Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America

How will you honor your father this weekend?

Celebrate your father; helps fathers in need. Send an eCard http://ping.fm/2PvbF

Too Poor to Make the News http://ping.fm/qurOt

What are your thoughts?

Too poor to make the news
http://ping.fm/Xqmyc

Read the New Charities USA article: Caring and Nurturing Children http://ping.fm/VtOhO

Charities Executive to speak
http://ping.fm/AQCJt

Our commitment to fathers: To cut poverty in half by 2020, we must build strong family connections, support low-income fathers and address the obstacles that cause families to fall apart. http://ping.fm/BqSzL

How will you honor your father this year?
Will you consider sending an ecard and supporting fathers? http://ping.fm/XMoZU

Renew your commitment to fathers
This Father's Day, send a personalized eCard and join CCUSA as we work to support low-income fathers. http://ping.fm/5s8Mi

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New Report on Child Homelessness

America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness provides a comprehensive snapshot of our nation’s homeless children, both nationally and state-by-state. The report is a call to action. It offers policy and program solutions to this growing tragedy.

Read more

KIDS COUNT News

February, 2009

Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and Dallas live with at least one foreign born parent, according to new data on the KIDS COUNT Data Center. The Data Center’s Children in Immigrant Families profile has been updated to include data from the 2007 American Community Survey. Get updated state and city-level data on more than 20 indicators of well being for children in immigrant families including: Total children in immigrant families Children in immigrant families living below the poverty threshold Children in immigrant families in low-income working families Children in immigrant families in which parent has difficulty speaking English Visit the Knowledge Center to see some of the immigrant and refugee publications from the Casey Foundation.

Washington Weekly Web Sticker (say that three times fast!)

Put a Washington Weekly web sticker on your  website and encourage others to keep up with what Catholic Charities USA cares about in Washington.

Simply insert the following code on your Web site. This will open a new browser and link visitors directly:

<ahref=http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=698 target=_blank><img src=http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/view.image?Id=4959 boarder=0></a>

Washington Weekly: Learn what's going on

 

 

Inside this issue:

• Senate Passes Wage Discrimination Legislation
• Economic Recovery Legislation Progresses in Congress 
• House Committees Clear Health Care Improvements
• Congress Moves Forward on SCHIP Reauthorization
• CCUSA hosts Earned Income Tax Credit Webinar

Brace yourself: 2009 likely to be worse than 2008, economists say

By John Schmidof the Journal Sentinel

 

Think 2008 was bad? From Washington and Wall Street to the internal forecasts at Wisconsin Energy Corp., economists uniformly expect 2009 to be worse.

"I wouldn't trust any forecast that showed any recovery before the third or fourth quarter," said J. Michael Collins, a professor who specializes in consumer psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The slump of 2008 will spill over into the first half of 2009 with such severity that Morgan Stanley & Co. expects the total output of goods and services in the United States to shrink 1.9% by the time 2009 ends. That follows positive but weak U.S. growth of an estimated 1.2% in 2008, although all of last year's growth took place in the first half.

Consensus Economics Inc., a British firm that surveys economists around the world and averages their forecasts, expects the U.S. economy to contract 1.3% this year. In November, the International Monetary Fund projected that the U.S. economy would recede 0.7% - and it expects to revise its 2009 forecasts downward again later this month.

"The economy a year from now will be smaller than it is now," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., research group.

By 2010, most forecasts move back into positive territory for the start of what many expect to be a gradual recovery.

Unlike other postwar recessions, this one is globally entrenched.continue reading

Financial crisis calls for new economic model, solidarity, pope says

Financial crisis calls for new economic model, solidarity, pope says

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The current financial crisis should be seen as a challenge to find new economic models that promote honesty, development and concern for the environment, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"We need to try to establish a 'virtuous circle'" of living simply and fighting poverty, the pope said Jan. 1 as he celebrated Mass for the feast of Mary Mother of God and World Peace Day.

During the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and reciting the Angelus afterward with people gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict focused on the 2009 World Peace Day theme, "Fighting Poverty to Build Peace."

But he also called for an end to the "massive violence" in the Gaza Strip and offered special prayers for "the small, but fervent parish in Gaza."

"We place at the feet of Mary our concerns for the present and our fears for the future, but also our well-founded hope that with the wise and farsighted contributions of everyone it will not be impossible to listen to one another, meet together and give a concrete response to the widespread aspiration to live in peace, security and dignity," the pope said.

Pope Benedict prayed for peace throughout the Middle East, accepted the offertory gifts from a group of children from Lebanon and listened as a prayer was read in Arabic asking God to inspire people to combat poverty as a contribution to peacemaking.

In his homily, the pope said he imagines Mary often asked herself: "Why did Jesus want to be born of a simple and humble young woman like me? And why did he want to come into the world in a stall and have those Bethlehem shepherds as his first visitors?"

After Jesus' death, he said, Mary understood that "God became poor for us, to enrich us with his poverty full of love, to exhort us to stop the insatiable greed that gives rise to fighting and division, to invite us to moderate our mania to possess and, in that way, to make us open to sharing and welcoming one another."

Poverty chosen as a way of life to demonstrate the primacy of God and of love for others is not the same thing as the kind of poverty experienced by millions of the world's people, he said.

"There is a kind of poverty, an indigence, that God does not want and that must be fought," he said, adding that it is "a poverty that impedes people and families from living according to their dignity, a poverty that offends justice and equality and, as such, threatens peaceful coexistence."

continue reading

RECESSION COULD CAUSE LARGE INCREASES IN POVERTY

AND PUSH MILLIONS INTO DEEP POVERTY
Stimulus Package Should Include Policies To
Ameliorate Harshest Effects Of Downturn
By Sharon Parrott

Executive Summary

Like previous recessions, the current downturn is likely to cause significant increases both in the number of Americans who are poor and the number living in “deep poverty,” with incomes below half of the poverty line.  Because this recession is likely to be deep and the government safety net for very poor families who lack jobs has weakened significantly in recent years, increases in deep poverty in this recession are likely to be severe.  There are a series of steps that federal and state policymakers could take to soften the recession’s harshest impacts and limit the extent of the increases in deep poverty, destitution, and homelessness.[1]

Goldman Sachs projects that the unemployment rate will rise to 9 percent by the fourth quarter of 2009 (the firm has increased its forecast for the unemployment rate a couple of times in the last month).  If this holds true and the increase in poverty relative to the increase in unemployment is within the range of the last three recessions, the number of poor Americans will rise by 7.5-10.3 million, the number of poor children will rise by 2.6-3.3 million, and the number of children in deep poverty will climb by 1.5-2.0 million.

Already there are signs that the recession is hitting low-income Americans hard.  Between September 2006 and October 2008, the unemployment rate for workers age 25 and over who lack a high school diploma — a heavily low-income group — increased from 6.3 percent to 10.3 percent.  Yet low-income workers who lose their jobs are less likely to qualify for unemployment benefits than higher-income workers, due to eligibility rules in place in many states that deny benefits to individuals who worked part time or did not earn enough over a "base period" that often excludes workers' most recent employment. keep reading

Hard times hardest on elderly poor

Express-News

Susan Jacobs thought these would be her golden years. After all, she's worked since she was 11 years old — albeit mostly in low-wage jobs — and she figured her 60s would be a time to kick back and enjoy life.

Her reality is entirely different. She fell seriously behind in her rent earlier this year, prompting her to contemplate suicide. She said the only thing that stopped her was the thought of abandoning her five beloved cats.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd find myself in this situation,” said Jacobs, 66, who wears a silver cross around her neck, a cherished gift from her son. “Now I'm just piling hope against hope.”

Jacobs lives alone in a low-rent apartment in a dicey complex, the reason for the three double locks on her door. She screens her calls because of bill collectors. She takes a bus to the grocery store, lugging a heavy metal cart, but sometimes she can't even afford $12.50 for a monthly senior bus pass.

And sometimes Jacobs has to decide between paying her phone bill or her utility bill or buying the medication she needs for a heart condition and arthritis, which require seven pills a day. keep reading

Catholic Charities USA Congratulates Obama for Historic Victory

 

Alexandria, VA— Catholic Charities USA sent a congratulatory letter to President-elect Obama yesterday. The contents are included below:

November 5, 2008

Dear President-elect Obama,

As president of Catholic Charities USA, let me congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the United States. You have inspired many people through this historic election.

We at Catholic Charities USA look forward to working with you to alleviate the need of so many of our fellow citizens. For over 280 years we have provided human services on this continent. Last year we served over 8 million people. We have done so in partnership both with the government and private sector. I know that you share our commitment to these “least among us” and I hope that we can continue to work together to empower people to overcome the bondage of poverty.

Be assured of our prayers for the success of your leadership so that God will grant you wisdom and strength for the enormous responsibility that you now assume. As you know, our Biblical roots call us to build a land of justice and peace where the disenfranchised will be valued and find opportunity. We stand ready to work with you in that endeavor.

My sincere congratulations!

Fr. Larry Snyder
President

Hear from the USCCB about poverty in the elections

"How we treat ‘the least among us’ (Mt 25:40) is a moral measure of our lives, as individuals and as a nation. In Scriptures, this is the question on Judgment Day. It should be a central question on election day."
Read the article  |  Download in PDF  | Hear the Podcast

John Carr holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and has written on Catholics and political responsibility. He speaks often on Catholic social mission, faith and policy, and religion in public life. He recently received the Vision Award from Catholic Charities USA, and been named a Hunger Hero by Bread for the World.

Catholic Family Center Director Asks : What should U.S. do about poverty?

As CEO of a human service agency that serves the poor and vulnerable, I keep listening for a discussion among the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the issues facing the people we serve daily who are trying to raise their families with minimal resources. Parents are facing cuts in childcare support, rising utility costs, high gas prices, and increasing food costs.

In Rochester, 29 percent of our neighbors live below the poverty level. That is 56,289 children, women and men. And, children suffer the most: 42 percent of the children in Rochester live below the poverty level. Imagine trying to support a family of four on $21,600 a year.

So, as I watch the debates, I hear the candidates speak about middle class families struggling to make it. Their concern is well-founded and we share it. Just this year alone, CFC has seen a more than 50 percent increase in the number of people coming to our emergency services office because they can't meet their families' needs for food, clothing and shelter. Many of them say they've never had to ask anyone for help before. More and more people in the "middle class" are facing the very real prospect of slipping into poverty. Add to that concern the systemic poverty in our country that already holds 37 million Americans in its grip. When will we demand that candidates address the needs of all our citizens, especially the vulnerable and those facing poverty? Continued

Election Countdown: Spotlight on Poverty

Check out what Spotlight on Poverty has compiled on each of the two presidential candidates as it relates to poverty.

    Read John McCain'sPositions on Poverty and Economic Opportunity

    Read Barack Obama's Postitions on Poverty and Economic Opportunity

Charities USA does not support or oppose any candidate for public office.

Countdown to the Election: Faithful Citizenship

November fourth is coming soon. Have you read Faithful Citizenship? It's the official guide of the Catholic Church as it relates to the Election. Check out our Election Page and learn more

Commentary: Food banks instead of campaign ads

Have you read the commentary by Campbell Brown?

   

Check out: Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short

The Working Poor Families Project released the report Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short. Visit the website and find state specific facts, myths and truths and more.

Poverty in America

Did you know  that 37.3 million people live below the official federal poverty level, which was $20,614 for a family of four in 2007. This number is up from 36.5 million in 2006¹

The number of people who are poor by the official government standards is more than to the combined populations of Iowa, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Oregon, Kentucky, Lousiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Colorado, New Hampshire and Idaho.

The Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is a multi-year, multi-faceted approach to alleviating poverty in the United States.

The goals of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America are:

• To reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent by the year 2020.
• To call upon the government to do more to serve those who are poor, and to improve public policies that strengthen and support families.
• To educate policymakers and the public about the struggles of those living in poverty and the good work of those who serve them in local communities.
• To engage those who are most impacted by government policies to be active participants in developing solutions to reducing poverty.
• To work with individuals and organizations across the country to address poverty in our country.

We call upon all in our nation to address the issues that impact the most vulnerable and act now to reduce poverty in our nation.

Do you support our goals? Do you believe poverty is a moral outrage and a social crisis? Endorse the Campaign today!

Calling All Bloggers: Post on Wednesday about Poverty

Have you heard of Blog action day?

"Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. "

This Wednesday, October 15th Blog Action Day centers on Poverty. Please write about poverty. Use our website for information about poverty in America  r the Blog Action Day resource page for ideas.  Let's start the discussion!

90% of city officials saw that poverty has increased or stayed the same over the past 10 years

On Monday, the National League of Cities released Poverty and Economic Insecurity: Views from City Hall a research report about what elected municipal officials think about poverty. A few highlights:

• "Eight in ten city officials believe government has a responsibility for addressing poverty"
• "Seventy-four precent say the poverty threshold in their city is higher than the federal poverty line"
• "A majority of city officials say the most important groups for the city government to collaborate with in order to reduce overty are non profit organizations"

Are you engaging your elected officials when it comes to poverty?

As costs for basics rise, so do requests for help

DECATUR - As the cost of fuel, food and utilities have risen in recent years, so has many residents' need for assistance from Decatur's food pantries.

"We have seen our usage go up over the past two years by at least 20 percent," said Robin Murray, community services supervisor for Catholic Charities. "On the average day, we see 15 to 20 new families." Read more

Remember Main street when working to fix Wall Street

Catholic Charities USA hopes that as congress and the Administration work to craft a rescue package for wall street, that our leaders remember to consider the 37 million people living in poverty. Please contact your Members of Congress and President Bush today!

At the Annual Gathering

This week Catholic Charities USA is celebrating our Annual Gathering in New Orleans. Over 700 participants have joined in this wonderful conference. On Thursday after our opening session participants had a chance to hear from 2 Catholic Charities Agencies.

Catholic Charities of Brooklyn Queens and Catholic Charities of Santa Clara. We'll post slides from their presentations here. Each is taking the Campaign and using it in different ways.

Catholic Charities USA Calls New Poverty Rate Unacceptable Alexandria

Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, issued the following statement regarding new statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau that show 800,000 more people are living in poverty in the United States: “It is unacceptable that in a nation that is as prosperous as ours that 37.3 million people, including 13.3 million children, continue to live in poverty. At 12.5 percent, the poverty rate indicates that reducing poverty is not a priority for this nation. "For Catholic Charities USA, and our 1,700 local member agencies who serve nearly 8 million in need a year, the poverty rate is not just another economic statistic.

This unacceptable figure represents the millions of families we see each and every day who are struggling just to make ends meet. "Substantial decreases in these numbers must occur in order to alleviate the struggles that millions are experiencing. "The downturn in the economy is making matters worse. Across our nation, Catholic Charities agencies are seeing more and more people having to choose between putting food on the table, paying their utility bills, or making their rent or mortgage payments.

“Needing help with food, rent, clothing, and prescriptions are all symptoms of much larger problems facing the poor and vulnerable in America, such as low wages and the lack of affordable housing and health care. These are problems that must be addressed if we are ever going to cut poverty in our country and create better economic opportunities for all. “Reducing poverty in the United States must be a national priority. That’s why Catholic Charities USA launched its Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, which aims cut the poverty rate in half by 2020. By helping to lift individuals and families out of poverty, we can ensure that they are in a better position to weather these economic downturns.

"Let these troubling poverty statistics be a call to action for each of us. As a nation, we must demand that our current and future leaders give a much higher priority to the needs of the poor in their policymaking decisions. “In this election year, candidates for public office—especially our presidential candidates—must move from rhetoric to action and propose comprehensive plans to address the needs of more than 37 million people living in poverty in the United States over the next decade. We call on all Americans to ask their candidates, ‘If elected, what will you do to address poverty?’ “We must no longer ignore the injustice of poverty and the extreme inequality in America.”

What's Your Agenda?

Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis declares its political agenda: Food, Shelter and Dignity with billboards outside the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

“Our political agenda—food, shelter, dignity—isn’t just an election-year slogan,” said the Rev. John Estrem, CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “It’s a call to action for all Minnesotans. It’s about people in every walk of life asking the question ‘What kind of state do we want to live in?’ Campaigns are the vehicles for setting public agendas. And our agenda is to move people out of poverty and uphold their innate dignity.” Learn more

KIDS COUNT: new data available

Check out the new KIDS COUNT resource from the Annie E. Casey Foundation