[media-credit name=’YANA PASKOVA/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Returning to the state that gave new life to his campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, former North Carolina senator John Edwards toured the Harambee Center on Madison’s south side Saturday morning.

This time the topic wasn’t politics, but poverty — and specifically the destitution that has plagued the south side in recent times.

Along with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Edwards toured the Harambee Center — a health and family organization — and met with families who discussed personal difficulties of family life such as healthcare.

Edwards and Cieslewicz then held a press conference at the south branch of the Madison Public Library to discuss the promotion of fighting poverty across the United States.

Edwards has visited a number of similar facilities in the Midwest and Northeast and said the Harambee Center is “very impressive” compared to similar organizations across the nation.

“I have not seen anything like this,” Edwards said. “This is something that, if it can be duplicated in other places in the country, it could be very useful.”

Cieslewicz referred to the health and family center as one of the “gems of the city.”

Harambee Center Executive Director James Kramer said the center is a partnership between seven other organizations, including Madison Branch Public Library, Madison Community Health Center, Dane County Department of Public Health, Planned Parenthood and several others.

“The idea is that organizations working together under one roof can more effectively reach clients and patients,” Kramer said. “They can come here and access a number of different services at a ‘one stop shop.'”

Kramer said some of the center’s most recent accomplishments include the city ownership of the strip mall that holds the Harambee Center and South Branch library.

The mall was acquired by the city of Madison using federal tax credits, and there is no taxpayer cost to the buildings.

“This is going to be the anchor for revitalization of south Madison,” Kramer said. “Really, it already is.”

As the new director for a poverty center at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, Edwards has been focusing on how more services can become available for individuals and families, such as healthcare, Head Start and education services. While touring the nation, the former senator saw many people struggling to get by, which inspired him.

“In a country of our prosperity, to have 36 million people live in poverty everyday is wrong, and we have a moral responsibility to do something about it,” Edwards said. “That’s exactly what I intend to do with all my heart and soul.”

Edwards said he plans to continue traveling across the United States to promote this important issue. Edwards added most people he has met with while traveling across the country are great examples of what to believe in for America — they are responsible, hard workers.

“They’re just having a hard time, and this is the kind of people we ought to embrace in the nation,” Edwards said. “I actually think it says something about the character of our nation, how we treat those who are trying to do better and struggling.”