Hastings woman shares poverty struggles at national Poor People’s Campaign march

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A number of Nebraskans made a trip to Washington, D.C., with the Poor People’s Campaign to draw attention to poverty both in our state and across the country.

According to the Nebraska chapter, poverty is the fourth-leading cause of death in America.

And over 642,000 Nebraskans are poor or low-income, with another 2,000 homeless.

“This is uncalled for when this is supposed to be a country of opportunity, especially when I live in our nation’s breadbasket,” Sierra Edmisten said.

Edmisten is from Hastings, and she made an appearance in Washington to share her story.

While pregnant with her first child, she and her husband had to really cut back.

“I often skipped meals with my husband, or he would eat one day, and I would eat the next,” Edmisten said. “Once we had the third SNAP in the third trimester, when they finally counted the baby as a person, we were able to eat at least once a day.”

The Nebraska chapter also says poverty is a policy choice: There is an answer.

It isn’t always because people make poor choices that they end up this way, leaders say. There are a lot of policy choices that go into the systemic poverty that we see.

On Tuesday, the campaign said members were going to meet with the House and Senate to ask that each body address their concerns.

Meanwhile here in Lincoln, Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach serves these people, whether that be with food, housing or other forms of help.

“Last month, we had a little over 19,000 instances of hunger relief services provided, and we provided a little over 4,000 outreach services,” said Leanne Pelser, director of housing and outreach.

Outreach services include:

• Mail
• Showers
• Laundry
• Hygiene kits
• Blankets
• Food pantry boxes

And the outreach goes further than that.

“It’s really heartbreaking to see the amount of people that are struggling every day, and we here at Matt Talbot try to provide hope for them,” Pelser said.

But even with the assistance here and there, many find themselves crying for help — help that may never come without action.

“This isn’t the America I want for my children,” Edmisten said. “We need change, and we need it now.”