Catholic Charities of St. Louis and The Society of St. Vincent de Paul-Archdiocesan Council of St. Louis, Understanding Two Americas: When Race & Poverty Divide on May 14, 2015 at the Cardinal Rigali Center, featuring keynote speeches from Rev. Bryan Massingale and Dr. Donna Beegle.

Close to 500 people from more than 50 organizations, parishes and community groups attended the workshops and heard keynote speeches from Rev. Bryan Massingale and Dr. Donna Beegle. Dr. Beegle noted the need to, “to make sure we’re meeting people in poverty where they are, not where we want them to be.” While Rev. Massingale stated that, “we are concerned about race and poverty dividing us because our faith compels us” and “that faith is how we reconcile, heal and move on.”

The workshop provided key tools for building relationships and building on the existing strengths of people in the St. Louis region including businesses, social services, education, healthcare, justice and faith-based organizations to make a difference for the community. “This workshop helped us develop a deeper understanding of poverty and the issues that divide us so we can really address them with action,” states Theresa E. Ruzicka, President of Catholic Charities of St. Louis. “I look forward to working with our community partners to reach out further to people in need and strengthen our region.”

Click here to download the power point from Dr. Donna Beegle’s presentation

Link to the CCUSA article,“Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good”