Carter is one of several change leaders, which Think Tank says are leaders with lived experience in poverty who educate and connect with community leaders working towards solutions, according to its website.
She and others with lived experiences related to poverty will participate in the fourth annual At the Table event on Sept. 18 in Dayton. Change leaders will have three 20-minute conversations with members of the public to help them better understand the many issues that intersect with and contribute to poverty.
Credit: Red Fox Collective
Credit: Red Fox Collective
“It’s not a presentation, and it’s not a networking event,” Carter said. “It’s a chance to listen, learn and connect in a way that helps us shift the narrative to imagine solutions together. It creates spaces for really powerful conversations featuring individuals who’ve navigated and overcome some really tough stuff.”
They’ve overcome challenges related to racial inequity, lack of education and being a first-generation college student or child of someone with an alcohol use disorder. They’ve survived domestic violence, incarceration and more.
“Poverty is a situation, not the sum of a person,” Carter said. “These aren’t your typical leaders in the community, but they deserve a place at the table. The ripple effect is these connections can change policy, how programs are run and perceptions of people who’ve experienced these things.”
During last year’s event, for example, Carter talked to a state legislator about the ways a formerly incarcerated person’s record affects them. Now, that legislator is working on solutions.
At the Table is a good opportunity for anyone who wants to shift their perspectives and better understand poverty and its impacts, said Brian Dobyns, Think Tank communications coordinator.
“Change leaders courageously share their journeys navigating challenges such as mental health, substance use recovery, child welfare, justice involvement and health equity,” Dobyns said. “Each story offers a unique lens into the realities of poverty and resilience in our community. The goal is simple but powerful: to break down stereotypes, deepen understanding and spark meaningful human connections that lead to change.”
Think Tank created At the Table, which now has expanded into a collaborative, nationwide effort. Six other cities will participate this year: Mobile, Alabama; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Wichita, Kansas; Columbus, Georgia; and Terentum, Pennsylvania.
Credit: Red Fox Collective
Credit: Red Fox Collective
This year’s event is hosted by the Change Leader Alliance, a network of community members “who draw on their lived experiences of poverty to inform and strengthen the neighborhoods where they live and serve,” Dobyns said. The organization trains change leaders in such skills as storytelling, advocacy and leadership, he said.
“We give them the tools to take their story and use their lived experiences to help others see things from that angle,” Dobyns said. “We help them get on different decision-making boards, such as for nonprofits.”
At the Table is an extension of Think Tank’s Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE), a simulation that explores poverty through the eyes of real families. The experiential training is designed to help organizations and communities more deeply understand the human and systemic impacts of poverty, according to Think Tank’s website.
Carter travels the nation training organizations about poverty and its many related factors as Think Tank’s lead COPE facilitator.
“Think Tank didn’t hire me in spite of all my issues; they hired me because of them,” she said. “Those issues made me an asset to their mission and the work they do.”
“My life has been a full circle miracle,” Carter said. “I was told that with a felony, I would never step foot inside a classroom again, and now I do professional development training for teachers about how to treat low-income children and families with dignity and respect.”
How to Go
What: At the Table
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18
Times: First session: 8:30 to 10 a.m.; second session: 10:30 a.m. to noon
Where: The Silos, 810 E. First St., Dayton
Cost: $30
How: https://thinktank-inc.org/table (Select Think Tank as the host site.)
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