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Intergenerational poverty passes plight to next generation

JANESVILLE — Donna Beegle had a nasty attitude.

She was the master of the vicious comeback, the queen of the smart remark.

She didn't just bite the hand that fed her, she insulted it.

But here's what she really wanted: A place for her children to sleep, something to eat, and someone on her side—a companion in the unending grind of poverty.

Food. Shelter. Belonging.

More than two decades later, Donna Beegle is a highly polished woman, thoughtful, well spoken and a force in her own right. She is a nationally recognized poverty educator, one of the central focuses of a soon-to-be-released PBS documentary, and, most important, a believer that communities, working together, can end intergenerational poverty.

In March, she is offering a two-day workshop at Blackhawk Technical College for those who want to better understand poverty and learn how to make a difference.

Poverty's mark

Beegle was born in 1961, the child and grandchild of migrant workers who picked crops. She and her family lived in cars or apartments with no heat, plumbing or electricity. They often were hungry, and life always was uncertain.

She finished about six months of ninth grade.

By 17, she was married.

By 26, she was a single mother with two children.

"When I went to apply for welfare, my children were 2 and 6," Beegle said in a phone interview from her office in Portland, Ore.

She discovered she was eligible for $408 in welfare and $150 in food stamps. Her rent was $399.

At one point, she was about 48 hours away from being evicted. Beegle went to a social services agency, and they gave her the phone number for a three-week educational program.

"I said to her, 'Why don't you do the program?'" Beegle said. "I really had an attitude and a smart mouth."

Living in poverty taught her that it was an "us versus them" world, and people outside of her world—even those offering to help—didn't care.

"She said to me, 'Well, at least take the number,'" Beegle said.

On her walk back to her apartment, she considered taking a job at Pizza Hut, a place she had worked before.

"But I remembered that when I worked there before, I never made enough money to cover food and a place to live," she said. "So I called the number."

Beegle said she didn't really care about the program but entered it because she would get a Section 8 low-income-housing voucher when she completed the work.

One of the first days, one of the program leaders asked what she wanted to be. She replied, sharply and smartly that she wanted to be like Mary Hart, the Entertainment Tonight co-host.

Instead of the expected dismissal, the leader said, "It sounds like you might be interested in journalism."

From that three-week program, Beegle went on to get her GED, attended community college and Portland University.

It wasn't a smooth transition.

Most Americans believe that poverty is about character. If you work harder, save more or live differently, you can get ahead.

"It takes a lot to unravel the shame of living in poverty," Beegle said. "I had no sense of belief in myself. Poverty teaches: 'You're not a good person, you're not a smart person.' It takes a huge mental leap to get over that."

It takes "a lot of small successes" to erase those messages.

She made it, earning a college degree, a master's degree and a doctorate.

Along the way, she learned to speak the language of the middle class. Now, she uses that knowledge to translate the complicated language of intergenerational poverty to those who want to help.

Changing lives

Beegle's company, Communications Across Barriers, holds "Poverty Institutes," offers talks on subjects such as "Poverty 101" and "Concrete Tools to Communicate More Effectively."

In them, she explains the foundations of poverty and the patterns and habits it produces.

For example:

Poverty produces an "oral culture," one in which people are highly tuned in to the sight, sound and the feel of a place. It's a skill needed for survival.

That produces a culture where relationships are important, and the ability to go with the flow means you can adjust to quickly changing circumstances.

The middle class produces "print culture," one that organizes thoughts and actions by "first this, than that." Time is their structuring method, and this gives them the ability to set goals and plan for the future.

In explaining one culture to another, Beegle gives teachers, social workers and others the ability to adapt their methods so people can begin having "those small successes."

Beegle also tries to reduce the frustrations people often feel when working with the poor.

"I often ask people, 'How many of you have delivered a Christmas or Thanksgiving basket of food to a poor household?'" Beegle said. "Then I ask, 'How many of you went into homes where the family had a big screen television and were sitting on the couch smoking, and the kids all had Nikes on?' And people all nod."

Why—when they don't have enough for school supplies, food for their kids or decent winter coats—are they spending money on luxuries?

In the world of intergenerational poverty, the best you can hope for is to enjoy the moment you're in, she said. If you have extra money, what would you save it for? The rent you can't afford anyway? The utilities that will be shut off?

It's an attitude that's inconceivable to the middle class—even though the middle class is comfortable running up credit card bills.

More than that, cable television and the right clothes allow people to belong in their communities.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow created something called the human "Hierarchy of Needs." After the basic needs—food and shelter—are met, the next need is to belong.

"Oprah said that she set up a school in Africa because when she asked poor American kids what they wanted most, they said, 'An iPod and cool sneakers.' When she asked poor African kids what they wanted, they said they wanted a uniform so they could go to school," Beegle said.

"But for poor American kids, the iPod and sneakers are their uniform."