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So, you know, we have the Census Bureau report that says poverty is low, but we still see some other indicators that suggest there has n't been a significant change in the community. What do you see among Norfolk families? Well, um, we see that this is still an ongoing chronic problem, Ashley. Hmm, we celebrate every, um, um, decrease in poverty at the national and local levels, but here in Norfolk, there are still almost twice as many people living below the poverty line as there should be based on state averages or even compared to our suburban neighbors. And what's more, still, um, over 25% - one in four of our children live below the poverty line. In some of our areas, it is over 50%.
Wow. So we have this concentrated intergenerational poverty that seems so insurmountable, but there is good news. We can, we can change this. We can work on this together with the community. We can, we can improve this. Absolutely. I know you are doing a great job at "The Next Step to Success." For those unfamiliar, we were able to speak with Chuck in a previous article on 13newsnow.com. You can check it later. Regarding the St. Vincent de Paul home that you are all actively developing, we will talk a little bit about "The Next Step to Success" in a moment, but first, a big day for the home.
Tell us what exactly is happening today? Hallelujah. Thank you for the wonderful weather we will have today. We will have a groundbreaking ceremony when we break ground on what we are calling the St. Vincent de Paul House on the site of the former De Paul Hospital. We call it the St. Vincent de Paul House because it will be built as a home, as a sanctuary, as a place to rest, grow, and experience great goodness, healthy friendships, relationships, and true direction of self into the future. So, uh, what we've done is our architects have done a brilliant job of designing a campus that will look almost like a miniature university campus, but we're going to be taking these young people away from their educational
institution. They are between 13 and 18 years old and come to a number of programs. We have about 24 community partners coming. It's everything from athletics to art, STEM, life skills, academic support, and more. And then, after a delicious dinner, we take them home, deliver them safely home, and point them in the right direction, and these are signs that our graduates are going to college or the military to work productive independent lives with real purpose. Yes. I remember when we were talking, one of the things that struck me was that you said the goal is to halve poverty within a generation in Norfolk. Tell me more about it. Of course. Well, as I mentioned, our poverty here in Norfolk is about twice as high as,
say, Virginia Beach and other suburban communities in other parts of Virginia. So it seems natural to me that our goal should be to halve our rate to be on par with everyone else. I would like it to be at zero level. Yes. But let's at least get it in line with our neighbors in the rest of the state, and that will be a big task. This will require a lot of work, and it will take a generation. But the good news is that it's possible, if our youth have 150 participants in our program now, by the time we move to DePaul, when the building is finished in 18 months, we'll have 200. Eventually, in the future, as we add building after building, we'll get to 500, and these young people will be the vanguard of a
movement to develop this, that, that character, and then these life skills, this resilience, this optimism, this determination, this resilience, and this success strategy, which we call the Success Sequence, that will enable them to overcome whatever disadvantages they may have been born into and achieve, you know, it's corny, maybe the American Dream, but a middle-class or upper-class standard of living. We know that no matter where they start, you know, what income level, as low as you can imagine, if they can, um, through their character and hard work, set high expectations for themselves with our support; if they can follow the sequence of success; If they can graduate from high school, um, go on to work full- time, at least graduate from
high school, go on to college, you know, we have a lot of students going on to college. As soon as they finish their formal education, they go to work full- time or marry someone who works full- time. And if they are going to have children, they get married first. Each of these steps takes you up the ladder to a middle class or higher standard of living. 90% of children who start out in poverty, who follow this sequence of success, will have a middle class or higher standard of living. There is no program that can do this for you. No government program can match these results. Absolutely. I remember you said that this is sex, the sequence of success is to change this way of thinking, right? Give me an example of what you've heard from some
young people who, um, you know, went through your program where you had to literally change their mentality to get them to actually start working on this sequence. Of course. Well, I think about one of our students who, um, started with us, um, you know, in the early years of high school, she didn't have a clear plan of action. Um, um, you know, maybe there were some behavioral issues at school, but, um, you know, through the intervention of our success coaches, that's what we call our mentors, I train our success coaches, who just showed her love and confidence in her, um, and pushed her to achieve better. She is currently studying biology in college, and who knows where she will go next. And this example is repeated over and over again.
Absolutely. So, let's say someone is watching, maybe they have a young person in town who would like to be a part of Next Step to Success. Maybe, after all, you know, a house. How can they find more information? What requirements do they need to know? Of course. Well, we have a website, and maybe we could put it on the screen for them to see instead of me trying to memorize it, but "The Next Step to Success"-you'll find us. Apply online. You must be a resident of Norfolk. The student must be between 13 and 18 years old. You must be at an income level of 300% of the poverty line or below. So we focus on the people we can help the most. These are all wonderful children. These are wonderful children, and Marva Collins, a wonderful
educator from Chicago, said that when she looked at the child, she thought of a Michelangelo sculpture made of marble. And you could reveal a beautiful marble figure in her imagination, but you could also reveal a beautiful, successful, ambitious, fulfilled child in every child we see. Absolutely. So it's all about investing in these young people and finding what they have and bringing it out. That's what Next Step to Success is doing, aiming to halve poverty in Norfolk within a generation. Chuck, thank you very much. We have an article on 13newsnow.com again about the St. Vincent de Paul House. Congratulations. Thank you.
Yes, and I look forward to another conversation with Chuck in our "Leaving a Trace" series. So stay tuned for updates. We will be back soon.
