{"id":4844,"date":"2017-05-05T09:49:59","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T13:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=4844"},"modified":"2025-08-16T17:48:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T21:48:35","slug":"breaking-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2017\/05\/05\/breaking-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nOn Tuesday, April 12, Dr. Donna Beegle came to UMPI as a distinguished lecturer. \u00a0She spoke about a topic that\u2019s close to many people: poverty. \u00a0But Beegle did not want to just talk about research and data. \u00a0She shared her own stories about living in poverty. \u00a0Over time, Beegle rose above life\u2019s challenges. \u00a0But many people outside of poverty did not understand where she came from. \u00a0At UMPI, Beegle showed how anyone can create better futures for those living in poverty. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In 1989, Beegle co-founded and became president of Communication Across Barriers. \u00a0The company is based in Portland, Oregon. \u00a0Beegle hosts poverty awareness workshops and trainings. \u00a0She works with healthcare professionals, educators, social service agencies and justice departments. \u00a0Her mission is to \u201cfight poverty, not those who live in it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Beegle grew up in generational poverty. \u00a0She and her family survived on migrant labor wages. \u00a0Paying the rent and electric bills and buying food were everyday struggles. \u00a0She came to believe that no one cared about them or anyone in poverty. \u00a0Though she went to school, Beegle never learned to read until her late 20s. \u00a0She felt as if her teachers did not want to help her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI would ask what a word meant and teachers would say, \u2018Look it up,\u2019\u201d Beegle said. \u00a0\u201cI know that they didn\u2019t want to enable me. \u00a0Now I think, \u2018Why wouldn\u2019t you enable me? \u00a0That was your job.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At age 15, Beegle dropped out of school and got married. \u00a0Her teacher said that she needed education to find a job. \u00a0Beegle told her teacher that she didn\u2019t want a job. \u00a0The teacher accused Beegle of being lazy, but Beegle had another reason. \u00a0All her life she saw her family work hard but remain in poverty. \u00a0Those experiences made her think that a job would be useless for her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Beegle explained that stereotypes about poverty affected both herself and her teacher. \u00a0The teacher believed that people in poverty did not want to better themselves. \u00a0She grew up middle class and thought that having a job was a simple solution. \u00a0For many years, Beegle had much self-doubt. \u00a0She believed that overcoming poverty was not possible and blamed herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe give meaning based on our own life experiences,\u201d Beegle said. \u00a0\u201cMy parents worked hard. \u00a0People I knew worked hard, but they still got evicted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When she was 25, Beegle became a single mother to two kids. \u00a0For several years, she still struggled with poverty. \u00a0But later Beegle earned her GED. \u00a0She attended community college and earned an associate\u2019s degree in journalism. \u00a0She went on to earn her bachelor\u2019s, master\u2019s and doctoral degrees. \u00a0Beegle\u2019s doctoral degree is in educational leadership. \u00a0She has studied poverty theory and the history of poverty in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI had people who took the time to get to know me and teach me that I wasn\u2019t stupid,\u201d Beegle said. \u00a0\u201cThey believed in me and said, \u2018what you know now isn\u2019t all you can know.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While in community college, Beegle felt isolated from her peers. \u00a0She realized that many middle-class students cared about people in poverty. \u00a0But they could not relate to her life experiences. \u00a0Many people, whether they are in poor or middle-class, believe the myths about poverty. \u00a0But Beegle knows the facts. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Beegle told audience members at UMPI that 93 percent of people who receive food stamps have jobs. \u00a0People in poverty do not have children just to get welfare benefits. \u00a0In fact, 23 states have laws that prevent people with children from getting welfare. \u00a0While on welfare, Beegle\u2019s monthly check was $408. \u00a0Her rent was $395. \u00a0She had $13 left to spend on utilities. \u00a0People would tell her that she should learn how to save money.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe U.S. is the only country that teaches its people that they are the cause of poverty,\u201d Beegle said. \u00a0\u201cWhen human beings don\u2019t understand, we judge. \u00a0They don\u2019t really understand why people do what they do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Today, Beegle invites people who are living in poverty to various workshops. \u00a0She starts by having the people walk down a red carpet and receive a present. \u00a0Her goal is to make them feel special, something that many have never felt. \u00a0Then Beegle asks everyone what they would like to do for a living. \u00a0Everyone stands up and states one skill that they have.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At all workshops, Beegle sets up attendees with navigators. \u00a0Navigators are middle-class neighbors who agree to be a resource for someone in poverty for one year. \u00a0They help people navigate assistance programs and find better jobs and educational opportunities. \u00a0Beegle calls this method the \u201cOpportunity Community Model.\u201d \u00a0She educates communities about the facts behind poverty. \u00a0She lets people in poverty know that they are not alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe ripple effects on a community when we focus on poverty, not the people, are profound\u201d Beegle said. \u00a0She spoke about a woman who sat in the back row during a workshop. \u00a0The woman had low self-esteem. \u00a0But the next year, \u201cShe was in the front row. \u00a0She\u2019d been navigated into housing, had her GED and her kids were in Head Start.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kelsey Corriveau, an UMPI elementary education major, attended Beegle\u2019s talk. \u00a0She gained more knowledge about what poverty is like for many people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI thought it was really informative on poverty. \u00a0Before, I had definitely made statements without knowing people\u2019s backgrounds,\u201d Corriveau said. \u00a0\u201cNow I understand the context of poverty more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After her talk, Beegle signed copies of her book \u201cSee Poverty, Be the Difference.\u201d \u00a0She knows that her life has given her greater insight into poverty. \u00a0Now she wants everyone to know how they can influence change. \u00a0Poverty will always be a complex issue. \u00a0But with education, people can break barriers and succeed. \u00a0They can put poverty in the past and create better futures for everyone. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, April 12, Dr. Donna Beegle came to UMPI as a distinguished lecturer. \u00a0She spoke about a topic that\u2019s close to many people: poverty. \u00a0But Beegle did not want to just talk about research and data. \u00a0She shared her own stories about living in poverty. \u00a0Over time, Beegle rose above life\u2019s challenges. \u00a0But many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8827,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4844\/revisions\/8827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}