Poverty 101—Improving Your Poverty Competency

Gain strategies for understanding and communicating more effectively with people who are fighting poverty. Poverty competency is having a comprehensive understanding of poverty and the skills to effectively eradicate its impacts on learning. It is knowing the history and structural causes of poverty ensure that you are operating from facts not stereotypes. 

Poverty 101 is understanding the complexities of poverty and how many different life experiences are labeled “poverty.” It is knowing that working-class poverty experiences are different from situational poverty experiences or generational poverty experiences. It is understanding that families in poverty are struggling in a war zone. It is about operating on the assumption that people are making the best decisions they can within the “shoes” they are wearing. It is fostering a climate of everyone belonging and having the opportunity to shine. It is creating relationships based on identification so people can see they are not so different. 

Poverty 101 will provide you with take away tools for making a difference for those living in poverty in your community. Participants will leave with:

• A deeper understanding of poverty, it’s history, causes, and current national and local facts;
  
• Awareness of their own attitudes, beliefs, and values about poverty and those who endure it;
  
• Skill sets for communicating and relating more effectively across poverty barriers; and
  
• Tools for building strong internal and external partnerships to take a collective approach.
  

Anna Theisen is a Program Manager with Denver Public Schools Homeless Education Network. She is a native of Colorado and has a background in Social Work and Community and Family Engagement. She has been with the district for thirteen years working with students, families and community partners providing outreach and direct service. She is trained as a Direct Service Provider and Poverty Coach and is passionate about education and removing barriers that students experiencing homelessness may face. Anna’s vision for all students is “Every Student Succeeds”. She has worked to expand awareness about the realities of poverty and the impacts of homelessness on a student’s education.

Dorothy Leyba, MSW, is a McKinney Vento education liaison with Denver Public Schools Homeless Education Network. She has dedicated herself to working with and advocating for underserved youth and marginalized communities for the past 11 years. She is passionate about empowerment, education, and advocating for social justice. Prior to working for Denver Public Schools, she worked as a family advocate for North Metro Children’s Advocacy Center and in the child welfare field for Adams County, CO. Dorothy earned her Bachelors in Social Work from Metropolitan State University and her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver with a certificate in Community Leadership. Dorothy is certified as a Communication Across Barriers poverty coach.

Patricia Hemstreet Vaughan, MA, LSC is a School Counselor and McKinney Vento school liaison for Denver Public Schools. She has been with Denver Public School Homeless Education Network for the past 12 years. She is a strong compassionate advocate for students and families experiencing homelessness. Her work focuses on eliminating the educational barriers that students and families experience in the war zone of poverty. She is passionate about promoting societal changes to help eradicate poverty. Patricia is certified as a Communications Across Barriers Poverty coach. She holds a Master's degree in Counseling and Counselor Education from the University of Colorado at Denver, and is a Nationally Certified Counselor.