Local nurse works to combat poverty

Shanklin said poor people in rural Kansas are often ignored because they might not look like the mainstream definition of poverty.

TOPEKA — Poverty in Kansas might look different from how it appears in other states, according to Mary Jane Shanklin, a member of National Nurses United who advocates for the needs of rural Kansans.

Shanklin said poor people in rural Kansas are often ignored because they might not look like the mainstream definition of poverty.

“There’s plenty of poor people in southeast Kansas, you just don’t hear from them much. And you don’t see them much because they’re tucked away on farms,” Shanklin said. “It’s kind of normal for people to not talk about their problems so much here, until the farm is in foreclosure or are deeply depressed.”

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