It’s a question that sometimes makes people uncomfortable: Is there a culture around poverty? The honest answer is yes, of course there is. But before we jump to conclusions about what that means, we should pause and think about what culture really is. Culture is...
I live in Battle Creek. So do you. But we may not live in the same Battle Creek. We drive the same streets. We pass the same schools. We see the same “Now Hiring” signs. And yet, the experience of living here can be completely different depending on what economic...
There are jobs available. We hear it all the time in Battle Creek. There are openings at the Fort. Manufacturing is hiring. Healthcare is hiring. Retail is hiring. Opportunity is everywhere. So why are so many people still struggling? Let’s ask a harder question:...
Today in our lobby, we ended up in one of those conversations that starts silly and ends up telling the truth. We were talking about cornbread — specifically, what it “goes with.”For some of the white folks in the room, cornbread belongs next to chili or a pot...
I grew up in a world where the word “home” was temporary and the word “family” was complicated. From the moment I entered the foster care system at age 3 I was abused, malnourished and belittled. From being abused I ended up pregnant at the...
