{"id":134009,"date":"2026-01-27T21:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134009\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T21:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:32:12","slug":"the-missing-link-why-escaping-poverty-in-miami-takes-more-than-money-local-news-updates-the-miami-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134009\/","title":{"rendered":"The missing link: Why escaping poverty in Miami takes more than money | Local News & Updates | The Miami Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Beatrice Regina Thomas, stability wasn\u2019t just about having a roof over her head; it was about having a network, too. After losing her mother and being priced out of Liberty City, Thomas was sleeping in her truck when a chance encounter changed her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was tired. I cried myself to sleep,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI parked right there (outside Liberty Square), and then Nathaniel Joseph came knocking on my truck. He said, \u2018You ain\u2019t all right. Come on in here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That knock from Joseph, community liaison manager for The Related Group, led Thomas to housing at the renovated Liberty Square<\/a>. With it came opportunities and a support system she\u2019d never had.<\/p>\n

\"Liberty<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The renovated Serenity building at Liberty Square.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had this place a long time ago,\u201d she said. \u201cI’ve been exposed to a lot, because before, it was just church and getting home. This place has become my ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Thomas is a senior’s liaison and vice president of the tenant council at Liberty Square.\u00a0With Joseph\u2019s and the Related Group’s help, she completed a property management program and secured a job in her community.<\/p>\n

\"Nathaniel<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(L\/R) Nathaniel Joseph, community liaison manager for The Related Group, and Beatrice Thomas, resident at Liberty Square.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Her story mirrors research by Opportunity Insights, a policy lab based at Harvard University<\/a>, which shows that upward mobility is shaped not only by income or housing assistance, but by who people are exposed to, where they live, and the social networks they can access.<\/p>\n

A missing ingredient in wealth-building<\/p>\n

The research<\/a>\u00a0finds that social capital \u2014 the strength and diversity of a person\u2019s social networks \u2014 is one of the strongest predictors of upward mobility for children from low-income families. Using data from 21 billion Facebook friendships, researchers identified \u201ceconomic connectedness\u201d \u2014 the degree to which people from different income backgrounds interact \u2014 as the single strongest indicator of upward mobility identified to date.<\/p>\n

Yet those connections remain rare. Nationally, there is almost no social overlap between the poorest and richest Americans: among people in the bottom 10% of earners, fewer than 2% of their friends are in the top 10%.<\/p>\n

Moreover, while the Black-white poverty gap narrowed by 72% for children born in 1992 compared to those born in 1978, the likelihood for a Black child to reach the top income bracket by adulthood remained largely unchanged. Put simply, better starting incomes has not translated to more upward mobility \u2014 pointing to social capital as the missing ingredient.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is all about exposure,\u201d said Tina Brown, CEO of the Overtown Youth Center, who was born and raised in Historic Overtown.<\/p>\n

\"Tina<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tina Brown, CEO of OYC Miami, and a longtime member of the Overtown community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see struggles growing up, you learn that oftentimes there\u2019s talent, but there\u2019s not always opportunity,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen resources are limited, oftentimes your networks are very limited. You often only know the people that you see on a day-to-day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunity Insights\u2019 data<\/a> on Miami underscores this divide. The region ranks in the 42nd percentile nationally for upward mobility among low-income children and in the 10th percentile for social capital, exhibiting low economic connectedness. Economic connectedness is measured through two factors: exposure, or how often people from different income levels share the same spaces, and friending bias, the likelihood that those encounters turn into actual relationships.<\/p>\n

\"Social<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For low-income children in Miami, only 29% of their friends come from high-income families, compared to a 40% national average.<\/p>\n

Opportunity Insights\u2019 Social Capital Atlas<\/a> shows that in historically Black neighborhoods, the gaps are sharper. In Overtown (ZIP code 33136), 41% of the people whom low-income residents meet have high incomes, and once they do meet, low-income residents in Overtown are 20% less likely to befriend those with a higher income. Further, children living here grow up to earn an average of $20,600 annually, placing the neighborhood in the 1st percentile nationally for upward income mobility.<\/p>\n

In Liberty City (ZIP code 33142), exposure to people with higher incomes drops to 23%, and low-income residents are 10.9% less likely to form friendships with higher-income peers. By contrast, wealthier areas like Doral show a “friending bias” of just 2.4%, with exposure reaching nearly 58%.<\/p>\n

\"Proximity\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brown said these patterns are rooted in cultural preservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think hesitancy comes from, in a large part, just history,\u201d she said. \u201cOftentimes, people in certain communities feel intimidated when individuals from a different socioeconomic background move in. They feel like the community may lose its identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Connectivity\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She noted that this protectiveness is understandable, often stemming from decades of displacement from urban renewal, but that it can also restrict opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of opportunities when we do diversify,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen you have exposure to different people with different upbringings and opportunities, it can propel you into greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Housing placement and mixed-income\u00a0developments<\/p>\n

\"Low-Income<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Affordable housing, particularly via the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), remains concentrated in low-income areas. The black dots signify LIHTC developments in Miami. Regions in red indicate where poverty rates ranged between 30% and 50% from 2012-2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Opportunity Atlas by Opportunity Insights)<\/p>\n

Where people live shapes who they meet. In Miami-Dade, much of the affordable housing, particularly via the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), remains concentrated in low-income areas. While LIHTC is widely regarded as one of the nation\u2019s most effective housing tools, Opportunity Insights\u2019 research shows that clustering affordable housing in high-poverty zones can unintentionally reinforce social isolation.<\/p>\n

Opportunity Atlas data from 2012 to 2016 show poverty rates between 30% and 50% in historically Black neighborhoods dominated by LIHTC developments. By contrast, developments like Doral Terrace \u2014 where roughly 70% of units are designated as low-income \u2014 show poverty rates closer to 10%, underscoring how location shapes outcomes.<\/p>\n

The goal, researchers say, is a dual-pronged approach:<\/a> placing affordable housing in high-opportunity neighborhoods while introducing market-rate housing into high-poverty areas to attract investment.<\/p>\n

Kareem Brantley, president of The Integral Group\u2019s Florida and Caribbean Community Development Division, says the firm was founded on this mixed-income principle more than three decades ago \u2014 long before the term became common in housing policy debates.<\/p>\n

\"Kareem<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kareem Brantley,\u00a0 president of The Integral Group’s Florida and Caribbean Community Development Division.<\/p>\n

(The Integral Group)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we knew for sure wouldn\u2019t work is a community comprised solely of low-income earners,\u201d Brantley said. \u201cWe had already seen that in the United States. That was called public housing. We needed to make a different model.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brantley emphasized that LIHTC remains foundational but must be part of a longer-term development strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to start somewhere, and the LIHTC allows us to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you can say, \u2018I\u2019m going to develop 20 acres and have eight or nine phases of development,\u2019 that\u2019s when you really see the magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese neighborhoods do transform,\u201d Brantley added. \u201dThey become transformative in that they invite more of the economic engines into the community after you get some of the housing built.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brantley said mixed-income housing provides residents with housing choice. Albert Milo, president of Related Urban Development, says mixed-income housing produces measurable results.<\/p>\n

\"Albert<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Albert Milo, president of Related Urban Development. \/\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Related Group)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the main benefit of mixed-income housing is the fact that you have different families of different income levels living in one location,\u201d Milo said. \u201cIf you are a lower-income family and you work your way up the economic ladder, you still have the ability to have that upward mobility but remain in your neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Liberty Square, Milo said, that shift has dramatically increased the community\u2019s economic capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started there, the economic buying power of the families was just under $9 million,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we\u2019re done with the redevelopment, it\u2019s going to be right around $139 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, building mixed-income housing in high-opportunity neighborhoods remains difficult. Brantley said that funding and zoning constraints limit scale, and competition for resources is intense.<\/p>\n

“The demand far outstrips the supply,” says Brantley. “It’s very competitive, and you really are trying to make a big difference with very few resources.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Milo stated that long-standing assumptions in housing policy have traditionally restricted affordability to low-income areas, and “not-in-my-backyard” concerns still create resistance in wealthier neighborhoods. However, he believes these fears can be mitigated through design and education.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re designing it to that market-rate standard, they should be less concerned,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a combination of middle-income and market-rate units. Look at the amenities. Look at the income demographics we\u2019re bringing in. It\u2019s not the old method of projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human impact and mentorship<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bJames McQueen, executive director of the Southeast Overtown\/Park West CRA, in front of one of the developments under construction in Overtown.<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bJames McQueen, executive director of the Southeast Overtown\/Park West CRA, says the goal is to avoid \u201ccreating pockets of poverty.\u201d At Block 55 in Overtown, families earning under 60% of the median income live alongside market-rate residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids may be living next to doctors and lawyers,\u201d McQueen said. \u201cThat might inspire them to realize their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ripple effects extend to the local economy. For years, Overtown lacked retail and local job access. Today, nearby stores like Publix and Target employ residents with permanent positions, including management roles.<\/p>\n

“Access to jobs for the residents has been a great boon in the community,\u201d McQueen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Liberty City, 24-year-old Darryl Johnson, who moved from an old public housing unit to the mixed-income development, says the new environment changed his outlook.<\/p>\n

\"Darryl<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Darryl Johnson, 24, in front of his new job in his own community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I\u2019m hearing wildness, fights, people being uncivilized,\u201d Johnson said, recalling the old days. \u201cI was influenced in the wrong places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HY-LO<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today, Johnson works in construction within his own community after being encouraged by Joseph, the community liaison, who \u201csaw potential\u201d in him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives a person hope that there is still a chance for them out there,\u201d Johnson said, \u201cother than losing hope and leading to criminal activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

This reporting was supported by Hy-Lo News through a grant from the Local Media Association.<\/p>\n

This article is part of a national initiative exploring how geography, policy, and local conditions influence access to opportunity. Find more stories at\u00a0 economicopportunitylab.com\/<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Beatrice Regina Thomas, stability wasn\u2019t just about having a roof over her head; it was about having…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[65678,65661,65670,65681,65675,65664,65671,65683,65674,65673,225,227,226,65686,65677,65666,65660,65669,65684,65668,65685,65679,65682,65662,65665,65663,65667,65680,65676,65672,24579],"class_list":["post-134009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-albert-milo-related-urban","tag-beatrice-regina-thomas-story","tag-black-neighborhoods-miami-history","tag-block-55-overtown-housing","tag-doral-housing-comparison","tag-economic-connectedness-miami","tag-economic-mobility-low-income-families","tag-economic-opportunity-miami-dade","tag-exposure-to-high-income-peers","tag-friending-bias-miami","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news","tag-housing-placement-and-opportunity","tag-integral-group-mixed-income-model","tag-liberty-city-housing-redevelopment","tag-liberty-square-redevelopment","tag-lihtc-developments-miami","tag-mentorship-and-upward-mobility","tag-miami-affordable-housing-policy","tag-miami-community-development","tag-miami-housing-segregation","tag-miami-poverty-rates-analysis","tag-miami-upward-mobility-research","tag-mixed-income-housing-miami","tag-opportunity-insights-social-capital","tag-overtown-social-capital-gap","tag-overtown-youth-center-tina-brown","tag-related-group-liberty-square","tag-social-networks-and-opportunity","tag-southeast-overtown-park-west-cra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}