The co-founders of Stop Poverty With Policy (SPWP) were shocked when they heard a lecture on the impact of the lack of a reliable and efficient transit system and how it traps people in the poverty web. A lack of transportation is often a huge barrier for many low-income people trying to build a better life. The lecture inspired a group of students from Houston High School to start the organization Stop Poverty with Policy. SPWP focuses on transit reforms and helps amplify the stories and voices of people most impacted by it.
SPWP is organizing a “Bus Day” on Saturday, November 13th, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the I Am A Man Plaza, where a group of high school students will take the buses all the way from Germantown to Downtown Memphis.
Sophia Overstreet
“We feel that the transit struggle has been out of the spotlight in Memphis, partially because only 2 percent of the city’s residents are able to use the transit system because it is so underfunded and so inaccessible,” explains Sophia Overstreet, co-founder of SPWP. “The whole point of Bus Day is to share the stories of people who are at a disadvantage by the bus system. A 30-minute drive from Germantown to Downtown Memphis is estimated to take us two hours on the buses.
“We want to use this opportunity to share the stories of people impacted by the transit system,” continues Overstreet, when asked what SPWP wants to achieve through Bus Day. “We have been traveling around to schools and trying to recruit young people to our organization. We are open to middle and high school students. Anyone is welcome to join us in the fight.”
To learn more about SPWP and their cause, visit stoppovertywithpolicy.com.