KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — A group of 11 have been assigned the monumental job of eliminating generational poverty in the City of Kalamazoo.
Tuesday night the Kalamazoo City Commission held a work session to get updates and approve appointments to the Sharing Prosperity Organizing Committee.
Ben Damerow with Michigan Works is one of the appointees. He says they have all the pieces in place, they just have to get them organized and fund them better.
Damerow says it’s very difficult to work your way up if you start out in poverty, but this committee may help accelerate the work and help everyone work together to solve this problem.
Sholanna Lewis with the Kalamazoo Foundation says it won’t be easy, but it is doable.
They say they won’t be reinventing the wheel because there are plenty of proven models, best practices, and successful tools for tackling these problems.
They just have to pick the right ones, adjust them to fit Kalamazoo, and put them to work.
