Panel To Discuss Realities Of American Poverty

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(Athens) – The annual Ohio University College of Health Sciences and Professions Grover Lecture Series will feature an expert panel that will discuss hardships described by the lecture’s featured guest speaker Stephanie Land, author of the bestselling “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.” The panel members will also discuss how these hardships relate to the realities of poverty in southeastern Ohio.

The Grover Lecture Series will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Land will speak virtually about the realities of poverty in the United States by sharing a first-hand account of her struggles navigating support systems as a single mother and living in a seemingly endless cycle of poverty. Land’s lecture will be followed by a panel discussion comprised of community experts and individuals with lived experience discussing topics addressed in the memoir.

“The face of the working poor, women are frequently burdened with some of lowest incomes due to labor market inequities and the lack of government resources. Land uses her lived experiences to shine a spotlight on the too often invisible truth about how these inequities impact the physical, mental and social wellbeing of these women and their children as they attempt to navigate stigma, shame and humiliation and alienation from society,” said panelist Karen Deardorff, an associate professor of instruction at Ohio University.

Having grown up in intergenerational poverty, Deardorff brings first-hand experience to the subject matter to the panel discussion. Her research focuses on communicative strategies employed by women living in poverty to remain resilient in the face of material and resource scarcity. 

At 28, Land dreamed of attending college and becoming a writer; instead, she found herself fleeing a violent partnership that resulted in homelessness for both her and her seven-month-old child. She spent years pulling herself out of poverty working as a maid earning just $9 an hour.

These experiences inspired her memoir, which was listed among the 100 Notable Books of 2019 by the New York Times and served as inspiration for the Netflix series “Maid.”

“Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness and poverty in America. Stephanie’s experience of wading through shelter and poverty systems in an effort to establish a life of safety for her daughter is a story that needs to be heard by our community,” said panelist Kelly Madewell, executive director at My Sister’s Place, an organization providing support for victims of domestic violence in southeast Ohio. “‘Maid’ provides an important opportunity for our safety net to take a look at itself to find ways we can do better for our neighbors in abusive relationships.” 

Madewell will draw on her experience helping victims of domestic violence during the panel discussion.

“What an eye opener it is to see the challenges Stephanie endured throughout her journey with being a single mom with a low-income job. The will to survive for her daughter to want a better life for both of them. Poverty is real and is still out there today,” said panelist Kelly McGhee, who is currently the vice-president for the Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Board of Directors and has represented Logan Head Start on the board since 1996. “This is a must-read book.”

In addition to her volunteering with the Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Board, McGhee is a manager at a local McDonald’s restaurant and brings lived experience to the panel as a former Head Start parent.

Panelist Shawn Stover has dedicated his life to helping people navigating poverty find self-sufficiency. For most of his career he has worked at Athens County Job and Family Services. More recently, he was the reentry coordinator at OhioMeansJobs in Athens County, until becoming their workforce advancement manager.

“There is a great depth to being in poverty where all of the person’s emotions and feelings are amplified just for day-to-day survival. If our organizations cannot help addressing the basic needs than movement to the next level is nearly impossible, yet that is what society expects,” Stover said. 

Panelist Misty Porter is an advocate at the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program, which runs a 24/7 crisis line and provides direct support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.  They also serve on the program’s Anti-Oppression Taskforce and co-host a Queer and Trans Youth Board Game Group. 

“The book really highlights a truth about how living in poverty is hard work. I think a lot of people who haven’t been there don’t understand that. ‘Maid’ reflects something that I see in many survivors I work with here in southern Ohio, the strength and fierce dedication that it takes to survive day after day within those conditions,” Porter said. “And to think about the kind of shame and stigma that society places on people in poverty on top of how difficult it already is, it’s appalling. I’m honored to be a small part of this event attempting to redirect some of those misconceptions.”

For the past 40 years panelist Jack Frech has been an advocate for those economically struggling, serving as a teacher, caseworker and social worker. Serving previously as the deputy director of Hocking, Athens, Perry Community Action Agency and director for the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services, he has worked to advance issues relating to poverty at the local, state and national levels. 

“Stephanie Land is an exceptionally talented author who writes about the painful struggle of life in working poverty. Her story is all too familiar for thousands of parents and children in our community. We need to do more to help,” said Frech, who today serves as the senior executive in residence at OHIO’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.

Additional panelists include Robin Burrow, principal at Eastern Local Schools, and mother of Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow; Leah Schmelzenbach, shelter program coordinator at My Sister’s Place; Kelly Hatas of Hocking, Athens, Perry Community Action; and Tiffany Arnold, assistant professor in Appalachian Studies at Ohio University.

The event is free and open to the public, with students, faculty, staff and the community encouraged to attend. Audience members can attend the event virtually or in person at both Walter Hall and Athens High School.  Both childcare and transportation will be available during the event. Walter Hall and the online option are expected to be near or at full capacity for the event, so guests are encouraged to attend in-person if they are able to at Athens High School.

The event at Walter Hall will moderated by Madewell and will include Burrow, Schmelzenbach, Deardorff and Frech. The event at Athens High School will be moderated by Hatas and will include Arnold, McGhee, Porter and Stover.

In partnership with the Grover Lecture Series, Athens County Public Libraries has been hosting a community read-along and will carry an increased number of copies of the book available to borrow. There will be two book discussions taking place on Feb. 16 and 17.

­The event is presented by the College of Health Sciences and Professions and Athens County Public Libraries. It is sponsored by the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program, Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action, My Sister’s Place, Stevens Literacy Center, Athens HOPE, Athens County Foundation, Stevens Literacy Center and the Athens County Foundation.

The Grover Lecture Series is hosted annually by Ohio University College of Health Sciences and Professions to address important health and social issues happening in our communities. The Grover Lecture Series is part of an endowed event series established by the Grover family to address health-related topics.