Data That Tells a Story
Love your neighbor as yourself -Mark 12:31
Data from the Racial Equity Index (Metropolitan Studies Institute at USC Upstate) indicate that the life expectancy of a child born today, less than two miles northwest of Main Street, Spartanburg, is 68.2 years, while a child born two miles southeast of Main Street, Spartanburg, is 85.3 years – a difference of over 17 years.
45.7 % of children in this city live in poverty.
Black people are three times as likely to live in poverty as white people.
The wage gap for Black and Latina women shows that they are paid less than 57 cents for every dollar paid to their white male counterparts.
How we do this together
“Friending bias is lowest on average in religious groups…. Friending bias is negative in religious groups because religious-group friendships do not exhibit substantial homophily by socio-economic status (SES)…. if friending bias in all settings was reduced by an amount equal to the difference in friending bias between neighbourhoods and religious groups, most of the disconnection between low-SES and high-SES individuals in the US would be eliminated…. from Social capital II: determinants of economic connectedness
Our Strategy
Pastoral
Be with children and their families who are living in poverty. Listen. Seek to better understand their lives, and to connect them with immediate resources, access to services, and connection with the wider community. Encourage their gifts.
Congregational
Build a network of congregations serving children and their families who are living in poverty. Share knowledge and resources between congregations.
Community
Align efforts of congregations and organizations serving children and their families who are living in poverty.
Advocacy
Develop projects and support for gaps in community services and thinking.
Culture
Create a culture of connection and sharing for our mutual thriving.