We know most knowledge comes from learned experience. That's why we partner with individuals with first-hand knowledge of living in poverty in Asheville to provide opportunities for transformative group education.
Program Offering Guide
The Mission
We educate K-12 and college students, business employees and owners, faith communities, elected leaders, and community members about economic justice issues and solutions.
Realities of Poverty Walks
1-mile, 90-min. walk through downtown Asheville. Led by our Poverty Educators with first-hand experience with homelessness or poverty, the walks highlight both systemic obstacles and resources available.
Questions are asked, perspective is gained, perceptions shift, and stereotypes revisited during the debrief.
We are excited to announce we are now open to individuals. Learn by doing. Challenge your stereotypes. Walks will happen on the final Saturday each month - 10:30a-12:30p. $25/person (suggested donation. All are welcome!) Click here to sign up as an individual.
Realities of Poverty Panels (In-Classroom or In-Cafe)
1-hour structured conversations with our Poverty Educators to allow participants to hear from, and ask questions of, those most impacted by economic injustice.
Panels work well paired with poverty walks, in-cafe community engagement, or as a stand-alone experience.
Community Engagement at 12 Baskets Cafe
Build community. Create new relationships. Be an active participant in sharing abundance and modeling an environment of inclusion.
Cafe jobs include general food service tasks. Visits include meals and are paired with an orientation from API staff and time with a Poverty Educator. Pre-visit educational content is shared to encourage service learning (vs. volunteering).
Customized Educational Experiences, Academic Course Integration
We work with groups to craft a combination of education, advocacy, and outreach experiences to suit specific needs. Contact us to integrate community into team-building or academic coursework.
Contact us at: (828) 589-2477 | Ben@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org
“What would you tell others about your experience?”
"I would explain that this is the most eye-opening thing I've done and tell people's stories."
- Savannah Lopett, College of Charleston
"Amazing educational experience that will motivate you not only to make a difference but to treat each other with dignity as well."
- Chris Ciarcia, College of Charleston
"I would tell them this experience was indeed an eye-opener..."
- Lasenia Jones, First Pres. Church/Charlotte
"I would tell them that it is highly recommended. It will make you look at the problems in America. It will make you think differently but also encourage you to change it."
- Mary McCormack
"In human civilizations one of the things we tend to do is categorize ourselves and create social standings. This prevents the Interaction/ participation of people in society and creates a hierarchy that separates people.
But one way that could help is people stepping out of the social barriers that we have created and serving the neighbor. Something as simple as interacting with people. This was evident at 12 Baskets."
- Josiah Szobody - UNC Asheville
“Partnering with API and 12 Baskets makes education make sense - for me, as the professor, and for students. Visiting the cafe for a meal, being in conversation with the folks in the garden, discussing poverty with API's educators, and working within a community casts us all as collaborators, creating and learning together; it grounds our academic work, theories, and practices in reality.
We break through the wall and artifice of the classroom and find ourselves learning, deepening and testing knowledge in a distinct place, in real-time, with relevant concerns, cares and issues, and with particular people telling the stories of their lives.”
Leslee Johnson, Humanities Lecturer, UNC-Asheville
