Meeting of the Minds Event at WVU: Poverty in Appalachia
On Wednesday, March 29th, seven faculty members of West Virginia University gathered together to speak on a panel about poverty in Appalachia. This event, also known as “Meeting of the Minds,” was a way for people in the area to come together to learn about the poverty epidemic striking Appalachian communities and to come up with ways to combat these issues.
The seven faculty members on the panel included:
- Valarie Blake, J.D., WVU College of Law
- Rita Colistra, Ph.D. WVU Reed College of Media
- Lynne Cossman, Ph.D., WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (Sociology and Anthropology)
- John Deskins, Ph.D., WVU College of Business and Economics
- Clay Marsh, M.D., WVU School of Medicine and Health Sciences Center
- Travis Stimeling, Ph.D., WVU College of Creative Arts (Music)
- David Weissman, M.D., WVU School of Medicine and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Each of these amazing individuals has their own personal connection to the issue at hand, with different perspectives. Some of the panelists tackled the issue of the arts and how it can benefit the people living in these impoverished communities, while others brought up the connection between health and poverty. Poverty is such a complex issue, with various ways to tackle it, and with different ways that it affects people and their communities.
The connection between health and poverty was a major subject at this month’s “Meeting of the Minds” event. Oftentimes, it is assumed that health issues cause people to fall into poverty, but the case is just the opposite. Valarie Blake, a member of the panel, mentioned that poverty is a major reason that people have health problems. Approximately seven percent of West Virginians are living uninsured; this is how the cycle and the connection of poverty and health issues begins. Dr. Lynne Cossman asked the members of the audience at this event to close their eyes and imagine a teenage girl living in one of these impoverished communities. Now imagine that she becomes pregnant. This teenage girl, living in poverty will most likely not be able to afford any prenatal care for herself, or her baby, at the beginning stages of her pregnancy. Moving forward, it’s possible that she will gain access to proper nutritional care, but also unlikely. The baby in this situation is already at a disadvantage before birth, and this young mother will bring it into the world unable to afford proper health care, causing immense struggle. This is how the cycle of poverty and health begins and it is an extremely difficult cycle to break. Now this is the beginning of the cycle and it is one way that health and poverty are connected, but there are so many other health issues connected to poverty in Appalachia.
Along with the issues that cause and fuel poverty, different ways to tackle it in these communities was also discussed. Energy Express is an eight week summer program for children living in West Virginia’s low-income communities. This program was designed to provide children with nutritious meals and learning opportunities in the summer when they otherwise would not be presented with these opportunities. Without this program, many of these children would go hungry and lack the resources for learning over the summer. During the school year, many of these students rely on the meals provided by their schools as their only way of eating, and oftentimes, the books at school are the only books they have access to. During the summer, these children don’t have those opportunities, but Energy Express provides them with just that. This is just one of the many programs designed to combat and tackle the issue of poverty. Travis Stimeling says that music and the arts also play a huge role in providing hopefulness and happiness in a person’s life, and if we have programs that can provide the people in these communities with things like musical instruments and plays, then they may feel more hopeful and happy about their future. These aren’t the only ways we can help the people impacted by poverty. There are so many ways we can help these communities; we just need to recognize that they need us.
The people in these communities deserve to live happy, full and healthy lives just as much as anyone else. We have the means and resources to help them, and they have the determination to help themselves. Don’t forget that these communities and their residents exist. Don’t forget Appalachia when it needs us the most. For resources on ways to get involved and volunteer, visit http://fahe.org/appalachian-poverty/
“My name is Alexandra Henderson and I’m the Account Executive of Appalachian Insights. I’m a tiny, 5” 1’ woman with a spunky attitude and a thirst for life. Mess with me, and my Chiweenie and I will come for you. Follow me on Twitter — @alexhendo95”
