STARKVILLE — Shirley Ross was mired in debt from high-interest payday loans and rent-to-own appliances. She felt like she had no other option.
As a waitress at Starkville Cafe and part-time custodian, Ross was living paycheck to paycheck. Just getting by was a repetitive cycle, one she had become comfortable with and accepted based on her income.
Earlier this year, Ross’ outlook on her financial future changed when she met Lynn Phillips-Gaines while cleaning her office on Lampkin Street. Phillips-Gaines, a financial adviser and organizer of educational group Starkville Bridges, invited Ross to enroll in an eight-week course designed to help lift people from poverty.
When Ross enrolled in “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-by-World,” she expected advice on how to eliminate debt and manage money. Eight weeks later, Ross and 11 other women graduated the course knowing the philosophical and psychological differences between classes and the public services available to change their financial futures.
“There are so many resources available that we weren’t aware of,” Ross said. “The USDA has grants to help build houses and there are legal services for people who can’t afford them. None of us even knew what our debt ratios were, and mine is ridiculous. It really shocked me.”
Tuesday’s graduation ceremony at First United Methodist Church capped 40 hours of instruction on how to become economically stable and move forward despite social class. The class followed teaching material by Phillip DeVol, who wrote the book “Bridges out of Poverty” and designed professional development workshops based on the book’s principles.
The class wasn’t lecture-based; participants and facilitators followed material from the handbook and spent most of the time sharing testimonials and analyzing their own situations. This step was critical in establishing a game plan to reduce debt and save more money, Phillips-Gaines said.
“You have to look honestly at your own life and your own situation before you can establish what you want,” she said. “But you’ve also go to realize that poverty isn’t entirely based on the personal choices you make. Often times, there isn’t the same kind of safety net that people in the middle class have. This class shows that there is community support.”
First United hosted the classes each week while volunteers cooked meals. Funding for the class and the Bridges workshop in August came through private donations and grants from area churches. The Maroon Volunteers from Mississippi State University provided child care and homework assistance during the 2 1/2-hour meetings twice a week.
Jeff Overstreet, branch manager at Renasant Bank, will host a budget counseling class for the participants in two weeks as part of the “Circles of Poverty” portion of the program. Participants also will be connected with members of the community to help them walk through implementation of their plans over the next two years.
Program participant Rene Herd said she was shocked to see a grassroots effort with so many volunteers to help organize, fund and hold the classes.
“Shirley and I, we clean houses on the side. We sit and talk about what we get for each house, and by the end of the year, we don’t know where it all goes,” she said. “Sometimes, you feel like you’re in it by yourself with no way to get stable. There are sleepless nights.
“This class teaches you so much and shows you that people care and what you to do well. It helped me spiritually, emotionally and mentally.”
Close relationships formed between the class participants, most of whom were married with children or single mothers. Classes were often used to vent, share stories of struggle and lift each other’s spirits.
“We laughed and cried together,” Ross said. “We came together as a family.”
The three class facilitators developed close bonds, too, evidenced by each strong embrace as they handed participants certificates of completion.
“When we first began, I thought I understood what it was like to live in poverty,” said Nancy Walsh, program facilitator. “I grew up in southwest Mississippi in one of poorest parts of the state. I thought finances and jobs were the biggest obstacles. I had no idea how much poverty pervades every aspect, including relationships and involvement in community. Thank you to these very special 12 women who’ve helped me understand by sharing your problems, dreams and hopes with each other.”
Facilitator Pinks Dudley fought back tears as she addressed the participants, their families and volunteers. She said one of the greatest obstacles participants have and will continue to face is negativity and a lack of compassion from members of the community, especially those in agencies that administer public aid.
Dudley said the course helps members of different classes get personal, which aids in coming up with solutions to fight poverty.
The best resource, though, is themselves, Dudley said.
“This has been somewhat a shaking of steady ground for some of them,” Dudley said. “They’ve been invited to dare to dream what their lives might be like if they could move out of it. No one can give you a better life; you have got to want it.”
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