The Listening, a nonprofit organization, hosts an event to encourage discussion on pressing issues like poverty

 Nakesha Moore used to hate grocery shopping. 

“You see people looking at you … judging. … I never once felt a sense of pride swiping that E.B.T card,” Moore said. 

As a single mother of two, Moore spent the majority of her life living below the poverty line. But a few years ago, Moore reached a turning point when she attended a free, six-week cooking class she saw advertised in a flyer. 

“I went to that class, and that’s where I met (the instructor) Janelle Smith,” Moore said. “We became friends and stayed in touch after the class ended.” 

Smith offered Moore a job in the Family Nutrition Program that changed her life, allowing her to move from abject poverty into eventually being able to build a home with Habitat for Humanity. 

“My proudest moment … was the first time I went to buy groceries, and my cart was full, and I paid in cash,” Moore said through tears. “All because I had (a) person look at me and not see (a) statistic.” 

On Saturday, Jan. 26, Moore shared her story of hope with the city of Lynchburg during the Poverty Speaks seminar at the Miller Center, an event hosted by her friends at The Listening, a nonprofit organization that uses performing arts to encourage discussion on pressing issues in society. 

“I wanted to a create a space where we could be as passionate as possible, but also be able to listen compassionately to each other … to use our art to dig deeper and understand more about each other,” the Listening founder Nicholas George said. 

The afternoon was co-hosted and sponsored by Bridges to Progress, an anti-poverty initiative in the city of Lynchburg. 

“It’s really import that we check our assumptions on what poverty looks like and the causes of it,” facilitator for Bridges to Progress Jennifer Woofter said. “I hope that this event gives people a greater understanding of the reality of the choices people have to make when they’re suffering.” 

The seminar featured performances by Listening artists Sarah Edwards and Jaylin Randolph. 

Edwards, a local singer/ songwriter and Liberty University graduate, shared her story of growing up in poverty, along with two original songs from her upcoming album. 

“I grew up in low income housing,” Edwards said. “My mom and I were homeless for a couple of years. … So, I really want to spread a message of hope. Surround yourself with good people, and they can bring you right out of that pit.” 

Randolph, a rapper, producer and comedian who goes by the stage name “Jiggy M,” shared a similar story of growing in poverty though a spoken word performance. 

“I want people to see that this is a real issue, and I want them to resonate with it,” Randolph said. “Anytime I can tell somebody my story, even though they’re from a completely different side of the fence. … That’s the amazing thing about art.” 

The afternoon also featured a group online poverty simulation through Spent. 

The audience made choices together and tried to last 30 days in poverty. They only made it through 10 days the first round. 

Mayor of Lynchburg Treney Tweedy closed out the afternoon with a challenge to encourage those in poverty to utilize the recourses the city provides. 

“Today, it’s a simulation, but for people outside, it’s every day,” Tweedy said. “We can feed people in Lynchburg, we have no more excuses. … We have to not let people settle in the mindset of poverty.”