Imagine Cabarrus County without poverty.

Imagine a county whose people have helped every poor resident to become a productive, independent person.

Imagine a school system where no child has to overcome the disadvantage of a low-income family.

That's how Dana Richardson, assistant director for Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County, wants community members to think – and act.

She and Habitat Cabarrus are leading a new effort not just to reduce poverty in Cabarrus, but to eliminate it entirely.

As a start, Habitat Cabarrus is asking everyone to take part in “Bridges Out of Poverty,” from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Central United Methodist Church, 30 Union St. N., Concord.

The seminar is part of a national educational program for communities based on the work of Ruby Payne, author of “A Framework for Poverty” and “Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities.”

Participants will examine the causes of poverty, define community resources and explore ways to eliminate poverty. Its goal is to figure out what's needed for our area and start working on getting it done.

“Everyone has ownership over poverty,” said seminar leader Terie Dreussie Smith, a co-author of “Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities.” Smith conducts seminars like this about 100 times a year throughout the U.S.

They are most exciting, she said, when the entire community is involved.

“Many people think it's somebody else's job to address poverty, but really it's everybody's responsibility, all races and all classes …,” Smith said. “It cannot be one organization that leads this. Everybody must take a piece of it.”

That's why Richardson is counting on educators, the faith community, members of government, service providers, volunteers and just about everyone else to help.

“This two-day workshop is really just a beginning point for us, an introduction to these concepts,” Richardson said. “We hope to bring together partners across the board … to look seriously at how we can impact poverty in our community.

“My overall goal is to eliminate poverty in Cabarrus County,” she said.

8% of families in county

The federal government defines poverty as a family of three (a single parent and two kids) that earns $17,600 or less per year, or a family of four that earns $21,200 or less.

More than 8percent of families in Cabarrus are living in poverty, according to the 2008 Cabarrus County Needs Assessment, released Sept. 8 by the U.S. Census Bureau and the N.C. State Data Center.

Among single-parent families headed by women, nearly 31percent are living in poverty. More than 8 percent of Cabarrus residents receive food stamps.

According to a 2007 report by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Cabarrus was $707. The hourly wage to afford that rent is $13.60, but the actual average wage earned by renters is $10.93.

That same report said 40percent of renters don't earn enough to pay the average rent, and 20percent of children 5 years old and younger are living in poverty.

“When families have to spend that much income on basic needs, they don't have any resources to address other issues in their life, like health care or job training or education,” Richardson said. “I think that's hurtful to the community, and it ends up costing us more in the long run.

“We have a lot of nonprofits that do an excellent job of serving people, but I think most of them would say they're not able to completely meet the need,” she said. “More people need services than agencies are able to serve.”

Training for getting ahead

Twenty-five other U.S. cities have committed to the process behind these seminars. Among their findings is that what organizers call “getting-ahead training” is important.

With that in mind, Habitat Cabarrus and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College will host “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World” starting in January.

The 20-week program is designed to help build and develop resources to help people get themselves out of poverty.

Other communities pulled people together to overcome challenges unique to their areas, such as providing checking accounts to low-income residents free or at a discount.

Richardson hopes the community and community leaders who attend this week's seminar can start talking about solutions in a non-judgmental way while strengthening relationships with people across class lines.

“The only way to really effect change is to be in relationship with one another,” Richardson said. “And the only way to do that is develop trust and mutual respect for one another.”