BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS TO REDUCE POVERTY PROFESSOR TRINA SHANKS, HAROLD R. JOHNSON COLLEGIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL WORK AND FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR EQUITABLE FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELL-BEING “A small number of families hold 80 percent of the wealth, while those at the bottom have nothing; they live paycheck to paycheck and are often disconnected from the larger economy and financial infrastructure,” says Trina Shanks. Shanks has spent her career researching asset building and enhancing financial capability among low-income families. “I have studied these inequities through a policy lens,” she continues, “but even as you craft policies, you must also have relationships within communities. I want to find innovative ways to reach populations
12 · University of Michigan School of Social Work
