At 26, Donna Beegle, founder and president of Communication Across Barriers, was a single mother trying to provide for two young children, with just six months of ninth-grade education in her pocket. A pilot program designed to support displaced homemakers brought her toward opportunities that ultimately shifted her trajectory by providing her with housing. She encountered helpful figures who connected her to resources and opportunities and gave her the hope and the luxury to study for her GED. At 28, she secured a place at university. "So much of my life is a fluke," she reflects. "I come from a line of migrant laborers, and I'm used to picking fruits in the day to have food at night."
A significant mentor in Beegle's life was a professor who lent her a shoulder to lean on while she was trying to carve a path out of the harsh realities of poverty. He helped her develop better communication skills so she could be heard. Out of this, Communication Across Barriers, a consulting firm, was founded to provide poverty-informed education to professionals and assist people living in the crisis of poverty on their journey to move away from it. "He filed for a business license, printed out business cards, and listed me as president and himself as vice president. In 1989, we got our first contract," she reflects. "He was so supportive, and I had so much trust in him."
As of 2024, the USA is home to 35.9 million people in poverty. In the midst of this reality, Beegle aims to educate people by reshaping narratives and breaking stereotypes. "I teach professionals and volunteers to fight poverty, not the people living in it," she says. Communication Across Barriers invites those interested in gaining poverty competencies from an insider perspective to attend experiences, workshops, and keynote events to learn more about effective strategies to make a difference.
Beegle's doctoral research opened her eyes to the obstacles of being those with less opportunity, which ultimately informed the strategies she developed. "Our mistake is confounding a variety of circumstances and projecting the same capacity of support onto people with very different experiences," she explains. "Although everyone struggles, there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to helping people."
In an effort to further help children and adults in poverty, Beegle pursued postgraduate degrees, exploring the media's portrayal of poverty and the people who live in it, and gaining an understanding that there wasn't a clear definition of it and a lack of knowledge around it. Combining this research with her 26 years of experiencing homelessness, Beegle identified four pillars: removing the shame, rebuilding the hope, reducing isolation, and connecting people to resources and opportunities. "We tend to devalue what the underprivileged know," she says. "We can never presume to know what's best for other people from different environments because we can't live their experiences."
Beegle's organization hosts a variety of programs and services to provide knowledge and skills for breaking poverty barriers. A two-day poverty immersion program puts people in the shoes of the underprivileged by simulating their day-to-day experiences. "I try to help people realize the advantages and experiences that they take for granted and provide practical solutions they can use right away," explains Beegle. She also offers poverty-informed coaching to those interested in educating their colleagues about systemic contributors and implementing measures to counteract them. Communication Across Barriers' Opportunity Community model features research-based strategies to connect those not in poverty to those who are to redirect life trajectories. The If Not Me, Then Who program trains professionals and volunteers to build meaningful relationships and help people achieve success.
Beegle is keen to shift people from simply being aware of poverty and acknowledging that a problem exists, to being informed and conscious about the factors involved in it. "So much unintentional harm can happen when we're not informed, and we can actually send people spiraling deeper into their struggles," she says.
Beegle has worked in most states and multiple countries and has gone on to author multiple books that cover the struggles and solutions for people impacted by poverty, and has two more books in the works. Her appearances and features on CNN and PBS have helped raise more awareness about poverty and what can be done to make a difference. She continues her work to educate and unite people by inviting those not in poverty to walk beside neighbors. "We have much more in common than we have differences," she states.
From deep generational poverty to having classrooms named in her honor, Beegle's life trajectory and work are evidence that poverty doesn't have to be the final destination. Using her lived experience and research, she hopes to inspire others to separate poverty from the people.
