OUR MISSION The largest natural disaster in American history brought the issue of poverty into sharp focus. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina displaced nearly half a million people in the Gulf Coast, and today, thousands still face an uncertain future. The hurricane struck a region already decimated by poverty, violence and neglect. How can we fix the problem? The government shouldn't continue to fund public-service programs that fail, but we can't afford to cut back on these programs entirely.  Instead, we should focus on developing new, innovative programs that empower impoverished citizens, and give them the ability to fully participate in our democratic society.  How? By teaching better health through better nutrition, we can reduce the strain on our overtaxed medical system; By increasing literacy and educational opportunities, we can overcome the inequities of a public school system that routinely fails poor citizens; By sharing the tools of financial success, we can reduce the poor's dependence on bloated and inefficient government-assistance programs; By offering low-cost professional counseling, we can help those who have been scarred by the violence of poverty to embrace life and look forward to new possibilities.