PADUCAH - Eliminating poverty and giving people a better quality of life. That's the goal behind a major push by one local group.
It's not an easy problem to address but one that's already gaining traction. The United Way of Paducah-McCracken County is spearheading a movement called "Impact Poverty."
The goal is to gather together leaders and volunteers representing all different aspects of the community to develop a 10-year plan to reduce poverty in the area.
"Poverty can make us vulnerable," author Terie Dreussi Smith said. Smith is co-author of Bridges Out Of Poverty. She works with communities to reduce the number of people who are struggling everyday.
"We need to work together to address the resources that become eroded when we are in poverty, build those resources together," Smith said. "People in poverty have great strengths and are problem solvers."
Smith is talking about more than just a financial resource. She said emotional, mental, spiritual and physical resources are also key to helping people pull themselves out of poverty.
The local volunteers on the United Way Impact Poverty committee come from industry, health care, education, law enforcement and religious organizations, just to name a few.
For additional information, watch the video accompanying this story.
