NOC Joins Poverty Coalition in "Together For Beaufort"
Printer-friendly version
Representatives from not-for–profit organizations, faith-based 
organizations, and local government agencies participated in the first Poverty Coalition meeting of "Together for Beaufort" on March 18, 2010. Chair of the Poverty Coalition, Dr. Narendra Sharma, representing NOC, acknowledged this important opportunity ... to begin developing a framework for meaningful cooperation and collaboration among Coalition members. The meeting focused on Goal Three of "Together for Beaufort," which states "We will break the cycles of poverty that impact children, the elderly and the working poor" and it addressed several important questions: Is the objective supporting this goal adequate? What can the Coalition do to support Goal Three? What should be the Coalition's focus and priorities? How will the Coalition conduct its business? What resources will be available? How will the Coalition be accountable?
organizations, and local government agencies participated in the first Poverty Coalition meeting of "Together for Beaufort" on March 18, 2010. Chair of the Poverty Coalition, Dr. Narendra Sharma, representing NOC, acknowledged this important opportunity ... to begin developing a framework for meaningful cooperation and collaboration among Coalition members. The meeting focused on Goal Three of "Together for Beaufort," which states "We will break the cycles of poverty that impact children, the elderly and the working poor" and it addressed several important questions: Is the objective supporting this goal adequate? What can the Coalition do to support Goal Three? What should be the Coalition's focus and priorities? How will the Coalition conduct its business? What resources will be available? How will the Coalition be accountable?In order to attain its current goal and objectives, those present agreed that this Coalition must dissolve the long-standing divide between agencies North-of-the-Broad and agencies South-of-the-Broad. Although groups in both areas may vary in their modus operandi, they will share basic goals and meet more frequently than the originally-envisioned once or twice per year. There is a genuine willingness among groups to share their resources and information in a proactive coalition, creating a synergy in which no partner group is taxed beyond its individual capacity.
It was agreed that the first task for participants in this Coalition meeting is to define intermediate steps toward achieving the goal with preliminary thinking. The Coalition must continue to improve previous efforts to break the pattern of dependence on assistance, and leverage the actions of groups already working on solutions to low wages and poverty among the elderly, minorities, and women. A challenge will be to unravel the current confusion among agencies and organizations through effective communication and clear understanding of how components of the Coalition can best interact. Partners must approach problems consistently and "on the same page" when it comes to Coalition priorities. It was also agreed that the Coalition must report indicators that accurately reflect reality.
Finally, sharing and management of data, information, and knowledge will enable partners to track services, collaborate more systematically, leverage resources, and strengthen the Coalition’s case and reputation in all segments of the community. Ongoing, meaningful dialogue will improve the synergy of our efforts. The more our services complement each other, the greater our impact. It is important to emphasize again both the need for an end to the NOB-SOB division as well as the necessity to meet (and communicate, through e-mail) on a regular basis. It was agreed that the Coalition will meet periodically to develop actions that will help Beaufort County tackle the root causes of poverty.
