Julia DeGrooth

Senior Project
Poverty within Westerly: How
to Help
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What Im doing
Poverty is a pressing issue in Westerly that many people tend to overlook. However

through my senior project I hope to enlighten the community on the issue and find ways in

helping it. Thus, it is my believe that through volunteer work, community service, and public

awareness this town can become a better place.

The next page of this document identify what I have specifically done to help Westerly.

My Project.
Whether a first world country or a third world country, poverty exist to be detrimental to
society and the people living within. With these issues, I decided to uncover the truths
about poverty and who are enforcing change within poverty struck countries. Through
research, I discovered the immense toll poverty has on all corners of the world. Although,
third world countries are subjected to have the most poverty, I tried to discover the poverty
within the town of Westerly. Many believe that Westerly is a town with immense wealth
and fortune, however what most people do not understand is just how much hunger,
homelessness, and unemployment Westerly has. This discover has enabled me to spread
awareness throughout the town and state of Rhode Island to find a solution to these
worldwide issues.

What I have accomplished

First fundraiser for Endhunger.org through St. Lutherans Church (packaged about
20,000 meals for impoverished individuals in Haiti)
Sat in meeting which discussed the (north end) poverty in Westerly and constituting
ideas for finding solutions to the issue.
Extensive research for each aspect of the project
Wrote a paper to spread awareness on the poverty within Westerly (will be
published)
Had interviews with a half-a-dozen individuals from the Warm Shelter and school
department liaison
Fundraiser with Character Ed to raise money for 18 struggling families within
Westerly
Ample meetings with the Superintendent
Working Cities Grant (worked with the town in hopes to receive about 200,000
dollars to help the North End of Westerly)
Brought awareness to the people of Westerly!

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My project is one that I will be doing long after the presentations day. No matter if the town
receives the Grant I hope to bring awareness and volunteer my time as much as I can, long
after this project end.

Mentor- STEPHEN DEPERRY

DePerry helps the homeless students and families of the Westerly community. As of 2014,

46 Westerly students have been identified as homeless, and twice that number on the

verge of homelessness, yet these number have increasingly risen since that date. Because

of these such trouble within Perry's hometown he dedicated most of his time to those who

need it most.

Working part time at the Tower Street School Community Center , he is a homeless liaison

for the Westerly School District. The job defines students and families homelessness status

in order to locate assistance for those residential families. These are mandated by the

federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance. This includes students whose families have

doubled up in homes with other families, which DePerry said is how most of Westerlys

homeless students live. It also includes children who live in emergency or transitional

shelters, motels or campgrounds, cars or abandoned buildings.`54

He is also the leader of Character Education, a club within Westerly that helps families on

the verge of poverty by raising money through fundraisers.