I am looking for articles, unpublished research or anecdotal accounts of
people's perceptions of or attitudes towards people who live in poverty. I
plan to use this information to develop a social marketing/communication
framework that an inner city agency can use to develop social messages.

Most messages about people who live in poverty -- either in fundraising or
awareness/knowledge raising campaigns -- tend to use one of two appeals: (1)
"there but for the grace of God go I," or (2) guilt. While these appeals
might achieve short-term objectives, such as fundraising, they do little to
change perceptions or
attitudes about people who live in poverty. To affect real change, people
need to see people who live in poverty as individuals, rather than as "the
poor" or as statistics.

This framework will use social marketing as a basis for developing social
messages that encourage people to think differently about those who live in
poverty.

I would appreciate any help you can provide.

Alana LaPerle
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