Author: Covering Poverty

By Jacqueline GaNun

Reporter Joe Shapiro got a tip in the late 1980s that a group of politicians was meeting to draft legislation classifying disability as a civil rights matter. It was a radical idea at the time. Shapiro — then a reporter at U.S. News & World Report — covered the meeting, which ended up producing the first draft of what became the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act passed in 1990.

His editors wouldn’t publish that first story because disability as a civil rights movement was too strange to them. Shapiro eventually sold it to the Washington Post. And in the more than 20 years since, Shapiro — now a correspondent on NPR’s investigations desk — has continued to write stories about disability.

“I just started then talking to people in the disability community and listened to them,” Shapiro said. “It was a real civil rights movement. It wasn’t being covered by other people, which made it interesting to me, that it was something that I could write original stories about.”

Shapiro’s work has spanned states, including Georgia, and contributed to legislative change delegating more federal money to home- and community-based care programs for people with disabilities. He even wrote a book about it called “No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement.”

He offered advice for how to write about disability and its intersection with poverty.

Tip #1: Recognize that disability stories are on every beat

More news organizations are hiring reporters to write about disability as a beat, and while Shapiro said he supports that development, you don’t need to be a disability beat writer to produce compelling narratives.

“Disability comes up in everything, from arts to sports to housing and poverty, education,” Shapiro said.

He said he often starts reporting stories that aren’t directly focused on disability only to find that it’s an important aspect for listeners and readers. In researching a piece about foster care, he found kids with disabilities weren’t receiving the Social Security checks they were entitled to. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shapiro discovered people who are disabled were being denied care.

Tip #2: Talk to people who have disabilities

Interviewing and listening to people with disabilities is crucial for truthful storytelling, Shapiro said. Don’t just talk to advocates, academics and parents.

“The bottom line is don’t be afraid to interview people with disabilities. Don’t be afraid to do those stories,” Shapiro said. “People with disabilities … want their voices heard. Too often those are voices that get excluded.”

Many people with disabilities have people talk to them loudly and slowly or like they’re speaking with a child. Shapiro said it’s important to interview them in the same way you’d talk to someone without a disability.

“My basic rule is to treat them the way I’d treat anyone else I interview. With the same respect, the same attention, the same assumption they have something to say,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro works in audio, so he’s constantly listening for tape quality. If he has to ask someone to repeat what they said if it isn’t clear, he makes sure they know he often has to ask that, so they’re not embarrassed. He also doesn’t try to edit the way people talk.

“If I interview someone who, say, stutters, I wouldn’t cut out the stutter. That’s how they talk,” Shapiro said. “Or if I interview someone who types on a computer that speaks for them, I want to record the sound of the typing.”

If Shapiro doesn’t know something, he asks — whether it’s about a possible accommodation someone may need or how they prefer to describe themselves.

“It’s a matter of respect,” he said.

Tip #3: Look at programs that promise to help people with disabilities

Programs at the local, state and federal level are meant to help people with disabilities. In Georgia, Money Follows the Person aims to help people leave in-patient facilities like nursing facilities, hospitals and intermediate care facilities and return to their homes and communities. Another Georgia program, New Options Waiver and Comprehensive Supports Waiver Programs, has a 7,000-person waiting list for care.

At the federal level, the Supplemental Security Income program pays benefits to people with disabilities.

Shapiro said analyzing these programs is crucial for writing about disability and can also generate story ideas. Ask, who is this system meant to help? And are they being helped or not?

“Look at when they work and how they should work,” Shapiro said. “But also look at how they fail and why they fail.”

Tip #4: Focus on systems and their impact

Disability has historically been written about to make the audience feel good about people with disabilities “overcoming obstacles” and not focusing on the systems that make it harder for them to live. (Covering Poverty has a guide for avoiding “inspiration porn” stories.)

Shapiro used as an example the burdens that come from trying to access programs meant to help people with disabilities. Most applicants for federal disability benefits are rejected for not meeting the program’s strict financial and medical requirements, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“There’s always this assumption that somebody who tries to get this money is somehow scamming the system, so there are all these safeguards that make it really hard to get,” Shapiro said. “And they end up hurting people with disabilities and they hurt our communities.”

A big-picture view of how systems interact is also crucial for reporting on the links between disability and poverty, Shapiro said. People with disabilities are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than people without disabilities, according to the National Council on Disability.

“It deeply is an issue of poverty, because people do rely on these programs that often don’t work,” Shapiro said. “And then the question is, why don’t they work?”

Tip #5: Don’t be afraid to write about disability

Shapiro said he thinks journalists tend to be afraid to write about disability because it is a complicated and often deeply personal issue.

“Reporters don’t want to insult the person that they’re reporting on,” Shapiro said.

There are debates about language — for example, some people prefer person-first language, such as “a person with autism,” while others prefer the identity-first “autistic person.” Shapiro said journalists should ask people what they prefer.

NPR Training has a video (featuring Shapiro) that offers guidance on reporting stories about disability. There are also resources that keep up with evolving language and give reporters tips on how to cover people with disabilities in a respectful and inclusive way. Covering Poverty’s disability beat guide includes datasets, language guides and information about the nuances of disability and poverty. 

The AP Stylebook also has guidance on writing about disability.

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Shapiro said reporters need to treat people with disabilities with respect. If you don’t know something, ask.

“Don’t worry so much about doing it right that you don’t do it at all,” Shapiro said.

Jacqueline GaNun is a fourth-year journalism major at the University of Georgia.

Note: This story was published with grant funding from the UGA Institute on Human Development and Disability.

By Isabelle Atkins

Shawanda Johnson gives out free fresh produce to families at Winterville Elementary School’s fall festival (Photo/ Isabelle Atkins)

Bags of peas, cabbage, grapes, strawberries and mushrooms rustle in the trunk as Shawanda Johnson backs her car into her first driveway of the day. She honks her horn twice before turning off the engine and making her way to the back of the car. As a young woman emerges from the house, Johnson pops open the trunk to display the large boxes full of free produce.

“Take as much as you’d like, honey!” Johnson said.

Winterville is in Athens-Clarke County, where more than a quarter of residents are living in poverty, which is more than double the national average. While about 16% of households in ACC receive food stamps, access to a grocery store in Winterville is limited. There is no bus line, nor is there a grocery store within walking distance. For residents who do not have a car, this makes it nearly impossible to get fresh produce.

Originally from Chicago, Johnson was raised in a church where her mother always forced her to volunteer. At the time, she did not understand why she always had to help host dinners at the church and organize food donations. Now, she lives her life echoing the principles her mother instilled in her.

As an adult in Chicago, Johnson ran a 24/7 childcare center for the state of Illinois. She said it was there that she began to notice families leaning on childcare for meals, and how much of an added stress food was for them. She now uses her own lived experiences to empathize with the people she helps.

“I’ll be like ‘Girl, don’t be ashamed because we all need help,’” Johnson said.  “I’ve been homeless, I’ve been without electricity, I’ve been without food, so I know how it feels and I definitely don’t want anybody, especially kids, to have to go through that.” 

Finding her calling

The Neighborhood Leaders initiative is made up of 16 individuals in different zones across Athens-Clarke County. They aid their community through group outreach, community building and individual case management support. 

Johnson’s role includes everything from delivering food and supplies to helping fill out job applications. 

LaTasha Sheats, who covers the Whit Davis zone for Neighborhood Leaders, described food and cooking as Johnson’s “love languages.” Outside of Neighborhood Leaders, Johnson has her own meal prep and lunch service business called Shawanda’s Kitchen, where she provides cooking lessons, meal prep, taste tests and small camps on how to be healthier.

One of Johnson’s most rewarding memories is taking care of a group of grandmothers who, because they are busy taking care of children, rarely get to go to the store. One grandmother of four was taking blood pressure medicine because her diet consisted largely of crackers, hotdogs and Cheetos. Once Johnson was able to get the grandmother nutritious food, she was able to get off the blood pressure medicine. 

Building community and gaining trust

Johnson said the most difficult part of what she does is getting people to trust her. She said that many people approach these communities and make promises, conduct surveys and get information, but don’t come back to the neighborhoods to actually do what they said they were going to do. But through Johnson’s work for over 11 years, she said everybody knows her car and that when they see it, they know she has food in her trunk to give away. 

Her favorite way to get people’s attention is simply by word of mouth, as many people who need her help do not have phones.

“I see people walking down the street, and I just roll down my window and be like, ‘Hey you need some food? Hey, you need some Pampers … Here’s my card! Come by and see me!’ That’s how I get my people. I just holler out the window,” Johnson said. 

Yet, there are still families who do not want to admit to needing help.

If there is a family that Johnson knows might be “prideful,” she said she will package food, clothes or Pampers in gift bags that she has collected to give away so that it looks like it is someone’s birthday. 

Often she will wait at school bus stops and give granola bars out to children and tell them to get the food back to their parents, too. 

“You get it to the kids, you get it to the parents. I definitely make a lot of connections through the kids,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she is thankful for the tight-knit community that is always there to help her help others. She explained how it is not just homeless or jobless people that need her help, but even people living in big houses.

“Everybody needs some help, and it is nothing to be ashamed of,” she said.

By Izzy Wagner

Although operating hours officially end at 7 p.m. on Fridays, Joyce Lane, a data collection specialist at Athens’ local harm reduction program Access Point of Georgia, often continues working after hours. Lane and Executive Director Riley Kirkpatrick are the founding members at Access Point and currently handle the majority of operations. 

Lane compiles information Access Point collects to show the extent of the syringe service’s impact on people who use drugs, as well as recording and mapping overdoses in the region. Data collection is vital to understanding the rising opioid crisis that provokes the need for more harm reduction programs such as Access Point. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, drug overdoses in the United States rose 28.5% from 78,056 to an estimated 100,306 from 2020 to 2021. 

Given the many hours spent in their workspace, Lane and Kirkpatrick have personalized it to create a homey feel. Colorful tapestries and flags line the walls and various musical instruments are propped up against the wall. Lane sits on an upholstered armchair nestled in a makeshift living area. Their warm greeting and the soothing acoustic music playing from the TV create an instantly comforting atmosphere.

Access Point provides various harm reduction services including clean needles, naloxone kits, and peer check-ins for substance abuse disorders. As a certified peer specialist, Lane uses their lived experiences to relate to their participants and provide a space for vulnerability and healing. 

Lane said “creating a space of non-judgment,” is essential to harm reduction work.

As someone who identifies as non-binary, Lane knows what it is like to be part of a marginalized group, allowing them to deeply connect with underserved members of the Athens community. Access Point has an entirely queer staff, which Lane said “wasn’t intentional.”

“Being queer made me want to do more socially-oriented and service-oriented work. The initial syringe service programs that came about in America were a response to the AIDS crisis. Harm reduction culture and queer culture are definitely intermingled a lot,” Lane said.

When they started their needle exchange program in 2020, Lane and Kirkpatrick worked in parking lots, handing out clean needles and naloxone kits from the trunk of Kirkpatrick’s car. As the opioid crisis worsened in Athens and demand grew, they were able to relocate to an official building. 

Kirkpatrick credits Access Point’s expansion to their peer-based approach to harm reduction. He and Lane expressed their disinterest in calling Access Point a “clinic” because of the word’s medical connotation.

“We run a peer-based program specializing in addictive diseases and mental health. That’s what makes us so different. If we really, truly want to make change in the opioid crisis, it is important that we acknowledge that what we are doing is pretty radically different than the status quo,” Kirkpatrick said. 

The principles of harm reduction acknowledge a spectrum of drug use, meaning that even those who only occasionally use drugs can implement harm reduction tactics to maintain safe drug practices. Access Point serves any individual hoping to engage in safer use, whether they are a daily intravenous drug user exchanging syringes, or a college student hoping to pick up fentanyl test strips before taking MDMA on a weekend.

Access Point’s growth has been made possible by progressive legislation, donations and support from volunteers. Kirkpatrick and Lane expressed the continued need for volunteers who understand their mission of reframing addiction recovery by treating drug users with dignity.

“People who use drugs are no different from the rest of us. People who use drugs should be treated like our friends, like our neighbors, because they are,” Lane said.

By Phoebe Lyons

Erin Campbell holds a freshly hand-wrapped pack of 25 diapers on Nov. 14, 2022. The Athens Area Diaper Bank collects and distributes hundreds of thousands of diapers to thousands of children each year. (Photo/ Phoebe Lyons)

Erin Campbell stands at the side of the black table in the center of the dimly-lit, chilly storage room at the Athens Area Diaper Bank. Two large, opened boxes of Saran Wrap sit on the table surrounded by several shelves stacked with hundreds of thousands of diapers hand-wrapped and ready to go to struggling families.

She drags out a long piece of the plastic wrap until it hangs off the edge of the table, leaving the piece still attached to the roll in the box. She then tears open a green pack of size five Parent’s Choice Dry & Gentle baby diapers, quickly counting out 24 and stacking them vertically on top of the wrap in two piles, before grabbing another and placing it horizontally in the middle of the stacks. She wraps up the white diapers patterned with giraffes, making sure that each side is covered and no diaper is exposed. She’s an expert, so this takes her less than a minute. 

Campbell serves as the executive director and founder of the AADB. She started the AADB in October 2015, after reading about diaper need in a parenting magazine as she was nursing her second daughter. She discovered that no diaper bank existed in the Athens area.

What was once a much smaller organization operating out of Campbell’s garage is now a successful diaper bank. In 2021, the bank distributed 314,584 diapers to 7,589 children in Athens-Clarke County and the surrounding five counties. 

A ‘microcosm’ of poverty 

One in three families in the United States struggle with diaper need, and there are over 8,000 children in the Athens area alone who are at risk of facing diaper need, according to the AADB. 

Campbell says diaper need shows “a microcosm of what poverty is,” meaning there are several issues that come with not having access to clean diapers. She said a lot of people see just the physical side of what the diaper bank does: providing clean diapers to families to prevent health issues such as diaper rash and urinary tract infections. 

However, the effects of diaper need extend far beyond physical health problems. Countless studies have shown the links between diaper need and maternal mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. 

The high cost of diapers and the inability to use food stamps to purchase them leaves several families with the choice of providing clean diapers or food for their child. And, if you can’t provide diapers, then you can’t send your child to daycare, meaning many parents then have to miss work. 

‘The biggest hurdle’

Although the diaper bank has substantially increased the number of diapers donated and families helped each year, Campbell said most people don’t understand just how many mothers cannot afford diapers and what that means for them and their babies. This lack of awareness is despite alarming facts and statistics, as well as recent studies that prove some of the harmful effects that result from diaper need. 

“The education and awareness component of it is probably the biggest hurdle because I feel like our mission … speaks for itself,” Campbell said. “It’s simple. It’s not political, it’s not controversial … everybody can get on board with helping families and helping babies. So really the issue is just, the challenge is that a lot of people don’t know that it’s a problem.”

Campbell and the rest of the AADB members are working hard to increase awareness of diaper need. In 2022, they worked with Mayor Kelly Girtz and elected officials to officially proclaim Diaper Need Awareness Week from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2. 

Collaborative coworkers

Campbell says that the bank is where it is today due to strong collaboration and communication with her three coworkers. 

Campbell laughs and puts a flamingo floaty around her waist as she helps a member of the Athens Area Homeless Shelter load bags of diapers that they ordered on Nov. 18. (Photo/Phoebe Lyons)

Beth Staton, the AADB’s operations manager and Special Programs Manager Kathy Bailey agree that Campbell’s scientific background makes the diaper bank a positive work environment.

“I mean, at the root of my science background is just a natural curiosity,” Campbell said. “I want to dig into why something works, why it doesn’t work, how it can be fixed.”

Staton also mentioned that Campbell’s enthusiasm and passion are key assets she brings to the table. 

Read how Olivia Wakim, Elizabeth Rymarev, Sarah Donehoo and Sydney Hood reported this piece for The Oglethorpe Echo: Ways to help those in need in Oglethorpe County

Before working on this project, service journalism wasn’t something I thought about very much. When it comes to issues surrounding poverty, more attention tends to be devoted to long form stories or investigative articles that bring about policy change. I always assumed that was the best way to help those experiencing poverty, but after reading some of the articles and tips listed on the Covering Poverty website, I have a better idea of how important service journalism is to those who are actually experiencing the struggles we write about. 

One Covering Poverty resource that helped put this into perspective for me is the Tip Sheet. Tip number 10 describes the importance of offering solutions. I believe the resource roundup is one way for us to provide people with solutions, even if it doesn’t address the root of the issue. Having a place a person can go to find a list of food resources or diapers and baby supplies is a helpful way to address more day-to-day issues and could even be linked to by another organization or in another story. 

In order to report the story, Professor Johnston had us reach out to the resources directly and speak to them instead of just pulling information off the websites. I found this to be very helpful when it came time to write about all of the resources. Most of the websites were a bit outdated and didn’t have an answer to all of my questions. Additionally, it was easier to reach most people by phone directly rather than communicating via email, and everyone was very enthusiastic about this project.  

Speaking to a real representative allowed me to get the most up-to-date information as well as hear from a member of the Oglethorpe County community. In the article Action Items for Better Poverty Coverage on the Covering Poverty website, it suggests building relationships with community leaders. I think this was a good way to start building those relationships. Hopefully, when we reach out to the organizations directly, they trust us a bit more and see that we’re doing this for the right reasons. It allowed me to put a face to the people behind the resources and it lets them know who is behind the article. We gave them an opportunity to explain the extent of their resources and why the work they do is so important to them and the people they serve. —Olivia Wakim

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The goal of this piece is to give an extensive overview of nonprofits, religious organizations and other departments in Oglethorpe County providing food, clothing, financial assistance and other necessary services and resources for individuals in need. 

The article involved researching and calling various assigned locations. I was assigned to look up church food pantries, which required me to call the churches to confirm what they were putting out on social media (times, locations) was accurate. The most important part in working on an article like this is to confirm and reconfirm the information we have is accurate so that when someone is reading this they will know when and where to go. —Sydney Hood

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I was assigned three potential resources to start with: Athens Area Diaper Bank, Lena Wise Community Center and Plowshare.

I interviewed and photographed Steven and Vickie Coker, co-founders of Plowshare, at the Georgia Farm Bureau in Crawford. They shared specific information about monthly potluck meetings and the agricultural skills that members offer to teach the community. 

I interviewed Cary Fordyce and Vicki Ussery, who manage operations and educational services for the Lena Wise Community Center. Fordyce listed the community groups that are hosted at center and discussed its founding and how its namesake was a teacher. Ussery provided anecdotes about teaching GED students and spoke about the technical skill courses individuals can enroll in through their GED program.

The education beat guide on the Covering Poverty website was helpful in choosing what questions and answers best present the status of the poverty line in Oglethorpe County and how it pertains to education in the area. The Civil Rights Data Collection website gives context on the demographics of students in Oglethorpe; 12% of students are chronically absent, for example. 

During my research, I learned that Action Athens Inc. is a community aid organization that served Oglethorpe County. I contacted Margo Fowler, its Community Services Block Grant and Emergency Food and Shelter Program director. Fowler emailed me updated information pertaining to the services Action Athens offers, including education and food rescue. 

I met Erin Campbell, director of Athens Area Diaper Bank, at its headquarters in Bogart. I took photos of their shipping warehouse and listened to Campbell explain the organization’s involvement with Oglethorpe County. I learned that diaper bank ships cartons of diapers weekly to designated aid locations in the county. I was inspired by Cambell’s generous and vibrant attitude; her involvement with the diaper bank’s mission since its beginning made clear her commitment to ensuring families have enough diapers for their children. —Sarah Donehoo

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In Athens, I am able to go to one of the biggest universities in the South, spend weekends exploring the city downtown and try all the newest restaurants. In just a couple ZIP codes over in Oglethorpe County, not many people have that same chance and live in an area where even internet access is hard to connect to.

Through the Covering Poverty project, me and a group of students worked on gathering resources together to compile a list with food banks, educational programs and even senior care in Oglethorpe County.

Professor Johnson created a big list of possible places to contact, and our team got to work. The University of Georgia extension office in the county was among places I was contacted. The extension office provided me with information on the Cooking to Share Program, a youth enrichment program that aims to empower young students to learn cooking skills while supporting families in need that were identified by the school system. This program has cycled through hundreds of students and helped almost 100 families in need.

When we all came together to fact-check, the biggest challenge was calling. The phone numbers for some programs were disconnected, and we were not able to get a hold of them. I was also still waiting on responses to emails from months ago to other organizations and agencies.

But, we were able to come up with a strong list for the Echo and its readers and residents. I believe our work will help save someone’s time and effort, as we had many electronic resources and each other to navigate any communication struggles that they possibly did not have.

This semester, I learned how to effectively gather information and put my courses in practice. The stories we report on can be sensitive, and we have the resources to pull from multiple sources and hear all the sides of a story, whereas someone with limited technology and mobility is not able to. In this way, we are able to get the right stories to the right people. —Elizabeth Rymarev