‘An aggressive goal.’ Columbus groups and elected leaders create office to reduce poverty
A coalition of community organizations and the Columbus Consolidated Government announced Friday the creation of an office within the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley that will work to reduce poverty.
Georgia state Rep. Teddy Reese (District 140) will lead the new Office of Poverty Reduction, which plans to organize a community-wide effort to reduce poverty by 50% over a 10-year period, said Belva Dorsey-Mott, CEO of the Enrichment Services Program.
This new office is an idea that came from the Chattahoochee Valley Poverty Reduction Coalition, she said. The CVPRC comprises 29 members from 21 local organizations representing 11 counties on the Georgia-Alabama border.
“That is a very aggressive goal,” Dorsey-Mott said during the news conference in the Columbus Public Library . “But that is the goal that was established by the CVPRC, and we are so pleased that Teddy Reese will be that leader.”
Working with the people, understanding the people and getting into the community will be important in achieving this goal, Reese said.
“This is not an office that’s going to do programming,” he said. “We’re not here to replace anybody who’s in existence. We’re here to make sure that we’re all rowing at the same time because, when we’re doing that, then the boat can actually get somewhere.”
The new office will work with partners such as United Way, Goodwill, Enrichment Services, Valley Healthcare and others to ensure organizations are efficiently coordinating with each other in these efforts, he said.
However, there also will be a focus on trying to reduce poverty through local, state and federal policies, Reese said.
“The fact is that Columbus, GA, and Albany, GA, rank in the top 10 in poverty locations throughout the United States,” he said.
Around 80% of the Columbus population has a high school diploma or less, Reese said. More than half of the city’s residents are living paycheck to paycheck and are one unexpected expense away from not being able to meet their monthly financial obligations, said Ben Moser, president and CEO of United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley.
In his new role, Reese aims to address poverty from several angles, including transportation, education and workforce development.
This isn’t an easy problem to solve, Reese said, but the mechanisms to address the issues are there.
“It’s all about systemic change,” he said. “And that’s where we are headed.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 5:18 PM.
