Conference Themes & Tracks
Community Approaches to Ending Poverty
Explores how citizens and communities can work together to overcome poverty. Presenters and conference participants, both haves and have nots, are invited to share tools, programs, and experiences that foster personal and civic journeys toward ending poverty. How does engaged civic participation, including volunteerism, neighborhood initiatives, religion and other civic processes, address deep challenges such as economic injustice, hyper-individualism, unethical corporate behavior, unregulated markets, and conditions associated with the gap between wealth and poverty?
Education Matters
Examines poverty's effects on education and education's effects on poverty. Sessions may address the following issues: poverty's physiological and learning impacts; disadvantaged families' challenges in preparing preschoolers for quality education; poverty's effects on college access, preparation, and completion; the post-secondary system's obstacles to low income students; research on exemplary programs that serve low income students and alleviate poverty; and the need for and characteristics of quality rural/suburban/urban educators.
Food Insecurity
Focuses on families' economic security and access to affordable and nutritious food, federal nutrition assistance programs, and the emergency food system.
Housing and Shelter
Addresses the growing crisis of homelessness and affordable homeownership; the foreclosure crisis; the reintegration into neighborhoods of people who have been incarcerated; supportive shelters for the chronically homeless and fair standard practices in temporary shelters; and distinct issues in housing for Native Americans and other communities.
The Unbanked and Underbanked: Consumer Choices in Changing Financial Market
Seeks to define the changing financial services markets, examine "underbanked" and "unbanked" consumer behaviors, and consider legal, social, and policy issues that impact consumers and the marketplace.
Workforce Development and Workplace Justice
This track examines problems of under- and un-employment, low wages, and the growing gap between rich and poor that results from income disparity and job loss. Potential solutions such as welfare to work programs, worker training and education, socially responsible business models, green job initiatives, the campaign for a living wage, employment laws, and the role of unions are some of the potential topics to be addressed.
Conference Factoids and Poverty Statistics Posters
Posters PDF (136k)
Statistics WORD docx (20k)