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Thank you, Stephanie Popescu, for joining me on the Born To Talk Radio Show Podcast. Stephanie is the Co-Founder of Grass Roots Neighbors.
Grass Roots Neighbors.
To begin with, Grass Roots Neighbors is an all-volunteer organization that focuses on building a community to support our food and housing-insecure neighbors.
Their grocery program provides customized bi-weekly grocery delivery to their recipient families. By doing so, they are offsetting the cost of food as an answer to the dilemma of paying for food or rent. Unlike a traditional food bank, they keep their recipient families in their program and develop a relationship with them. Their focus is on building community and walking through life’s challenges with them. The program saves an average family of four up to about $500 monthly in food costs. This enables them to redirect funds that they can use for rent and other expenses.
Grass Roots Neighbors’ outreach program brings hot, prepared meals and other resources to encampments. They deliver where people are sleeping. Volunteers engage with people in a meaningful way that focuses first on trust and developing a relationship. And then on connecting people to resources. The focus on community building and relationships addresses a fundamental and often overlooked need of people experiencing poverty. That is, poverty is an isolating experience that often makes people feel as though they are social outcasts.
Stephanie’s Takeaways.
“By focusing on engaging with people in a way that reaffirms their dignity, and developing meaningful connections, we are able to creatively collaborate with them to problem-solve and help effectively. This experience proves to be rewarding for both housed and unhoused neighbors. And helps to bridge differences to build a community looking for solutions to address poverty and homelessness together.”
Perhaps Stephanie will inspire you to get involved in your community.
Thank you for making a difference!
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Conversations + Connections = Community
Making the world a better place. One Story at a time.
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