(FLAT ROCK) -- More than 17 percent of North Carolina's citizens live in poverty, and on Thursday, a handful of them will address community leaders in Henderson County to give feedback on how the system can better serve them. Donny Buckner is one of thousands living in North Carolina who have experienced poverty.

He is glad to be able to offer his advice on how programs can better serve people like him. "They want to hear from me and I help them in some small way by describing how it works, what doesn't work, what needs to be improved and what other options could be beneficial," said Buckner.

Buckner found himself homeless last December when his rental home was destroyed by a fallen tree, and he lost his job just days before Christmas.

The meeting will take place in Flat Rock and is part of a year-long push to create more effective resources for people in need, titled Face to Face with Poverty.