Gathering Seeks Solutions for City's Poorer Residents
Tom Brown, chairman of the Ward 8 Workforce Development Council, has perfected an approach to attacking urban poverty: He takes employers on a job tour in Southeast Washington neighborhoods to personally meet with unemployed residents.</br></br>Since October, more than 100 residents have found jobs in the twice-monthly sessions at churches and community centers in the heart of the neighborhood. The goal is to employ 300 residents a year.</br></br>"The success of it is because of the intimacy of the setup," Brown said. "It's straight talk between unemployed residents and employers."</br></br>If the city is going to reduce the number of families living in poverty, then innovative methods, such as Brown's, must be used to address unemployment, substance abuse, affordable housing, health care and education, he and others gathered at the Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Southeast said yesterday.</br></br>Brown was one of 200 business and religious leaders, housing advocates and social services providers who participated in the Poverty Reduction Coalition hosted by D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8).