“[Being present is] quite specific to ATD Fourth World. It is trying to build a shared experience with people in poverty and reaching them where they are, rather than waiting for them to reach out to us.”
Yves Petit, ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps member
Reaching out and being present is fundamental to ATD Fourth World’s ethos and who we are. Spending time with people in poverty in their own communities, or wherever they live, is fundamental to building relationships based on trust. We want to learn directly from them about their needs, aspirations, and experiences. We believe that people with lived and living experience of deep poverty hold the key to developing the most meaningful solutions to overcoming poverty. Learning from people in poverty means meeting them where they are.
Proactive
Being present by living in or regularly visiting a neighborhood might seem passive, but it’s not. Proactive listening and observing takes work and experience to get right. Being present can also involve taking a job alongside people whose skills are undervalued so as to better become a part of their community, getting to know more people in a way that can help us understand their insights.
When members of ATD’s Volunteer Corps are asked to take on a role being present and reaching out to a specific community, this is prepared in close consultation with the local community, associations, political leaders, and individual ATD members. Much thinking and planning goes into the process of positioning ATD Volunteer Corps members as residents and not part of an outside association.
ATD believes that being present is key to bridging the gap between people in poverty and the rest of society because the lived experience of poverty must be at the forefront of the struggle to create a world where no one is left behind.
“Our projects are very diverse because when we go into a community the idea is to work together with the people in that community. To meet them, form connections and decide together what the needs are.”
ATD Fourth World USA, from their website