Community leaders, political figures and others recently came together in Macon for a poverty summit. The goal was to examine the issue and find more strategic ways to deal with the problem, including partnerships.

Here are some quotes from speakers at the summit:

About one in four people in Macon-Bibb County are in poverty, Mercer University President Bill Underwood said in an opening speech. Underwood went on to say Macon will “progress by leaps and bounds” in the next few years, but only if the community seriously addresses the problem. We have a poverty rate of about 23.5 percent in Macon-Bibb, and we’ve got to take that on,” he said.

“Poverty affects us all,” Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert said at the summit. "Lack of education and opportunity lead to crime, which costs everyone more in taxes. Even when struggling families hold on to their homes, poverty and the resulting hopelessness contribute to urban blight."

Sister Elizabeth Greim, executive director of the Daybreak center in Macon said a job, affordable health care and income that’s “sustainable and adequate" is what a person needs to get out of poverty.

Sasha Tomic, associate professor of economics at Mercer University, said the average work commute from the depressed Macon Promise Neighborhood -- which spans Unionville and Tindall Heights -- is 107 minutes, four times the national average.

Telegraph editorial page editor Charles Richardson and GPB's Leah Fleming talk more about the summit in the video below.

Tags: Leah Fleming, Macon&Eggs, Charles Richardson The Telegraph of Macon