Radical Champions Leading Social Change Raise Awareness for Generational Poverty

Belmont Vision Multimedia, Zach Watkins

A group of passionate Belmont students led a campaign and petition for awareness about generational poverty in Tennessee.

The campaign began in a class, Radical Champions Leading Social Change. Senior Abby Hodge and junior Jaclyn Harrison lead the team with two members, Rodney Bryant and Sarah Baker.

Each of the students drew their passion for helping others in different experiences. 

During the past two summers, Harrison, a faith and social justice major, did homeless ministry in Baltimore where she worked a summer camp for kids who came from families facing poverty.

“It is systematic and is bigger than these individuals living in poverty. With our focus on parents, we want to instill leadership and sustainability in them so their children can break the cycle,” Harrison said. 

For Hodge though, it hit a bit closer to home. 

“I grew up in a rural community in McMinnville, Tennessee where it’s a small population. I myself am from a low income family, so it was really difficult growing up,” Hodge said. “I could see the different ways that people were treated, especially those who were of a low income status. I could see the cycle in my own life. I made the decision that I’m not going to let these inhibitors affect me.”

Hodge and the team are petitioning for legislative action and nonprofit involvement for families across the state through providing resources and addressing system challenges.

The petition they started also addresses the need for more resources, such as healthcare, education funding, food support and affordable housing.

“A lot of people who are living stable lives might not know about the systematic inequalities that are breaching communities. If we bring it to light, we can bring more resources forward from people,” Hodge said. 

The federal poverty level is approximately 14% in Tennessee households, according to World Population Review. In addition, 3,821 people also experienced homelessness in 2024, a number that has since increased 4.1%, according to Nashville.gov. 

“It is a psychological thing where if you don’t have stability, you’re living in chaos and it’s hard to get out of that. Our focus is networking with nonprofits to help provide food security and mental health,” Harrison said.

Jeff Yarbro, district 21 representative, serves on the Tennessee Welfare Committee for the Tennessee State Representative House. The student campaign will advocate to him within their next steps.

With plans of receiving district support, they said they hope to bring their petition to Gov. Bill Lee.

“Generational poverty doesn't take one nonprofit to solve and it doesn’t even take our campaign. It takes a whole ecosystem of people working together,” Hodge said.

This article was written by Emily Garver