Welcome to The PuLSE Institute, an independent anti-poverty think tank dedicated to uplifting and transforming the plight of the too often forgotten or overlooked impoverished population. We will shine a spotlight on the issues intertwined with poverty and engage in rigorous research and redemptive programming to shift the policy conversations surrounding poverty.
The PuLSE Institute is a needed and timely entity because our mission is rooted in deep commitment to the issues facing those living in poverty. A global epidemic, poverty is the biggest challenge to true prosperity, starting right here in Detroit- the city with the highest poverty rate in the United States according to the 2016 U.S. Census.
Here at The PuLSE, we are excited and honored to have Bankole Thompson as a part of this noble effort because his journalistic leadership through his writings and speeches, forcing us to have a new conversation on inequality issues, is what got us here and led to the founding of this organization.
I want to thank our Board of Directors and members of the National Advisory Panel who each have a deeper commitment to the issues that The PuLSE plans to take on. Their life’s commitment to addressing social equity embodies the vision of this organization.
As a native Detroiter, I have witnessed the ups and downs of the city over the past 30 years, including the extreme and historic low of the 2013 bankruptcy. Now, while Detroit is recovering from the largest bankruptcy the country has ever known, the benefits are not impacting the poorest ranks and farthest reaches of the city, the majority of whom remained in spite of bankruptcy, often because they had nowhere else to go.
Whether it is a single mother trying to make ends meet, a decades long employee no longer able to work due to disability, or a working-class citizen earning minimum wage that barely covers basic needs, The PuLSE Institute understands that poverty is a condition created by a variety of causes and circumstances and is beyond no single individual. In this spirit, we hold firm to the philosophy that if those of us with the least are suffering, no one is truly prospering.
I am honored to serve as President of this much-needed organization and to return an impactful favor to the city I have always called home. I look forward to your support as we carry forth our mission.
Tina M. Patterson
