NLIHC’s annual report, Out of Reach, documents the gap between wages and the price of housing across the United States. The report’s Housing Wage is an estimate of the hourly wage that a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest and safe rental home with spending more than 30% of his or her income on rent and utility costs. An interactive map provides access to state and local data.
CAAP is pleased to announce the release of three new videos created to share Community Action’s mission and impact with as many people as possible.
NLIHC’s annual report, Out of Reach, documents the gap between wages and the price of housing across the United States. The report’s Housing Wage is an estimate of the hourly wage that a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest and safe rental home with spending more than 30% of his or her income on rent and utility costs.
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) published Target Practice: Lessons for Poverty Reduction to build awareness among those who work on poverty reduction. Targets establish a shared vision that asserts that the problem deserves attention and talent to solve it, setting the stage for policy choices and program implementation.
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. Features include Spotlight on the States – coverage of more than 20 issue areas – Poverty in Mass Culture – listing of web-based “What Works” collections – and more! Sign-up for weekly newsletter!
In light of the call to address poverty and economic disparities by Pope Francis, this article by Rick Cohen speaks to the ongoing work of CAAs in “providing vital services to low-income individuals and families in rural and urban communities.”
The National Association for Community Services Programs has published “Harnessing the Conversation: Raising Awareness of the Community Services Block Grant Program Using Social Media in 2015.” And CAPLAW’s webinar: “Managing Your Nonprofit’s Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Presence: Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls” is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 from 12:30 – 2:00 PM EDT.
Now Hear This: The 9 Laws of Successful Advocacy Communications is an industry guide published by Fenton Communications to help nonprofits create and implement successful advocacy communications efforts.
Don’t miss these inspirational videos: (1) Beyond These Hills featuring a conversation between Sargent Shriver, the first director of the federal Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), and evangelist Billy Graham, (2) The Spirit Moving – Community Action in Flight from 1964-2014 – keynote address by Juan Williams, honorary CCAP, commentator and author, (3) A Conversation with Sister Simone Campbell: Leading the Way for the 100%, and (4) Robert Egger’s Leadership Day keynote address.
The Community Action Partnership is interested in developing more of these stories from other CAAs.
They [the book’s editors] fail to examine the long-term, more intangible impacts of the War on Poverty that do not lend themselves to statistical analysis. For example, they don’t mention the more than 1,200 community-action agencies that were established during the first year of the antipoverty effort, nor do they discuss the impact those organizations have had.
Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert offers a deeply personal, unvarnished and moving story of Katrina Gilbert, a single mom of three, struggling to get ahead but constantly getting knocked back by a system that almost seems designed to see her fail.
Listen to perspectives on the War on Poverty featuring Amos Smith, President & CEO CAA of New Haven; James Gatling, President and CEO of New Opportunities Inc.; and David Morgan, Vice President of TEAM, Inc. along with Jennifer Klein, Professor of History at Yale University.
Community Action Book Club – Selection for February 2014 – Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future by Robert B. Reich and the documentary Inequality for All accompanied by a Reader’s Guide,which can be used to generate community engagement. The Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho, the Missiouri Association for Community Action, and North Dakota Community Action have co-hosted screenings of this film.
Read this story from the Nonprofit Quarterly that includes perspectives from leaders within the Community Action Network.
Fifty years have passed since President Johnson first declared a War on Poverty in his 1964 State of the Union address. While many of the programs that emerged from this national commitment are now taken for granted, the nation would be unrecognizable to most Americans if they had never been enacted.
Harsh negative attitudes about the poor that seemingly defined political discussions throughout the 1980s and 1990s have given way to public recognition that many Americans—poor and middle class alike—are facing many pressures trying to stay afloat and get ahead in the difficult economic environment.
Talking Points for the War on Poverty are just a small sampling of the extensive polling, focus groups, and research that Half in Ten and partner organizations have pulled together to help commemorate and publicize the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, Economic Opportunity Act, Community Action.
The Academic Pediatric Association (APA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have both made reducing childhood poverty in the US and alleviating the effects of poverty on child health and well-being a strategic priority.
Expanding Understanding About Poverty: Activities to Help with Staff/Board Development and to Increase Community Awareness.
Community Action Book Club – Selection for April 2013 – Searching for Sugar Man – Something different this month – a film rather than a book! This Academy Award winning feature documentary can help with reflecting on how we much we really understand about those we serve and on our own lives as well.
American Winter is a timely documentary that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Community Action Book Club – Selection for March 2013 – Poverty, Politics, and Race: The View from Down Here by Dorothy Inman-Johnson who served as Executive Director of the Capital Area Community Action Agency in Tallahassee, Florida from 1998-2012.
INOCENTE is both a timeless story about the transformative power of art and a timely snapshot of the new face of homelessness in America, children.
The Line is a documentary featuring the stories of people across the country living at or below the poverty line. A Discussion Guide is provided to support conversations within your organization and in community settings.
Community Action Book Club – Selection for February 2013 – Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo – for her reporting from disadvantaged communities the author has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur “Genius” grant, and a National Magazine Award for Feature Writing.
Community Action Book Club – Selection for January 2013 – So Rich, So Poor by Peter Edelman was the focus of the first event of the United Planning Organization’s Public Forum Series entitled Facing Poverty. UPO is the community action agency serving Washington, D.C.
The Power of Half – Redefining the American Dream: Family Sells Their House and Gives Half the Proceeds to Charity. During the holiday season, CAAs experience a frenzy of interest and support from people wanting to reach out and help others in their community. Strategies such as The Power of Half are needed to extend this commitment to a higher level throughout the year to help with basic needs and to promote addressing the underlying causes of poverty.
Community Action Book Club – Selection for November 2012 – “Breaking Night” is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman’s indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds (excerpt from GoodReads.com).
Community Action Book Club – Selection for October 2012 – Geoffrey Canada created the Harlem Children’s Zone where he is testing new and sometimes controversial ideas about poverty in America (excerpt from GoodReads.com). HCZ was used as the model for the Promise Neighborhoods initiative established by the Obama administration.
The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies has initiated the Ohio Community Action Food Stamp Challenge to increase awareness and give participants a view of what life can be like for the 1.75 million low-income Ohioans receiving food stamps.
The documentary, “Hunger Hits Home,” takes a first-hand look at the crisis of childhood hunger in America through the eyes of the parents, children, anti-hunger activists, educators and politicians on the frontlines of the battle.
From Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity – Can you score a perfect ten and match the celebrity to the correct statement?
Follow this year-long exploration and examination of the lives of middle class and poor Americans.
View this conversation on solutions for restoring America’s prosperity.
NIMBY – Not in My Backyard – is a common reaction that many organizations have experienced when working on affordable housing and housing for homeless families. Here’s a different response highlighted in a Nonprofit Times article, along with some examples of research on the impact of affordable housing on surrounding communities.
‘God Must Be Doing His Job!’ weatherization client exalts. Great-granddaughter writes ‘Grandma and Grandpa prayed for people to help us.’
Use this interactive online game to help people really learn about the tough choices facing many Americans each and every day!
One Year Later – Update on Homeless Man Who Returned Backpack with $3,300. A year ago, Dave Tally was receiving services from Tempe Community Action Agency’s Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program.
Missourians To End Poverty (MEP) – Learn about MEP’s continuing efforts including Ten Year Goals from its 2009 Poverty Summit, the just concluded 2011 Poverty Summit, and the MEP Legislative House Party Toolkit.
Community Action Association of Alabama Releases BEST Report – Basic Economic Security Tables is an income sufficiency standard that includes asset building components for various family configurations at a local geographic level. Alabama BEST was published as part of the National BEST Initiative developed by Wider Opportunities for Women.
Hear first-hand how Community Action Programs in Arizona provide a hand up, not a hand out.
Read these articles published by Kathleen McCartney (dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Gerald S. Lesser professor in early childhood development) and Lauren Moore (Project Manager with The Future of Children, a collaboration between the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution).
See how much the proposed cut to CSBG represents in the Federal budget.
Happy Holidays!! Community Action Agencies: Making a Difference Every Day! Thanks to All Board Members, Staff, Volunteers.
Here are seven varied documentaries that can be used to build awareness about poverty and to generate ideas on how issues such as these could be addressed in your community.
People across the nation are touched by this story of a homeless man who turned in a missing backpack with $3,300 and a laptop computer.
Poverty in Maine 2010 is intended to (1) present an objective current picture of poverty and economic distress in Maine and trends in indicators over time and (2) document some key programs and benefits aimed at addressing poverty in the state in order to help illuminate potential areas of unmet need. The hope is that the information and analysis presented can be used to help facilitate program planning and policy.
This year, the Welfare Reform Liaison Project Community Action Agency sponsored the First Annual CopyCents Film Festival. See the wonderful videos that were created by WRLP students.
Passage of the Economic Opportunity Act, August 20, 1964: The Beginning of Community Action – Community Action was designed as a new locally-based approach to systematically address not only the conditions, but also the causes, of poverty. Learn about the origins of Community Action that still apply in many ways 46 years later.
The Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies reports that over 17,000 homes have been weatherized so far in FY2010, which is more than double from last year. Additionally, Illinois Community Action Agencies have hired more than 500 new Weatherization employees.
Support to Eliminate Poverty, Inc. (STEP) has published Impact 2010: How STEP’s unique programs do more than help those in need; which shows the impact STEP has on the community.
The Iowa Fiscal Partnership (IFP) has issued a Policy Brief, which describes how at the same time the federal economic recovery package is boosting income and the number of jobs for Iowa workers, it is improving energy-savings opportunities for Iowa families who cannot otherwise afford them.
The Spring 2010 issue of Pathways, published by the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, features a series of articles on inequality in America. Also, view the Concert of Hope that was held to celebrate the opening of the center.
Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties has teamed up with 40 Nights Photography for a photojournalism project — 40 Nights in Lincoln: Surviving Poverty. Everyone who sees these works will leave armed with specific steps they can take to better the lives of their neighbors.
Online press conference results in strong media coverage for the release of the New York State Community Action Association’s third annual edition of the New York State Poverty Report.
The Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality seeks answers to two questions:
1 – Why is the United States so unequal and poverty-stricken?
2 – What can or should be done about it?
This first-of-its-kind collection of 50 reports – one per state – helps community leaders see that where we live, learn, work, and play influences how healthy we are and how long we live.
A New York Times/CBS News poll of unemployed adults provides insights on issues affecting the unemployed.
For its 45th anniversary, People, Inc. has created an excellent new website, which has a series of videos focusing on how People, Inc. has changed people’s lives through the agency’s varied programs and services.
This first-ever New York State Community Action Impact Report shows the progress New York’s Community Action Network has made in addressing poverty in our state this past year.
This paper reviews the literature on poverty dynamics in the United States.