Tom Iselin is the president and founder of The Hunger Coalition, based in Blaine County.
Hurricane Katrina soaked all of us. We sat glued to the evening news, watching tragedy after tragedy. We nodded our heads in awe as we saw thousands of displaced people sleeping on overpasses, children thirsting for water, and mothers standing in knee-high mud begging for food for their infants. It was chilling.
Both sides of the media have been busy hyping the blame and pointing fingers about what should have been done before and after Katrina. What no one is disputing is Katrina's ability to expose a city's vulnerability to natural disaster and poverty.
Idaho is far from New Orleans and, other than sitting on a major fault, we run little risk of experiencing a natural disaster like Katrina. But we do have poverty and many of us don't want to believe it exists. Or, we believe it exists, but that it's not widespread enough to take action against it.
Real income is twice what it was in the 1970s, yet 37 million people in the United States live in poverty, nearly 2,000 of which live here in Blaine County—and 400 of those are children. Idaho is the sixth hungriest state in the country. Almost 30 percent of all children attending public schools in Blaine County qualify for subsidized food programs.
The Hunger Coalition, in conjunction with dozens of social service workers, social service agencies, businesses and volunteers has created a safety net of food security through its food box, food voucher and food distribution initiatives. It ensures no child or family in food crisis falls through the cracks. Anyone who needs food gets food.
This is a tremendous achievement and thanks should be given to everyone dedicated to helping stretch this safety net across the county.
However, the root of hunger isn't lack of food, it's poverty. If our community is sincere and serious about ending poverty, then we need to work together to address and find integrated solutions to job creation, wages, education, health care, housing, transportation, daycare and counseling. These are big tasks, indeed.
We must help people move from dependency to self-sufficiency through self-development. This means connecting people with services, businesses, and people willing to help those in poverty move to economic security. When this happens, everyone wins.
A major misconception about poverty is people living in poverty "just want a handout." Most statistics indicate the opposite. Study after study show people want to work, given the chance. People want to learn, given the opportunity. People want economic freedom, given a road map.
Social service agencies such as St. Luke's Center for Community Health, Head Start, The Advocates, Blaine County Services and many others are doing great work to end poverty in the Wood River Valley.
Did you know not one city in America has ever succeeded in building an integrated, sustainable model that ended hunger and poverty? Not one. Hard to believe in a country of such vast resources, isn't it?
I believe a collaborative, community-wide effort of minds, resources and influence is innovative and powerful enough to create a sustainable model to end hunger and poverty in Blaine County—a model that could be replicated throughout the state and beyond.
This vision may be lofty, but it is achievable. If any community can succeed, it's this one. I encourage you to engage yourself in an organization and use your skills, resources and influence to make a difference and to participate in the unprecedented.
Suffering often exposes our vulnerabilities, but it often brings about deep insights and unexpected blessings. Katrina happened 2,000 miles away, but out our backdoor, 2,000 people stand knee-high in the mud of life in need of help.
Let's bring them in, offer them food, give them skills and help them become self-sufficient and economically secure. Let's help them rebuild their lives and rekindle their dreams. Let's give Katrina a last name—Hope.
