by Rachel Gunter Shapard

Together for Hope has a bold mission: to transform rural America. Is it a daunting task? Sure. Yet when it comes to communities of persistent poverty in rural spaces, settling for anything less than holistic transformation is unacceptable.

In six years, Together for Hope has expanded its scope of work from the 20 poorest counties in the United States to all the counties identified by the USDA as living in persistent rural poverty. The number of counties where 20% or more of the population is living in generational poverty has increased by 37 counties. We are moving in the wrong direction! But it is not statistics that spurs our determination, it is relationships.

More than two years ago in conversation with several housing organizations working in persistent rural poverty counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, CBF South Carolina and Together for Hope staff members heard a clear invitation to partnership. The request was: Help us come together to combine our voices, to synthesize our strengths and to work toward shared goals.  

These housing organizations were already doing the very things they were asking for help with. They were already partnering on initiatives. They already saw themselves not as competition for grants, but as fellow travelers on a shared journey. They were already demonstrating that they were stronger when they worked collectively on matters of shared interest. Yet the path toward reaching their common goals was stretching out for many miles ahead, and the possibility of inviting more partners to the table allowed them to reach their goals in a timely manner.

Since that initial conversation two years ago, the Lowcountry Rural Housing Task Force was formed. Housing Data Walks have been completed in five persistent rural poverty counties during which task force members had the opportunity to listen to the concerns and priorities of community members about safe, attainable housing. A Housing Data Walk Manual is almost complete which will allow other rural communities to learn about the necessary components when hosting a listening session on housing. A five-year strategic plan has been formed, and chief among the goals of the task force is to provide affordable, attainable housing to ALL those who need it in the Lowcountry region.

The task force has received grants totaling $25,000 from the Southern Economic Advancement Project and Melville Charitable Trust. The task force has even applied for a one-million-dollar grant to eliminate blight and replace it with affordable housing options. The relationships that have been formed between the members of the task force are just as precious as the work they’ve accomplished. We are no longer just colleagues; we are trusted friends.

How can you help? There are advocacy initiatives where your voice could be raised to ensure that those living in persistent poverty counties in the Lowcountry have fair access to state housing trust funds. There are volunteer opportunities where your church could assist with repair work on homes in rural spaces in dire need of restoration. You can give financially to support the ongoing work of this hardworking group in a region where funding for critical initiatives is scarce. When we all lend our strength to rural poverty and share in this work, it is no longer a daunting task. Together we can transform rural America!