Missouri State University and the Center for Ozarks Poverty Research (COPR) hosted the second annual Community Conference on Poverty April 11, 2025, on the Springfield campus.

Anthropology professor Dr. Marnie Watson and sociology instructor Christina Ryder founded COPR. They currently serve as co-directors for the organization. They also teach in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology (SAG), part of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) at Missouri State.

Journalist and anthropologist Dr. Brian Goldstone was the conference’s keynote speaker. In addition to discussing his latest book, “There is No Place For Us: Homeless and Working in America,” Goldstone participated in a panel discussion and signed copies of his new book afterward.

Watson and Ryder saw an opportunity to build the second conference around the theme of housing and employment with the release of Goldstone’s book. Conference topics and themes differ each year, they said.

“Each year we choose a different angle to look at poverty from,” Watson said. “The first year we focused on housing and homelessness. This second year the focus was on housing and employment, specifically individuals who are unhoused and working.”

Conference creates connections to build solutions

Panel members besides Goldstone included Springfield City Council member Brandon Jenson; residents of Springfield’s Eden Village, which offers living arrangements for the chronically unhoused; Springfield Tenants Unite organizer Rob Ybañez; and representatives from area employment resource organizations. Watson moderated the discussion.

Both Ryder and Watson stressed how important it was for the conference to not only include the perspectives of those experiencing poverty but also to connect them to resources.

“We were able to connect with agencies that work with individuals that were willing to share their stories as part of a panel on local needs and solutions,” Ryder said.

“Last year, we had people who worked to house individuals in need on a panel with individuals who had experienced homelessness,” Watson explained. “This year we had employment specialists on a panel together with individuals who had been unhoused and employed.”

Goldstone’s book spurred even more opportunities to connect after the conference.

“We also have had the opportunity to support organizations wishing to use Dr. Goldstone’s book as the jumping off point for a book club about poverty,” Watson said. “Starting community conversations is one of our main goals, so that was wonderful to see.”

Startling realities about Springfield poverty

One of the reason’s Goldstone’s book serves as a touchstone is because of the startling statistics it unveils about poverty in America.

Even though Goldstone’s research focuses on Atlanta, Georgia, many of its circumstances, such as low wages and high rents, resemble those seen in Springfield and across the country, according to Ryder and Watson.

“Yes, Atlanta has over 500,000 inhabitants, while Springfield has around 170,000. At the same time, issues around housing and poverty are common threads in both cities,” Watson said.

Springfield’s poverty rate has advanced so far that it now ranks as Missouri’s poorest city, according to Ryder, who cited a March 2022 24/7 Wall Street analysis article.

“In the last 25 years the poverty rate in Springfield has grown significantly from 9.9% to 20.3%,” Ryder continued, citing both the 2000 census and 2010-2024 American Community Survey (ACS) estimates. “The dramatic population growth, combined with low levels of per capita income, has led the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department to label Springfield ‘severely fiscally distressed.’”

Watson pointed out that researchers now understand the nation’s housing crisis is no longer “coastal.” It has expanded into the Midwest as well.

“Springfield, Missouri, is missing nearly 9,000 affordable renting housing units,” she explained. “That’s nearly 9,000 households who can’t live in a rental home in Springfield.”

These circumstances mirror Goldstone’s research, which noted that no city, town or community exists where persons with minimum wage jobs can rent a two-bedroom apartment.

Conference planning meets multiple goals

Both Ryder and Watson stressed that an important goal of the conference was to provide education and awareness about poverty, especially in the Ozarks.

“Community leaders, practitioners and students have communicated that continuing education opportunities, including annual conferences, are opportunities Missouri State and RCASH are uniquely positioned to provide,” Ryder said.

Another key goal of the conference is to allow those affected by poverty and poverty-related policies to speak about their experiences. Finally, the conference is an ideal venue for invested parties to collaborate, network and discuss issues and potential solutions.

Producing a successful conference is a time-consuming process and involves a variety of tasks, Ryder said.

“For this particular conference, it took several weeks to arrange panel participants, table participants, food and prepare other conference details. It took several months to arrange sponsors for the events,” she noted.

To spread the word about the conference, the pair coordinated announcements on social media, in the classroom, through traditional pre-conference media and within the SAG department. Nearly 20 students alone participated in the conference, a fact that delighted Watson and Ryder.

Learning and growing from first conference

The planning process also involved revisiting the first conference to identify successes and areas for improvement. Hearing from those affected by poverty proved to be one of the most successful aspects of last year’s conference.

“Last year the panel discussions from community members and individuals that were directly impacted by poverty and homelessness were particularly powerful,” Ryder said. “We will continue this tradition each year.”

The COPR team also conducted a survey after the first conference to identify opportunities for growth. Overwhelmingly, respondents asked for more opportunities to collaborate.

“The biggest answer was a request for more events where community practitioners could get together, share knowledge and network,” Watson said.

To meet this request for this year’s conference, Watson and Ryder planned a small, hour-long event before Ryder’s interview with Goldstone. This allowed conference attendees to get together informally.

“Springfield is not a big city, and many people know each other by name, but bringing everyone together to drink coffee and chat is a rare luxury and sometimes an opportunity to put a face to a name,” Watson said.

Next year’s conference in the works

Watson and Ryder are already planning for COPR’s third annual conference. Tentatively, the conference theme will be housing, homelessness and disability.

“It appears that there is interest in providing a conference related to housing, homelessness, and its intersection with disability. We are currently exploring these options,” Ryder said.

“People in poverty are more likely to deal with disability, and vice versa, whether the disability is physical, developmental or mental,” Watson said. “Themes around disability can include employment, difficulties with transportation, universal design and so on.”

Watson added that the dual issues of poverty and disability “profoundly” affect Missouri State students. “Many of them have disabilities or different abilities, and live, work and study in our community.”

Positive feedback motivates and inspires

Ryder and Watson enjoyed hearing that this year’s conference was meaningful to others.

“One person told me that they could not stop thinking about all that was discussed at the conference until well into the weekend,” Ryder said. “I was glad to hear that we provided content that was thought-provoking.”

For Watson, introducing multiple voices into the conversation has been most rewarding. “Both years, the voices of those with lived experience were the most powerful. They are the experts.”

Learn more about COPR