In the East Palo Alto City Council meeting held on May 1, City Council member Peter Evans said that he did not support the existence of nonprofit programs in East Palo Alto that feed the hungry and help the poor. He said that these programs cause the people who use them to become dependent upon them.
In Mr. Evans' words, " As long as we support nonprofits saving us, we will never be saved." Do you agree with Council member Evans? Do you think poverty programs lead people into poverty by creating the very problems that they are designed to solve?
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Start Up has worked in East Palo Alto since 1994 on the premise that if you give a hungry person a fish they will eat once, but if you teach them to fish they will eat for the rest of their lives - and we know our work in helping people learn to operate their own small businesses is akin to teaching them to fish.
Help exists in different forms, as this well-known proverb attests. Mr. Evans’ concerns about creating dependencies are understandable, particularly in a national political environment that blames the poor for their poverty while cutting the social “safety net” to shreds.
Yet, this is also the very reason why the services nonprofits provide are so crucial now. Nonprofits are really nothing more than an organized way for people to help and support ourselves, our friends, our neighbors, and our community. This is a natural human expression of love and caring for others.
The experience of Start Up demonstrates very clearly that a helping hand can open up a whole new world of possibilities for people. When help is focused on teaching people new skills, in particular, it not only doesn’t create dependencies but instead increases independence and self-determination. Just ask any of the hundreds of business owners Start Up has helped through the years!
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