By Amy Everitt, President, Golden State Opportunity

Poverty in America Series

Over the past six months, I’ve had the honor of moderating a powerful and deeply necessary conversation series: Poverty in America Today, hosted by the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) in partnership with Golden State Opportunity. This series brought together advocates, policymakers, leaders, and people working on the front lines of change to unpack what poverty really means in America — and how we can begin to dismantle it.

Too often, conversations about poverty focus on individual choices or shortcomings. But what we’ve explored together is this: poverty is not inevitable — it’s the result of policy choices and systems that were never designed for everyone. And that means it can be changed.

What We Heard and Why It Matters

Across several sessions, including Why Are So Many People Struggling Financially?, The Latino Experience and Poverty, and Housing and Poverty: How Do We House Everyone with Dignity?, speakers shared compelling insights rooted in lived experience and hard data.

  • Poverty is systemic, not personal. Leaders highlighted how structural barriers — from limited access to wealth-building opportunities to discriminatory policy design — reinforce economic inequality.
  • Even full-time work isn’t enough. Millions of Americans work long hours and still can’t meet basic needs, a stark reminder that wage structures and safety nets matter.
  • Policy works when it’s bold. The expansion of the Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic provided a real-world demonstration that public policy can provide real relief for financially struggling families. But the rollback of those supports showed how fragile progress can be without sustained commitment and political will.
  • Complex systems create “time taxes.” Eligibility and enrollment processes for critical benefits remain so fragmented and complicated that many people who qualify never receive them — simply because navigating the system is too burdensome.
  • Housing and economic stability are inseparable. Policymakers and advocates underscored that the housing crisis — especially acute in California — is fundamentally an economic justice issue that demands policy solutions that center dignity and equity.

A Call to Action for Policy and Narrative Change

One of the most important takeaways from this series is that ending poverty requires both policy change and narrative change. Too often we hear that poverty is a personal failure; but it’s time we center common sense and lived experience in how we talk about and address economic hardship.

Leaders in this series didn’t just diagnose problems — they offered solutions rooted in community voice, structural reform, and collective action. From expanding tax credits to redesigning housing policy and simplifying access to safety nets, the path forward requires bold ideas and collaboration across sectors.

These discussions remind us that when we bring diverse voices together with honesty and purpose, we can begin to reshape our systems so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

If you missed any of the sessions, I encourage you to watch the recordings, read the recaps, and join the next conversation. Poverty isn’t a story we should observe from the sidelines — it’s one we all have a role in rewriting.

Thank you to our speakers: Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO of End Child Poverty CA powered by GRACE; Paul Simpson, CFO of Life Moves; Senator Scott Wiener; Devon Gray, Executive Director of EPIC (End Poverty in California); David Plasterer, Senior Policy Advisor at RESULTS; and Max Vargas, President and CEO of the Greenlining Institute. And to our partners at SV2, Linda Prieto, Chief Program and Advancement Officer and Jody Chang, Director of Operations.

Want a deeper recap of the SV2 discussions? Read moderator and GSO President Amy Everitt’s recaps of each event in the series here:

Learn more about the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund
Learn more about Golden State Opportunity