Just because you might not see them on the street doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Statistics show that one in nine people in Shawano County and one in four people in Menominee County live in poverty, and 198 families are homeless.
The group, Shawano Area Matthew 25, was formed to help, referring to the Bible quote, “What you do for the least of my people, you have done for me.”
The verse epitomizes the quest of the people who started the group a year and a half ago when they watched a DVD on poverty in our country.
“That started a discussion,” said Muffy Culhane, SAM 25 board president. “It’s pretty easy to go to your job and come home and not see it.”
The nondenominational group started with people from churches and has grown to include community members who want to help those affected by poverty. The group is waiting to get its nonprofit status so it can apply for grants.
“The commitment by the group has just been super,” said SAM 25 adviser Nancy Schultz, who helps the group establish goals. “We’ve been talking about this project a long time.”
The goal is to improve circumstances of those in poverty and to help them become self-sufficient through community involvement. Organizers want to give those people the opportunity to help themselves.
“The biggest thing the community can do is to keep an open mind about folks who are struggling,” Culhane said.
The situation is evident in the Shawano School District, Culhane said, where there were 39 homeless students in 2013-2014. It didn’t necessarily mean they were on the street, but rather they didn’t have a home of their own.
Statewide, more than 15,000 public school students are considered homeless.
SAM 25 will work to educate people about the extent and causes of homelessness. They will support local, state and national programs to help people out of poverty.
“This winter, we’re looking at providing hotel and food vouchers,” Culhane said.
Eventually they would like to provide dental and health care with a community free clinic.
“It’s good to see the progress. It’s slow, but it’s going to happen,” Culhane said.
The University of Wisconsin-Extension will sponsor a poverty simulation program at the Shawano Lake County Park Pavilion in December.
“The purpose is to show what it feels like to be an individual in poverty,” Schultz said.
The free event will put people in family situations such as being unemployed, deserted by the breadwinner, disabled and elderly. They will be challenged to feed their family, pay bills and keep their kids in school.
Schultz hopes that people from all walks of life, including business, health care, and clergy, will take part to find out what it’s like to be in that situation..
Other SAM 25 officers are Shannon Daun, vice president, Faith Webster, secretary, and Pat Pawlak, treasurer.
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