Poverty Retold: Why Narratives Matter for Economic Mobility

By Allison Yates-Berg

What is it like to live in poverty in the United States? Without lived experience, you probably can’t imagine the constant set of challenging choices that people living with low incomes confront each day. You may also have a hard time imagining the tremendous resilience and resourcefulness that it takes to overcome poverty’s grasp. Let’s imagine a family we’ll call the Sampsons. Consider: does your view of Bill shift while reading his story?

Bill Sampson missed work again today. His manager Mary at the warehouse shakes her head—Bill has been getting noticed for being a hard worker, but he’s on thin ice. He recently…

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