college courses no longer counted towards the work hours required to maintain child-care assistance. To take full-time classes plus work full time, I had to rely on my parents to take my son many evenings and weekends.

Other women who do not have that informal support system or who struggle with disabilities that would limit their ability to work and take classes full time are stuck in a cycle of poverty that is nearly impossible to break out of, in part due to the restrictions of the very programs designed to help them.

I now have a master’s degree, own a home, and have a good job as a social worker. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities those programs gave me!

Jennifer, Phoenix, Ariz.

Pell Grants

I am a first-generation college graduate. Without the financial assistance I received from Pell Grants and student loans, I would have never had the chance to attend college. My mother worked two full-time jobs to support me and my sister through elementary school and high school.

She also taught me the value of hard work. I worked a full-time job as a waitress while putting myself through college. There were times when I wanted to quit, but I stuck to it. I would often work a graveyard shift and then go to class before going home again to get a few hours of sleep and starting the process over again.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to complete my bachelor of music in vocal performance and continue on to complete a master of music in opera performance.

I currently work full time in information technology, and I also sing with the Arizona Opera.

If someone had told me that I would have the chance to perform opera professionally, I would have thought they were insane.

I want this for every student! Education is the most valuable investment we can make in ourselves and our world. I hope that programs like this continue to offer that needed boost for low-income students.

See all of our coverage timed to the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty in this special section.