Shared Prosperity Podcast

Accessing housing can be difficult for people experiencing financial insecurity. This is compounded when factoring in substance use disorder or having contact with the criminal justice system. On this episode, we speak to Gwendolyn Hooker, Executive Director of HOPE (Helping Other People Exceed) thru Navigation, a nonprofit helping populations with substance use disorder who've had contact with the criminal justice system. Gwendolyn shares her powerful story and experiences reintegrating into community and leveraging support systems to now impact lives via a tiny house project. A must listen!  

Hosts : Kevin Ford and Melody Daacon

Guest: Gwendolyn Hooker

Show Notes:

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/spk

Private sector businesses have a vested interest in being part of a thriving community. Aside from ethical concerns, businesses in thriving communities can improve their bottom line. Access to skilled workers who have a good quality of life (stable housing, opportunity access, good schools, quality childcare, etc.) helps businesses, families, and communities prosper. Communities with high poverty on the other hand, can curtail businesses prospects to be productive and competitive. Today we discuss 9 ways businesses can help reduce poverty.  

Host : Kevin Ford 

Show Notes:

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/spk

Professor Bruce Western, Bryce Professor of Sociology and Social Justice and Co-Director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University, suggests that “neither the police, nor the courts, nor the threat of punishment create public safety. Instead, establishing and maintaining bonds of community produced by families, schools, employers, and churches and other community organizations reduces crime and creates public safety.” On this episode, we speak with community organizer against mass incarceration, Ed Genesis, to explore the ways the criminal justice system limits opportunities to prosper. 

Host : Kevin Ford

Guest: Ed Genesis

Show Notes: 

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/spk

Grawert, A.C, Kimble, C., and Fielding, J. (2021 February 23). Poverty and Mass Incarceration in New York: An Agenda for Change. Brennan Center for Justice.

https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/PovertyMassIncarcerationNY.pdf

Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2020 May). Connections Among Poverty, Incarceration, And Inequality. Fast Focus Research/Policy Brief No. 48-2020

https://www.irp.wisc.edu/resource/connections-among-poverty-incarceration-and-inequality/#_edn4

Nixon, Vivian. D. (2018 April 6). The New Pipeline: Poverty to Prison. Prosperity Now Blog.

https://prosperitynow.org/blog/new-pipeline-poverty-prison

Prison Policy Initiative. Michigan Profile. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MI.html

Craigie, Terry-Ann, Grawert, Ames, & Kimble, Cameron. (2020 September 15) Conviction, Imprisonment, and Lost Earnings: How Involvement with the Criminal Justice System Deepens Inequality. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/conviction-imprisonment-and-lost-earnings-how-involvement-criminal

It is well documented that poverty decreases a child’s readiness for school through aspects of health, home life, schooling, and neighborhoods. Today we talk with Director of Community Collaboration for the Kalamazoo Promise, Cyekeia Lee, about working with community partners to align best practices, supports, and resources for Kalamazoo Promise students.

Hosts : Kevin Ford and Melody Daacon

Guest: Cyekeia Lee

Show Notes: 

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/spk

https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/

Ferguson, H., Bovaird, S., & Mueller, M. (2007). The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children. Pediatrics & child health, 12(8), 701–706. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/12.8.701