Every now and then, we come across someone who flips the script so thoroughly, we realize we’ve been reading the whole book upside down. That’s what happened when I met Phyllis Everette Morgan—the founder and CEO of the Saffron Trust Women’s Foundation, an organization that’s not just helping people survive poverty; it’s rewriting the rules of how we rise from it.

She’s doing it with lived wisdom, a firecracker sense of purpose, and the kind of heart that makes you lean in and think, “Well, maybe the world’s going to be okay after all.”

Phyllis doesn’t believe in transactional aid. She’s not out here slapping band-aids on gaping wounds and checking boxes. She believes in sealing cracks—those invisible systemic fractures that keep families stuck in the same cycles, generation after generation. Her work begins with a simple yet radical question: What if the problem isn’t broken people—but broken systems?

Poverty Is Not a Character Flaw

“Poverty,” Phyllis told me, “is not a character flaw.” 

And the way she said it—quietly, like it’s something we should already know—hit me like a thunderclap. Too often, our systems treat poverty like a personal failure—even (or perphaps especially) those very systems designed to help alleviate it. 

Phyllis sees the truth more clearly, though: people are doing the best they can in boats full of leaks. 

Imagine two boats leaving the same harbor. One is watertight—that’s the boat most comfortable families are in. There are failsafes in place if something goes wrong, and if they do happen to spring a leak, they can be prepared to patch it quickly without taking on too much water or straying off course.

 The other—the one her family had to board—starts the journey already taking on water.

“You’ve got one kid bailing in the front, another in the back, and someone else just trying to steer the thing. You don’t have time to dream, or plan, or rest. You’re just trying not to sink.”

All human beings have a finite amount of energy. If a family has to spend their precious time and resources simply trying to keep their heads above water, those parents are not able to give their children as much care and attention as they would like, and the kids themselves have less room to grow—and learn how to make more permanent fixes for those cracks. This means their own ships, when they do sail out on their own, are also likely to have holes. 

This is what makes poverty a vicious cycle—one that Phyllis Everett and The Saffron Trust want to help break.

Solid Ground Starts with a Foundation of Trust

The Saffron Trust’s flagship program is called Solid Ground, and that’s no metaphor. It’s about providing exactly that: the kind of stability that lets a family breathe long enough to imagine a future. They help women find housing and keep it; they pay rent when that’s the missing piece; but they also wrap their arms around the whole human experience: mental health, access to nutritious food, connection to the arts, wellness, and—maybe most radically—joy.

Yes, joy.

Phyllis makes sure women in her program are reminded that they belong at every kind of table—at the opera, in museums, in fine restaurants; she partners with local estheticians for things like facials and car mechanics for needed repairs. Why? Simple:

 “A woman who feels seen, heard, and worthy is a woman who can rise.”

This isn’t about pity—far from it—it’s about partnership.

Phyllis’s approach is the antithesis of traditional anti-poverty work. She’s not building a system to get people in and out; She’s building relationships that hold. She’ll check in at midnight if someone calls. She creates community events where women are honored with “Mother of Manifestation” awards. Perhaps most stunning of all, though: she treats every woman’s dream as a seed worth planting.

Beyond the Transaction: Systems Don’t Change Without Stories

I asked Phyllis Everette about her dreams, and she said:

“I dream big every day—with no expectations.” 

She means it. She once wrote to President Obama about Thanksgiving, turkeys, and fatherhood…nothing political in the slightest. 

She got a letter back. Two, actually—because her belief in possibility is contagious.

Part of Phyllis’ success in communication and getting these things done is that she isn’t afraid to tell the hard stories—stories about $6,000 electric bills that destroy someone’s credit for a decade, or about moms skipping meals so their kids can eat, or about women with no diapers and no options for their kids’ inevitable diaper rash. 

And she’s just as passionate about the stories of resilience: The mom with the dream-stuffed composition notebook who’s now running her own salon; the women with no passports who are now flying to Paris; the families who go from sleeping in cars to speaking with legislators at the state capitol.

That’s what struck me the most: she’s building brag books, not case files—and she’s bragging for other people, shouting from a megaphone that yes, anyone can come back from a tough situation and get their life where they want it to go.

Phyllis Everette is proving that with connection, dignity, and just enough help at the right moment, people don’t just get by—they thrive.

Final Thoughts: The ‘Trust’ in Saffron Trust

Let’s close out by talking about that name: The Saffron Trust.

Why “saffron?” Because the spice—saffron, often used in cooking—is rare, precious, and has to be hand-harvested with care. Just like the work she does.

And why “trust?” Because that’s the currency this world needs more of. Phyllis’ unofficial motto is: Born to give myself away—and trust the process. That’s her heartbeat—and it’s working.

If you’ve ever wondered whether one person can make a difference, look no further than Phyllis Everette. She’s not waiting for systems to catch up, she’s just out there—sealing cracks, building trust, and lifting up women, one dream at a time.

Let’s keep her story echoing.

• Website: Saffron Trust
• Email Phyllis: [email protected]
• Podcast: Sabrina Phillips’ CoG Ep #211
• Book: The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs

• 00:00 – Intro & Welcome
• 04:05 – Rethinking Poverty and the Cracks in the System
• 06:40 – The Solid Ground Program
• 09:07 – Reproductive Justice & Community Partnerships
• 14:13 – Break
• 16:30 – Breaking the Poverty Narrative
• 19:46 – A Mother’s Transformation Story
• 25:15 – Relational vs. Transactional Systems
• 33:52 – Elevate You, Elevate Her: Dream Big, No Expectations
• 37:30 – Closing