Poverty takes center stage at luncheon

SANDPOINT - Sandpoint is not immune to the symptoms of poverty.

That was the message delivered at a Thursday luncheon sponsored by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce's Non-profit Development Council. The event was led by Susan Traver of the University of Idaho Extension office, who has studied poverty for more than a decade.

While the presentation was ostensibly about creating a sustainable community, Traver focused much of her speech on the facts, figures and effects of local poverty.

Traver pointed out that attempting to lower poverty levels should not only be for altruistically-minded citizens, but for business owners as well. Low-income residents, who make up 40 percent of Bonner County families, are more likely to shop for the least expensive products, according to Traver, which often means they are shopping at chain stores rather than locally-owned businesses.

As more area residents fall into poverty, fewer local workers will be able to afford housing near their jobs and employers will essentially have to outsource their employees, Traver said.

Traver, who at one time lived in poverty, said she was able to lift herself up through education, but added that higher education is not always attainable for low income families.

"Education is not something you can necessarily do when you're thinking about how you are going to feed your family next week," Traver said.

Traver also argued that families living in poverty rarely have a safety net in life and are less likely to take risks that could lead them out of poverty.

"Middle class people make poor choices. Wealthy people make poor choices, but when a poor person makes a poor choice, they pay more for it than we do," she said.

Although Traver pointed out the litany of problems associated with poverty on a local level, the goal of the presentation was not to depress attendees with dire facts, but to encourage them to take part in a solution, said the chamber's executive director Amy Little.

Both Little and Traver heaped praise on the county's numerous non-profit groups, many of which offer free food, housing and counseling to low-income residents.

"If there is a message in all of this today, it's that if you're not involved with any of these (local non-profit) groups, it's time to step up and get involved," Little said.