Life 360 on Path to Eliminate Poverty
July 27, 2022
David and Ava Luebbering discuss checkers in the soon to open coffee shop area. The wall mural in rear was completed by Anna Krueger and Emma Berhdt.
Ezra DeVore
With Life 360 Resource Center hastening its path toward completion, the mission remains to eliminate poverty in Barry County. This includes teaching art, getting homeless or impoverished individuals into a paying job, and the overall goal of assisting those who need it, and granting otherwise unreachable opportunities to local citizens who wish to enrich their lives.
“25% of our area is below the poverty level, one out of four. We have 40,000 people, so that’s 10,000 in poverty,” says Rachel Luebbering, Property Manager for Life 360, an organization described by Luebbering as “Like minded people coming together to further one mission of alleviating poverty in our area.”
Luebbering says that a great deal of local poverty is generational. “If somebody doesn’t teach you how to be above the poverty line, how else do you find out?” she asks. “So, kiddos and youth can come in here without their parents, with their parents permission, and learn skills to not live in a way that their parents or grandparents have. Poverty is the number one leading thing to homelessness, addiction, and jobs that are lower paid.”
According to her, half of the impoverished population in Barry County are adults, half are children, meaning that approximately 5,000 local children face child poverty.
“I think the opposite of poverty is hopefulness, light at the end of the tunnel - so that’s where we strive to get people, no matter what their bank account says. If you’ve got a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of hope, and you want to do better, most likely that shows at work, and you might have a lot more determination, even if you don’t have the skill set yet.”
Luebbering says that in addition to the connections the Resource Center offers in practical skills, the Center also offers, or plans to soon offer, lessons on martial arts, guitar, drums, Spanish, Mandarin, Latin, mobility training, and various artistic mediums.
“The part of your brain that goes for addiction can also be filled with poetry, music, reading. When we get people to come out of addiction and into recovery, we try to fill that spot. We try to do everything full circle, so when we take something away, we try to put something back in a healthy, hopeful way,” she says.
Luebbering states that the Resource Center also employs a total of 12 life coaches, who are there to talk about anything as minute as paying a gas bill, to losing a parent. These coaches can advise on finances, work opportunities, or simple day-to-day conversation, Luebbering says.
Luebbering also states the facilities offered could place anyone who was looking for a job on the path, regardless of their situation. Within the walls of the Resource Center, one can acquire, or be assisted in acquiring, their birth certificate, a resume, drivers license, social security card; all requirements for an I-9 to fill out to go to work.
“They do your resume, they get you a job,” Luebbering says. “Then, when you get that job, we will give you a week’s worth of clothes to go to that job.” This can be steel-toed boots for a factory job, or business casual clothes for an office.
Through a transportation grant through Community Partnership of the Ozarks, they also assist with transportation costs to ensure the new worker has stable transportation to and from work.
“If you’re homeless, and you have no money, where are you getting money for clothes and a toothbrush?”
Luebbering states that while homeless, it is nearly impossible to get a job because of the constant obstacles placed in the path of that goal. Clothes for an interview, hygiene, transportation, identification, these are all things that one starting from scratch will find just shy of impossible, Luebbering says.
“We don’t do handouts unless it’s a domestic abuse situation,” she says, “or foster kids, they didn’t ask to be in the foster care system. Everybody else, if they’re able-bodied, are expected to help. Even if they’re in a wheelchair, they can sit at the front desk. We ask for them to give 15 minutes to a couple hours worth of time, depending on what the thing is.”
Luebbering explained that they operate on a ten-dollar system, meaning that, if they supply dinner for a family, roughly ten dollars with the Resource Center’s connections, they ask for an hour of work. “We want you to have some buy-in. We don’t want to just give you something to get in the habit of taking it.”
Those who are supplied with food also select their own food. This promotes deeper involvement, according to Luebbering. Not just sending food to someone they do not know, but incorporating each person’s diet or food preferences into what that person is supplied with encourages a deeper relationship, and conjures a sense of community and care. “We want to have that relationship with them.”
The Life 360 Resource Center is located at 801 N. Lincoln in Monett, and can be contacted at 417-669-9310.
With Life 360 Resource Center hastening its path toward completion, the mission remains to eliminate poverty in Barry County. This includes teaching art, getting homeless or impoverished individuals into a paying job, and the overall goal of assisting those who need it, and granting otherwise unreachable opportunities to local citizens who wish to enrich their lives.
“25% of our area is below the poverty level, one out of four. We have 40,000 people, so that’s 10,000 in poverty,” says Rachel Luebbering, Property Manager for Life 360, an organization described by Luebbering as “Like minded people coming together to further one mission of alleviating poverty in our area.”
Luebbering says that a great deal of local poverty is generational. “If somebody doesn’t teach you how to be above the poverty line, how else do you find out?” she asks. “So, kiddos and youth can come in here without their parents, with their parents permission, and learn skills to not live in a way that their parents or grandparents have. Poverty is the number one leading thing to homelessness, addiction, and jobs that are lower paid.”
According to her, half of the impoverished population in Barry County are adults, half are children, meaning that approximately 5,000 local children face child poverty.
“I think the opposite of poverty is hopefulness, light at the end of the tunnel - so that’s where we strive to get people, no matter what their bank account says. If you’ve got a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of hope, and you want to do better, most likely that shows at work, and you might have a lot more determination, even if you don’t have the skill set yet.”
Luebbering says that in addition to the connections the Resource Center offers in practical skills, the Center also offers, or plans to soon offer, lessons on martial arts, guitar, drums, Spanish, Mandarin, Latin, mobility training, and various artistic mediums.
“The part of your brain that goes for addiction can also be filled with poetry, music, reading. When we get people to come out of addiction and into recovery, we try to fill that spot. We try to do everything full circle, so when we take something away, we try to put something back in a healthy, hopeful way,” she says.
Luebbering states that the Resource Center also employs a total of 12 life coaches, who are there to talk about anything as minute as paying a gas bill, to losing a parent. These coaches can advise on finances, work opportunities, or simple day-to-day conversation, Luebbering says.
Luebbering also states the facilities offered could place anyone who was looking for a job on the path, regardless of their situation. Within the walls of the Resource Center, one can acquire, or be assisted in acquiring, their birth certificate, a resume, drivers license, social security card; all requirements for an I-9 to fill out to go to work.
“They do your resume, they get you a job,” Luebbering says. “Then, when you get that job, we will give you a week’s worth of clothes to go to that job.” This can be steel-toed boots for a factory job, or business casual clothes for an office.
Through a transportation grant through Community Partnership of the Ozarks, they also assist with transportation costs to ensure the new worker has stable transportation to and from work.
“If you’re homeless, and you have no money, where are you getting money for clothes and a toothbrush?”
Luebbering states that while homeless, it is nearly impossible to get a job because of the constant obstacles placed in the path of that goal. Clothes for an interview, hygiene, transportation, identification, these are all things that one starting from scratch will find just shy of impossible, Luebbering says.
“We don’t do handouts unless it’s a domestic abuse situation,” she says, “or foster kids, they didn’t ask to be in the foster care system. Everybody else, if they’re able-bodied, are expected to help. Even if they’re in a wheelchair, they can sit at the front desk. We ask for them to give 15 minutes to a couple hours worth of time, depending on what the thing is.”
Luebbering explained that they operate on a ten-dollar system, meaning that, if they supply dinner for a family, roughly ten dollars with the Resource Center’s connections, they ask for an hour of work. “We want you to have some buy-in. We don’t want to just give you something to get in the habit of taking it.”
Those who are supplied with food also select their own food. This promotes deeper involvement, according to Luebbering. Not just sending food to someone they do not know, but incorporating each person’s diet or food preferences into what that person is supplied with encourages a deeper relationship, and conjures a sense of community and care. “We want to have that relationship with them.”
The Life 360 Resource Center is located at 801 N. Lincoln in Monett, and can be contacted at 417-669-9310.