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Dear Friends,
I love Habitat people because you are "yes" people-people who say yes
to building Habitat homes; yes to sharing your talents and your
resources; yes to volunteering; yes to partnerships; yes to creating
healthy communities; yes to welcoming each and every person to this
amazing Habitat ministry; and yes to confronting the reality that
living in poverty is bad for families, bad for communities and bad for
America.
Poverty is one of those topics that make us uncomfortable as Americans-we have abundant resources and yet we have failed to make real progress in reducing poverty.
I recently read a troubling article written by the economist Paul Krugman with this headline "Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain." He explains that neuroscientists have discovered that children growing up in very poor families live in conditions that impair language development and memory. The discovery gives us some understanding of the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Mr. Krugman goes on to say:
"Living in or near poverty has always been a form of exile, of being cut off from the larger society. But the distance between the poor and rest of us is much greater than it was 40 years ago, because most American incomes have risen in real terms while the official poverty line has not. To be poor in America today, even more than in the past, is to be an outcast in your own country. And that, neuroscientists tell us, is what poisons a child's brain."
At Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity we are "yes" people who can help to break this intergenerational cycle of poverty by building Habitat homes. We can say "yes" by having the courage to speak frankly about the need for each of us, our communities and our country to eliminate poverty and level the playing field so that all children can have a bright future.
Thank you for being a Habitat "yes" person-we are grateful to work in partnership with you in this ministry.
Susan Haigh
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