War on Poverty: Yes, we should – but how?

March 10, 2014

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty in America, and media stories regarding its initial goals and analysis of its performance have been plentiful. At Just Hope, we believe the question isn’t if we should help those in poverty. The question is how?

Just Hope operates on the belief that the best way to address long-term, entrenched poverty is to establish simple economies that provide real jobs. We know that repeated one-way giving causes dependency, the loss of dignity and motivational defeat. Leading-edge research is revealing that charitable giveaway programs do more harm than good when the objective is the long-term development of people.

Just Hope founder Karen Bruton had her “ah-ha!” moment in Peru in 2007, where she helped deliver guinea pigs, chickens and seeds to a group of people rebuilding their lives after terrorist attacks over two decades killed thousands and left behind years of economic ruin. By giving people a gift that can help them change their own destiny, Just Hope is making an ‘impact that lasts.’