Agency shifts to break cycle of poverty

A minor accident in bumper-to- bumper traffic became a major crisis in Angela Baldwin's life. The driver of a sport-utility vehicle rear-ended Baldwin's 1997 Chevy Cavalier, forcing it into the SUV in front of her last year.

The SUVs were left without a scratch, but Baldwin's car took it on both ends, crumbling like an accordion. Adjusters said the car was totaled.

Insurance paid debt on the single Mount Pleasant mother's outstanding loan, leaving Baldwin with just $38 remaining from the settlement. She needed another car to make it to North Charleston for her cleaning job, but couldn't find a real loan. Baldwin took out two $600 check-cashing loans that she paid off and then immediately reborrowed, merely paying the fees for weeks, before finally going to Katy Gerloff, an East Cooper Community Outreach case manager, to explain why she had trouble paying the bills.

Gerloff found someone to help pay off Baldwin's debt through the ECCO organization that offers services to people living in situational and generational poverty. But in the past year, the organization began to shift toward scooping people out of poverty rather than just feeding it.

Jack Little, ECCO executive director, said. "Instead of giving away fish, we're trying to teach people to fish."

Baldwin, a Morris College graduate, is just one of a handful of women who recently graduated from ECCO's new Getting Ahead course designed to teach people how to climb out of a life of limited means.

Little learned about the class after attending a conference two years ago.

Prior to the conference, Little thought the answer to poverty was, "Just get a job. Why don't you get an education?"

Now he understands that it means changing minds.

"People in our society think in different ways, depending on their levels of income," Little said.

Bill Condy of ECCO said he learned recently just how different that can be when he asked a group of clients to tell him what was holding them back.

The clients completed an exercise listing the obstacles holding them down. When he asked them to share their answers, the clients couldn't talk about it, but instead, they cried. Condy said they were too ashamed. But Condy said if he were in their position, he would have wanted to show what he had learned. "If I had done that I would have been proud," Condy said.

The exercise was part of ECCO's effort to break the cycle of poverty. Another is to engage the community in offering to support others who want to break out of poverty. The organization will hold a poverty conference April 8 at Benefitfocus on Daniel Island.

Terie Dreussi Smith, author of "Bridges Out of Poverty," as well as community members will join to discuss poverty's impact. There attendees also will learn just how differently people in poverty, middle and wealthy classes think.

Women like Baldwin will be touted as evidence of ECCO's movements toward success.

Baldwin, a single mother, said the Getting Ahead class taught her to budget so when emergencies arise, she would have money in reserve. Since graduating from the course, she found an administrative job in Hanahan closer to home. ECCO also will pair graduates of the class with mentors who will guide them as they try to break into the middle class. Baldwin has become more financially stable and hopes to continue on that path.

"I want to be more self-sufficient and get better jobs, and I want more for my son," she said.

Reach Jessica Johnson at 937-5921 or jjohnson@postandcourier.com.