The Need: Ending Rural Poverty
Rural poverty is an endemic issue in the United States. Thrive exists to be the creative catalyst in addressing it. Research shows that the designer is rarely at the table in economic development efforts. Thrive advocates the need for designers to be part of the community economic development process, creating strategies that will end poverty and restore hope.
Thrive began work in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas in 2009. Phillips County, where Helena is the county seat, is one of the 20 poorest counties in the US (2000 Census). Helena suffered a catastrophic economic blow mid-20th century, when the area’s agricultural industry mechanized, big factories closed, and a large percentage of residents lost their jobs. Within the last 25 years, nearly 40 percent of the remaining population has left, and there is now a 12-15 percent unemployment rate--one of the highest in the country. Many more communities like Helena exist in the United States, and Thrive’s mission is to help them out of poverty.
