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PERSPECTIVES

Community Development and the New Normal

January 16, 2013
Debbie Taylor, Regional Director, Citi Community Development

Reflecting on 2012 and the past few years, many of us feel that the world is vastly changed. Suddenly, it seems, we live in a world where debate on our national budget can put us on a fiscal cliff, hurricanes can cripple mighty New York City, and employed Americans are homeless. Most of us may be unaware of this last change: that poverty afflicts even those who work hard. It contradicts a dearly held belief about what it means to be American.

To advance understanding of this phenomenon, the United Way of Greater Dallas presented The Community Financial Stability Summit on December 5. The Citi Foundation sponsored the event in collaboration with the Communities Foundation of Texas, and there, Pulitzer Prize winning author David K. Shipler presented selections from his book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America. The audience heard stories of the bank teller with two dollars in her checking account, the gas station attendant who doesn't own a car, and the woman who can't work full time because she rides the bus for three hours to and from her job each day. Typically, the individuals in Shipler's book also lack insurance and have subprime credit scores.

In fact, the class of working poor is growing rapidly. As presented at the summit by the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas, the income poverty rate in Dallas is now 19 percent - twice the national rate. The number of people in Dallas living in poverty increased by 25 percent between 2005 and 2010, rising to over 560,000. If this trend continues unchecked, nearly 1,000,000 Dallas residents will be in poverty by 2020.

In response to this change for the worse, the community development sector is changing for the better. First, the conversation has evolved: asset building isn't only for the middle class anymore. Research shows that low-wage earners can save to achieve financial stability and economic mobility. Now, discussions focus on a pathway of intermediate outcomes that help families get ahead. These outcomes include helping people attain job skills, secure consistent employment, reduce expenses and debt, increase income, build emergency savings, and save for, acquire and protect assets.

Also, the community development sector now realizes that the problem is too big to solve alone. It is deeply rooted not only in housing and economic development but also in our systems of health care and insurance, education, and criminal justice. Such interconnectedness calls for working together as we've never done before - collaboratives that create what is called "collective impact." Some collaboratives have already achieved meaningful results, such as the United Way of Greater Houston's THRIVE program, which was also presented at the Summit. Last year (the program's fourth), THRIVE and its 21 partners accomplished some outstanding outcomes. Most impressively, the average THRIVE client increased his or her income by $17,945, moving from 60 percent to 160 percent of the federal poverty level, in only three to 10 months.

Understanding our new normal, and knowing how to address it, Citi Community Development will remain committed to working with local and national organizations focused on moving people out of poverty and up the economic ladder.

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