On Monday, February 2nd, 2015, my group members and I called Rodney Lucas, an international rapper, Siena’s close friend, and who was formerly impoverished.

Rodney grew up in the South side of Chicago, in a small house with his mother, aunt, uncle, and younger siblings. After living there for a while, his aunt and uncles crack addictions later caused his mother to take him and his siblings to a shelter, in hopes of getting connected with public housing. At age 19, Rodney’s dad got sentenced to life in prison, something Rodney had to cope with alone, since his siblings all had different fathers.

We had a long talk with Rodney about the struggles of poverty and how difficult it is to break the cycle. “Once you’re in poverty, it’s so hard to get out. You try and try and try but you often find yourself deeper and deeper.” Rodney and one of his sisters are the only ones of his family to have broken the cycle. With one brother in and out of prison, and the other working as a drug dealer, Rodney and his sister really are success stories.