Travel restrictions gave us the opportunity to launch our first-ever e-cohort in April, when we convened a group of social service organizations for a virtual two-day workshop. These agencies have all been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, yet they remain as committed as ever to building evidence about what works to end poverty. We are thankful to be able to learn and plan even when we can't physically be together.
"It takes a very special organization to do research," LEO Managing Director Heather Reynolds told them. "And we now have a worldwide pandemic going on. You still are saying, 'I'm showing up. I'm raising my hand to learn and to start designing interventions that can be tested for the greater good of people in poverty.' We are thankful, we are humbled, we have such respect for your work."
This was just the start of a journey that will lead to us, together with these partners, learning about effective anti-poverty strategies in case management, education, domestic violence services, and youth mentoring.