Angie Peters is a student of the Holy Bible.
The former telecommunications executive — since 2013 the president and CEO of the Toronto-based Christian social service organization Yonge Street Mission — effortlessly cites Scripture to explain the ethos driving her mission to support people trapped in generational poverty. A “North Star” passage for the not-for-profit leader is 1: John 3:16-18.
“We know love by this, that He laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”
Aware that many Canadians yearn to act but are daunted by the enormity of the food security crisis, Peters’ new book Just Act: We are the Solution to Poverty illuminates how devoting time and performing simple kindnesses for people in need can lead to life-changing outcomes.
Peters chronicled the story of her mother, Barbara, as a powerful exemplar of this philosophy at work.
Barbara grew up with 10 younger siblings in a household with an alcoholic father “who abused the boys and girls in different ways.” She was pulled out of school early to help provide financially for the family and was asked to help raise her younger siblings. When Barbara grew older and sought to raise a family of her own, because of “her brokenness,” said Peters, she ended up bearing three children with three different men living in social housing on social assistance.
A piano teacher for her children and a neighbour named Pat entered Barbara’s life and changed everything.
“It was sequential and it was on God’s timing,” said Peters. “The piano teacher stepped in, and being a woman of faith it was natural for her to do so. She was wired to help my mother. It was finding healing in her faith that built (my mother’s) confidence and sense of hope.
“A few years later, in steps Pat, a neighbour, not even a Christian as far as I know, working at a company,” continued Peters. “She meets my mother who is hopeful but afraid. ‘I want to work, but I don’t know how to get started.’ Pat listened and asked, ‘well what do you like?’ She helped my mother find courses to take, and ultimately she hired her.”
Peters emphasized that it did not require any overwhelming or dramatic actions from the piano teacher or Pat to help Barbara and her children soar. Effective listening and imparting affirming advice proved to be natural and powerful ways to “just act” and spawn positive change.
The book contains a “Just Act Cycle” to help individuals seeking an action plan for transforming their own lives or to help be a change agent for someone else. There are designated cycles for community organizations or church groups like the Catholic Women’s League (CW), and one for businesses.
The “Just Act” process is the same for individuals, charities or businesses. Step one is to build a team.
“Even if you're an individual you could gather a couple of like-minded friends and say, ‘you know, I kind of want to do something,’ ” said Peters. “If the other friends do not want to do the same thing, you could go through the process together, encourage one another and share your reflections.”
Step two is to contemplate your calling. Your mentality and life experiences could help determine if you would be most effective in tackling poverty by working with homeless youth, providing housing support or caring for in-need seniors.
A third step is investing time in learning because if “you don’t understand poverty, you could be doing something that's not helpful,” said Peters. She alluded to Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity — “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
“The learning step is critical. It sounds daunting, but it's simple," Peters said. "The easiest way to do it is to find an agency near you that's helping the people. (Tell them) you want to help and volunteer for a little while and learn.”
Finally, the “Just Act” roadmap calls on each individual or group to write down the goal and then put it into action. Peters said a goal could be transporting an in-need family to the grocery store once a week or helping someone improve their English proficiency to secure employment.
“The (action) that you do is going to have a huge impact on a family and a generational one because who is going to be watching you do that? The kids in that family,” said Peters.
Recent months have provided Peters many forums to speak about Just Act: We are the Solution to Poverty. She looks forward to opportunities to conduct mobilization workshops with church groups, community organizations and companies seeking to enact a “Just Act” plan.
Peters has a specific call for Christians to embrace “playing the ground game” like Jesus Christ and His early followers did in a society rampant with secularism.
"What did He choose to do when the devil was tempting Him, when He was in the desert, and (the devil) took Him up the hill and said, 'I'll give you all of this.' He said, no. And then what did He do? He went and played the ground game.
“Because of His ground game and what the disciples did after that in the early Church… why did Constantine make Christianity the religion of the state? His mother was impressed that the Christians were taking care of everyone’s poor, not just theirs. It is that witness and walking our talk."