Trust Works: An Ingepreneurial Paradigm for Equitable Access to Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Introduction

The term “underserved populations” refers to “populations who face barriers in accessing and using victim services, and includes populations underserved because of geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, underserved racial and ethnic populations, populations underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and any other population determined to be underserved by the Attorney General or by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate” (34 USC § 12291(a)(39). The definition explicitly acknowledges those who have difficulty gaining access to opportunities afforded to others by their self-selected or innate socio-physiological characteristics.

The struggles experienced by underserved populations have always been part of the socioeconomic landscape. However, the disparities have become more apparent in the past two decades due to the availability of data. Notwithstanding, the fact remains that data only reveals what exists. The statistics are startling when considering the quality-of-life determinants. Regarding healthcare, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shared data that “African Americans are more likely to die at early ages from all diseases (African American Health, CDC, 2022). Regarding financial wealth, “The net wealth of a typical black family in America is around one-tenth that of a white family” (Bhutta et.al., 2016) and “on a trajectory to zero by 2053” (Prosperity Now & The Institute for Policy Studies, 2017). Workplace statistics are equally disturbing, particularly relating to black citizens in the United States of America (USA). The Society for Human Resources Management reported in their 2021 Together Forward @ Work Report entitled “Absenteeism, Productivity Loss, and Turnover: The Cost of Racial Injustice” that: 1. More than a third of Black workers report being treated unfairly in the workplace in the past year because of their race or ethnicity, 2. The number rises to 42% for Black workers over a longer period of five years, 3. The cost of racial injustice is placed at $172 billion as the cost of turnover due to racism in the workplace over the past five years, and 4. In the past year, racism may have cost American businesses $54 billion in absenteeism and $59 billion in lost productivity.” Such statistics represent barriers to wealth-building and entrepreneurial opportunities that contribute to the widening wealth gap that exists despite social determinants, such as the mid-20^th Century growth of the black middle class, that may provide a rationale for expecting progress.

This chapter uses Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. because of its decades of disinvestment, joblessness, poverty, crime, and aging residential structures to illustrate the need for relational interventions to improve institutional trust. The issues discussed are concentrated in predominantly black neighborhoods where historic economic distress has intensified socioeconomic difficulties. Concurrently, portions of Baltimore City are thriving as the city continues to solicit businesses to relocate to the city, develop its downtown tourist industry, and strengthen the technology sector by attracting highly educated and highly skilled workers.” The resulting gentrification contributes to expanding divisions between young, multicultural, urban, mostly white professionals, and predominantly black, indigenous residents who are often disconnected and disenfranchised from economic growth. The two very different profiles can be in such proximity that only a narrow street separates social privilege from abject poverty. This reality became the backdrop for civil unrest in Baltimore in 2015. The violence attracted attention to economic disparities, especially in the community known as West Baltimore. Researchers and funding agencies subsequently increased efforts to address social problems in the city’s poorest communities in the same manner that has been witnessed during the post-Trump administration federal support for cities and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This chapter presents a trust framework that may serve as a relational innovation for facilitating the economic inclusion of underserved communities and stimulating the flow of resources and ingepreneurial opportunities.