Living in poverty can feel like you are facing an eight-headed dragon. Just one problem can sink you into a hole of despair. Your car breaks down, so you can’t get to work, you can’t work which means you can’t pay for food, shelter or childcare. Your child gets sick and you have no one to take care of them and you have to take off from work. Your job has downsized and you lose your job while already living paycheck to paycheck on an income that barely covers your family’s basic necessities. You don’t have anyone to turn to in your time of need. This is when Porter-Leath’s partnership with Driving the Dream steps in to help these families in crisis.
Driving the Dream is a program of the United Way of the Mid-South that envisions all people receive equitable access to resources and support needed to achieve their hopes and dreams by fostering a community where the people become hopeful, resilient, and self‐sufficient. According to a 2015 report from the Brookings Institute, eliminating poverty should focus on three pillars of economic advancement– education, work, and family – to increase economic mobility. Many Mid-South nonprofits work towards these pillars, but no one can do the job alone. With Driving the Dream leading this movement, nonprofit partners are building the infrastructure to bridge any service gaps while tearing down systemic barriers that have prevented equitable access to resources for all Memphis families. The collective goal is to help families move out of poverty towards a future of their choosing.
Porter-Leath was selected as a hub along with three other United Way partners. Porter-Leath’s role as a partner is to provide a Care Coordinator that works directly with families in need while acting as a liaison to ensure continuity of care from fellow agencies that offer various services such as emergency housing, food, employment and education.
“These families need to be empowered,” says Tiffany Wilson, the Porter-Leath care coordinator. These families need resources along with assistance in becoming self-sufficient. We are here to provide them this roadmap and help them continue to drive their own dreams without obstacles.”
For more information about Driving the Dream and the services provided by this program, please contact Tiffany Wilson at (901) 577-2500 x 1168.