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Article published Jun 19, 2008 Our Eyes Were Opened: Maryville College workshop puts poverty in perspective
By Matthew Stewart of The Daily Times Staff
Volunteers and employees from nonprofit organizations, churches and government agencies had their eyes further opened to the harsh realities of poverty at two Maryville College workshops.
Rev. Beth Templeton was the program's keynote speaker on Tuesday. She has served for 25 years as the executive director of United Ministries, a nonprofit in Greenville, S.C. Templeton is currently focusing on a program called Our Eyes Were Opened that helps people living in poverty.
The lessons she shared with audience members came from listening to people in poverty and building relationships with them.
"I've seen people want to reach out and help," she said.
However, those well-meaning people can oftentimes get their feelings hurt or become angry with their program's participants, according to Templeton.
"There are ways (I can) help you reach out with wisdom and compassion," she said. "We provide the opportunity to change lives."
Program participants, however, make the final decision of whether to improve their lives, said Templeton.
She then examined the different bottom-line values socioeconomic classes can possess, and explained that sometimes the best way to help people is simply to treat them as a person.
"Put your value system on the shelf, put your morals on the shelf, put how you make decisions on the shelf, if you truly want to serve the people who come."
The afternoon workshop's topic was increasing teen awareness about poverty. Templeton suggested several activities to illustrate how complex poverty is.
One role-playing activity had audience members interview for jobs. Participants collected prompt cards covering various aspects of their lives, such as education-level, age, health conditions and proper identification papers.
Many people did not have identification papers in the simulation and stopped interviewing with "employers" after being denied employment several times. Some people even admitted to lying on several questions in the simulation to try to get a job.
The simulation was eye-opening.
"People are living with things beyond their control. Some have the education and training but can't get the papers," said Templeton. "They just need to get their foot in the door."
The workshops were sponsored by Good Neighbors of Blount County, Maryville College's Center for Strong Communities, New Providence Presbyterian Church, St. Paul AME Zion Church, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fairview United Methodist Church and the Blount County Ecumenical Action Council.
"Churches are essential," said center director Dr. Billy Newton. They are "perhaps the heart and soul of changes which can happen in a community."
The workshops helped people to face the realities of poverty, said Newton. "Today was important for the center. We've done so much with nonprofit service organizations. We know churches were asking for these (workshops) to be prepared community members."