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During tough economic times, many people find comfort knowing someone is there for them. With the poverty rate in Indiana at 11.8 percent, many Hoosiers are a couple of paychecks away from financial ruin. A community organization, Overcoming Poverty Together, has been a clutch for many poverty-stricken Muncie residents. 

OPT, which is based off of an organization called Move the Mountain, encourages community members to develop supporting relationships with people trying to get out of poverty. The relationship is not through monetary support said Molly Flodder, executive director of TEAMwork for Quality Living  .

“When we say that people support them, we don’t mean that they give money,” Flodder said. “They give their time, their friendship [and] their connections in the community to help folks go back to school or get jobs to achieve the dreams they want to move toward.”

The circles program

OPT members participate in a five step training program called circles. The circles are made up of allies or people not in poverty and captains, the person in poverty who leads the group. According to the Teamwork for Quality Living Web site, OPT consists of 40 percent people in poverty and 60 percent people who are not in poverty.

Eleanor Johnson, an instructor at the Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology at Ball State University, has been a supporter of OPT since its beginning. Johnson said the balance of participants is important because everyone should be aware of the people in their community.

“I think we all, especially with these economic times right now, we have to start thinking of- what about that neighbor down the street,” she said.

Poverty town hall meeting

Recently a poverty town hall meeting was held at First Baptist Church. The agenda of the meeting was to raise awareness and discuss how to help people in poverty within the community. Nearly 100 community members of varying incomes and other community organizations were in attendance. Attendees expressed their concern with how to help poverty in their own backyard, which is what OPT is all about.

OPT open dinners

OPT has open dinners for members and welcomes residents of the community to come out as well. On the first and third each month, the aroma of a warm home cooked meal fills the air of First Baptist Church.

OPT offers a chance for people interested in the program to learn about the group. The meetings usually run about 2 hours, with the first hour eating dinner and the second half is an open discussion on issues that plague people in poverty.

Model to other communities

The organization has served as a model to other communities who are trying to implement similar programs and Johnson said that is inspiring.

“This has given me a different kind of hope,” Johnson said. “We’ve actually become a training center. The word is getting out- why not work in your own backyard? The issues are all of ours to solve.”

OP T is taking on the poverty in Muncie one circle at a time. A lot of the captains who successfully complete the program return and serve as motivation to newcomers, which is what Overcoming Poverty Together is all about.