A ministry in Anderson recently awarded a large local grant will use the money to educate Madison County residents on available social services and understanding the causes of poverty.  IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports.

Andrea Baker is the executive director of Operation Love Ministries in Anderson.  She says encouraging the community to look at disadvantaged people from a different perspective is the first step in ending poverty cycles.

“A well-rounded view of what the situations are that lead to these maybe financial insecurity situations or food insecurity or whatever it else is going on is a better way to be in relationship with one another instead of just giving money to someone on the side of the road,” Baker said.

The ministry’s HELP program will also teach attendees over four sessions how to draw boundaries as givers and prevent the creation of codependent relationships. The sessions will be 2-3 hours long and include guest speakers.

Baker adds that some people willing to provide aid to those in need often don’t out of fear of causing inadvertent harm, such as giving money to someone suffering from addiction who uses the money to feed their condition.  She says building personal relationships with people and understanding their situation is how care givers can learn the best way to provide aid.

Operation Love Ministries is funding its effort with a Spark grant from the Madison County Community Foundation.  It’s one of four organizations awarded a $25,000.

Part of the Spark grant will also be used to fund the Good Neighbor Initiative. OLM says individuals who have shown an understanding of how to provide proper financial intervention can apply use money from the initiative to help a person in need.

The ministry intends on recording the sessions and sharing them to other communities so they can implement similar learning opportunities

Registration for the sessions will open early next year.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu