Mathew Desmond came into the public’s view when he wrote a book about people evicted during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. He talked about grandparents whose heat was cut off in the middle of winter and kids being evicted regularly and routinely with no place to go. A powerful speaker, he made his first appearance in western North Carolina after publishing that book.
Desmond is the son of a pastor who grew up in Winslow, AZ. The family never had much money and sometimes the utilities got cut off. Then when he went to college, they lost their house. The stress poverty puts on a family is personal to him. He says, “It worked its way inside of me.” In 2008 he saw depths of poverty he’d never seen before. How, he wanted to know, can this happen in our great country?
Desmond has another book out. In Poverty by America, he tries to answer that question for himself and then share what he’s learned with the rest of us. Pisgah Legal Services is bringing Desmond back to western North Carolina and you don’t have to drive to Asheville to hear what he has to say. Join Pisgah Legal Services staff and volunteers and other members of our community at Cross Street Commerce Center in Spruce Pine at 6:30 p.m. on October 17 for a Watch Party. Desmond will be live streamed from Asheville. Patricia Casey, the office manager for Pisgah Legal Services here in Mitchell County says there will be light food and drink, and a conversation that’s worth your time.
If you want more information, contact Maxine McLaughlin of Pisgah Legal Services at 828-463-3109or maxine@pisgahlegal.org There’s no charge, it’s free, just register in advance online at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/justiceforumwatchparty/ There’s still time! Make plans to attend!
