Progress Not Perfection

Many people think of poverty programs as schools or hospitals. Poor people come to the program, they use the tools they are given, they graduate from poverty. They find the cause of their poverty, they are cured.  The next group comes in.

At St. Anthony’s we have thousands of guests who do graduate. They learn new skills or they learn to speak English. They get clean and sober or they get health insurance. They find a job that will allow them to live independently.

But many of our guests face multiple barriers to participating in society. They live with both physical disabilities and mental health problems. They struggle with an addiction and they struggle with illiteracy. They are elderly, which is not a disease and has no cure.

These are the guests we hope to keep connected to our programs, not to graduate. If they keep coming back to St. Anthony Social Work Center, they can access benefits and keep the stable housing we’ve helped them find and get help managing their limited incomes. If they keep coming to the Free Medical Clinic, they can get help managing a chronic illness and get medication on the spot, so they don’t forget to take it. If they remain in the Madonna Senior Residence, they can built strong relationships with other residents and blossom anew by aging in place.

These are the guests we hope will stay in community with St. Anthony Foundation. Their lives will become more stable; they may even become more self-sufficient. But their strength lies in staying together, not in “graduating.” And by remaining in community here, they make our community strong.