Poverty Is an Injustice We Must—and Can—Overcome
Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela and the lived experience of Samantha Avril-Andreassen
“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice.”
— Nelson Mandela
Poverty is more than economic hardship—it is systemic exclusion, a stripping away of dignity, safety, and belonging. It is a manifestation of injustice. For some, it comes quietly through generational inequality. For others, it is weaponized with violence, intentionally orchestrated through misuse of systems that should have protected them.
I know this, because I have lived it.
When the System Fails to See You
On 24 February 2025, I was evicted from the home I owned and maintained—a home with a mortgage solely in my name. Despite the legal reality that my ex-husband had no home rights and was not on the mortgage, a court order empowered him to sell our home. This was not justice. It was erasure.
It was not just a home that was taken—it was my sanctuary, my security, and my identity as a mother, survivor, and Black woman. The court failed to recognize the very real trauma I endured and the abuse I survived. My homelessness wasn’t a result of poverty in the traditional sense—it was the result of a weaponized legal system, manipulated by someone determined to erase me.
And now, I find myself in a place where none of my rights stand. My voice was silenced. My presence—dismissed. My truth—ignored. In a system that claims justice, I was made invisible.
Poverty Is Not Just a Lack of Resources—It’s a Lack of Protection
When we speak of poverty, we must recognize its many faces. It is not always the result of idleness or chance. Sometimes, it is deliberately inflicted. A tool of control. A punishment for surviving abuse. A silencing mechanism.
I was driven into homelessness not because I failed—but because the law failed me.
Because I am a Black woman who dared to speak up, who dared to survive, who dared to rebuild. Because I didn’t fit into the neat boxes of how systems expect victims to behave. Because the courts still don’t fully understand coercive control, post-separation abuse, or the intersections of race, gender, and trauma.
We Can—and Must—Do Better
Poverty and homelessness are not inevitable. They are created—and what is created can be dismantled and rebuilt.
We must build a world where:
Survivors of domestic abuse are protected—not punished.
Legal systems recognize coercive control and racial injustice as urgent, intertwined crises.
Housing is treated not as a luxury, but as a human right.
Black women are believed, supported, and protected.
No one is made homeless by the hands of an abuser with the blessing of a broken system.
My Pain Is Not Just Mine
I share my story not for sympathy, but for solidarity. Because there are too many others like me. Too many silenced. Too many displaced. Too many made poor through injustice, not inadequacy.
I share my truth because Nelson Mandela’s vision is not a dream of the past—it is a call to action for the present.
From Surviving to Thriving—Together
I believe in a world where justice is not blind to trauma. Where the law protects the vulnerable instead of empowering the oppressor. I believe in a world where poverty is not a punishment, but a problem we come together to solve.
Poverty is not just about economics—it is about power, race, and justice. It is about reclaiming humanity in systems that have lost sight of it.
And together, with compassion, action, and unwavering belief in dignity, we can build a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
#PovertyIsInjustice #SurvivorJustice #EndHomelessness #NelsonMandela #StillHere #BlackWomenDeserveJustice #TogetherWeRise
