Afternoon Shift Host Rick Kogan and Maurice Lim Miller, the CEO of the Family Independence Initiative in Oakland talked about how focusing on the strength of individuals in poor communities like Orlando’s is key to diminishing poverty.  

“When you become isolated…it’s really hard to move forward. But the way the Irish and African Americans after slavery built huge townships…that sense of community really inspires people to help themselves.”

“…Everybody, even if they have tragic parts of their lives, have really great, amazing things that they’re doing just to survive in these neighborhoods. If we resource that part of it, not just look at the heartbreak part but really look at putting resources where they’re already strong, that’s where we’ve seen huge jumps in progress,” Miller says.  

Hear more from today’s conversation on the latest topic from Front & Center: American Dream Deferred by listening to the audio clip above.