In hard times Americans need to tap into their social responsibility

The economic downturn has made the middle class less generous toward the poor and the people of color who make up the majority of poor people in America, according to an article in today’s Seattle Times (reprinted from the Philadephia Inquirer).

The story quotes South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer as saying that when the government helps the poor, it’s like people feeding stray animals that continually “breed.”

And it recounts Colorado state legislator Spencer Swalm saying that poor people in single-family homes are “dysfunctional.”

People are insecure about the future and therefore they hang on to external differences to justify decisions that are not conducive to ending poverty in America. It’s not surprising then, we find ourselves asking the question: “Am I being treated fairly by my neighbor next door?”  Discrimination is on the rise in America and we ought to be aware of this trend and make others aware of it so we can understand why it’s happening. This is nothing more than a survival mechanism present in our society for decades, and it’s not going to go away without all of us getting involved.

As a society we have a social responsibility to the poor, not only because they have limiting factors that are beyond their control, but also because the alternative would result in more crime and misery for families around the country.

Washington can’t afford another all-cuts budget

Our communities thrive when all people can meet their basic needs and have opportunities to prosper. Our state has invested in our shared future by providing health care for kids, ensuring support for seniors and disabled adults, and increasing access to education. Last year, facing a $9 billion budget deficit, the legislature made devastating cuts to the public systems that help people meet their basic needs and provide for the health of our communities. These cuts caused 40,000 people to lose their health care, thousands of people with disabilities to lose their only source of income, and halved funding for affordable housing.

Citizens rally for revenue, thanks to Fuse WA for the photo.

We can’t afford another all-cuts budget. It is time for our state to raise revenue. This Presidents’ Day,  February 15, an estimated 6,000 people rallied at the Capitol to call on our lawmakers to raise revenue to protect these investments and prevent another round of painful budget cuts. Newspapers, TV and radio across the state covered the rally that Poverty Action activist, Solid Ground staff, and Long Term Care Ombudsman Rose Floyd (wow – what a rockstar!) described as “diverse in every way possible, spirited, and optimistic.” She added that “it was a joy to be there. I think it was encouraging to those lawmakers who want to lead on increased revenue.”

These numbers are more evidence that Washingtonians overwhelmingly want a responsible state budget that protects our economic future by closing tax loopholes and raising new revenue. Demonstrators showed their strong opposition to more devastating cuts to health care, education, seniors and the environment.

We can’t let up now! Your state lawmakers need to hear from you TODAY. Send them an email and urge them to raise revenue to protect the public systems that help families meet their basic needs and have opportunities to prosper.

New housing sprouting at Sand Point

Cool: The machines are moving in and construction is about to start at Sand Point/Magnuson Park, where Solid Ground will be building 106 new units of affordable housing for formerly homeless families and individuals.

Obama’s budget funds national healthy food financing initiative

From our good friends at www.urbanfarmhhub.org, this post by Ashley DeForest:

In his FY2011 budget proposal, President Barack Obama addressed the urgent need for bringing healthy food options to underserved communities by calling for more than $400 million in investments in new and expanded supermarkets, farmers markets and other food stores.

Fresh lettuce for all!

The public-private grant and loan program would dramatically reduce the roughly 23 million Americans who have limited access to full-service supermarkets and create tens of thousands of retail and construction jobs in low-income communities.

The $400 million investment, split among the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service and U.S. Department of the Treasury, includes $250 million in New Market Tax Credit allocations to spur private investment in underserved communities.

For more than a year, PolicyLink, The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund have been working with the White House, the Senate, and the House to create a national-scale version of the successful Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. The budget proposal marks an important step in bringing healthy food options to all Americans.

The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, championed by State Rep. Dwight Evans, became a highly successful public-private partnership between the Commonwealth and private partners. Widely recognized for its innovative design and purpose, the program has served as a model for similar efforts developing in other states, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Louisiana and Colorado.

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), who introduced an effort to create such a program with a bipartisan resolution in the House last year, has been spearheading the effort in the House along with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore) and Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY).

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) is spearheading the effort in the Senate along with Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV).

Short Sale & Deficiency Judgments in Washington State

Short sale is a good option to avoid foreclosure, however if you don’t know what you are getting into, you may end up owing a deficiency judgment unless it is otherwise stipulated in the short sale agreement.

What is short sale: A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the sale proceeds fall short of the balance owed on the property’s loan. Both parties consent to the short sale process, because it allows them to avoid foreclosure, which involves hefty fees for the bank and poorer credit report outcomes for the borrowers. This agreement, however, does not necessarily release the borrower from the obligation to pay the remaining balance of the loan, known as the “deficiency.”

What is a deficiency judgment: A deficiency judgment is simply the difference between what the lender is owed and what they are paid back. When a lender is not paid back in full via a short sale, they can go to court and get a court order directing the borrower to pay them back the difference. The lender can then take that judgment and attach it to the borrower’s other properties, if they have any, or garnish the wages of the borrower.

In the State of Washington deficiency judgments are not permitted on non-judicial foreclosure processes, however, if there is no “power of sale” clause present in the original loan documents, the lender can pursue judicial foreclosure. The lender would have to sue the borrower to start a judicial foreclosure and a deficiency judgment can be awarded to the lender if the property is found by the court to have been abandoned for at least six months before the decree of foreclosure. If the “power of sale” clause is present in the original loan documents, the lender can pursue non-judicial foreclosure. This clause authorizes the lender to sell the property in the event the borrower goes into default on the loan.

The non-judicial foreclosure process in Washington State does not allow for the lender to sue the borrower to obtain a deficiency judgment. In real life it’s rare for the lender to foreclose judicially because Washington is a redemption state. Also, if the homeowner doesn’t have equity in the property, and they do not have other assets the lender can go after, they usually don’t attempt to obtain a deficiency judgment. It’s not to say they won’t try, but it is usually to their advantage to just get the house sold with a short sale and write the loss off and move on.

Honor the Presidents by getting involved!

What better way to celebrate President’s Day than with meaningful civic engagement?!

Rally to protect our economic future, THIS MONDAY FEBRUARY 15th.

Our communities thrive when all people can meet their basic needs and have opportunities to prosper. During the worst economic crisis in modern history, our state should continue to provide resources for Washington families as they struggle to weather the recession.

Last year, the Washington State legislature passed a devastating all-cuts budget that left 40,000 new people without healthcare, cut services for seniors and people with disabilities, and caused tuition hikes to our state’s community colleges and universities.

We can’t afford another all-cuts budget. Your lawmakers must hear from you! They need to hear that YOU want them to explore revenue options to help us create jobs and opportunities, protect our most vulnerable and build a secure economic future for our state.

Join Poverty Action and Solid Ground for a rally at NOON in Olympia on Monday, February 15. We must protect our economic future!

Can children really make a difference?

It’s the kind of thing we like to talk about. We make vague, general statements about how children can change the world. How often, though, are they given the chance to do so – how often are they given the chance to lead?      

Thanks to Penny Harvest, students at Cedar Valley Community School in Lynnwood are getting a real opportunity to become youth leaders and community change makers. The yearlong program starts in the fall, when student leaders bring the school together to gather pennies.      

Students at a Penny Harvest School (not Cedar Valley) show off their coins

Cedar Valley sits in the center of a low-income community, with 80% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. That didn’t stop students from collecting pennies. They found creative ways to reach their goal. ”We took our time and my mom helped me find pennies on the street,” said fifth grade Penny Harvest leader Jessyia. When asked why she donated her time to gather pennies, Jessyia answered, “Some people are struggling with different stuff and they need our help.”       

 

All together, Cedar Valley students raised over $800 in pennies, and received a scholarship to reach $1,000. So where does all the money go? Diego, a fifth grade leader, responded: “We can help people – help organizations so that they can do something good where they’re at and help somebody.”        

Twenty student representatives from fourth to sixth grade are quickly discovering that the easy part is over. Now they must begin the long process of making responsible decisions on how to best help the community with the money they raised. The program generated enthusiasm in Cedar Valley students, eager to help their community. ”It helps other people,” said smiling fourth grade leader, Paola. ”By working together we can fix stuff up.”        

During the next few months, Kathleen will be reporting to us on the Cedar Valley youth Roundtable’s process and progress as they turn  from fundraisers into community grant makers and problem solvers. To get email reminders about her posts, please use the box on the upper left side of the blog and sign up!

Gamers blanketing homeless kids

Cool: From the folks at FiftyOne Marketing (a gaming marketing team with the goal “to provide the best marketing services by integrating the ever-growing social networking trend with the importance of community interaction”):

FiftyOne Marketing is teaming up with a lot of great people and organizations for a great cause.

GivingChiX, a division of GamerchiX, and the Gamers Outreach Foundation are teaming up with Microsoft MVPs around the world to make baby blankets for Solid Ground, an anti-poverty and social service organization in Seattle, Washington that helps women, children and families overcome homelessness.

Turning homeless people away

Not Cool: Solid Ground has a great track record with the people we serve, supporting them in reaching their goals for stable housing, managing nutrition, and making a better life. But what about the folks we turn away?

In 2009, our Family Shelter program served 108 families (399 individuals) and turned away 5,839 requests for shelter. 804 requests were denied in July 2009 alone!

In 2009, our Broadview Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing program turned away 5,658 requests for shelter from women and their kids, the majority of whom are fleeing from domestic violence.

Our Sand Point Family Housing does not track turnaways, but the other turnaway numbers could be combined to make this general statement:

In 2009, Solid Ground Housing programs were forced to turn away more than 10,000 requests for shelter.

We are careful to phrase this as “requests for shelter” were turned away, because we do not have the ability to verify if the requests are unduplicated. So, while it would not be accurate to say that 10,000 households were turned away, it would certainly be fair to say that however you analyze the number, it reflects WAY TOO MANY people for whom there is no room at the inn.

Solid Ground is just one provider of emergency shelter and transitional housing in our community. You can bet the various programs at the Y, CCS, DESC and everyone else is turning folks away at similar rates.

Clearly our community needs to find a way to do more to respond to the entrenched epidemic that is homelessness.

Nurturing urban agriculture

The City of Seattle has declared 2010 “The Year of Urban Agriculture” and launched a year-long series of public events yesterday, starting with a day of activities with one of the gurus of urban ag, Will Allen of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Growing Power.

Will Allen & Lettuce Link's Michelle Bates-Benetua at Marra Farm

Allen, whom the NY Times described as a “farmer of Bunyanesque proportions,” is a man with his hands deep in the soil, a gentle giant and 2008 MacArthur Genius Award winner who has come into a national leadership role in the movement for food justice. 

Our partners at Lettuce Link posted this report of his Seattle visit on their blog, Will Allen at Marra Farm, by Michelle Bates-Benetua, Lettuce Link Program Manager:

The Lettuce Link crew and a few long-time volunteers got to show off our Giving Garden at Marra Farm yesterday to Will Allen! Will is founder of Growing Power, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award and a long-admired hero of mine. There are so few real-life heroes in this world that I don’t take that word lightly. He has shown the world a model of urban agriculture that feeds people, engages the community, creates jobs and transforms the lives of children and youth.   

Vote to help Jackie give back to Sand Point Housing!

In our last groundviews agency newsletter, we spoke with former Sand Point Housing resident Jacquelyn Wilson, a single mom of two children, who now has a good job and a permanent place to live.

She told us, “I just can’t stress enough how important programs like this are to people like me. Sometimes life doesn’t give you a lot of choices. And things happen. And it’s not because you’re a bad person; it’s maybe because circumstances went bad. But if you’re given a chance, you can really succeed, and teach your kids a great lesson, you know?

“And it’s all walks of life that are in that building [Sand Point Family Housing], all walks of life  – and those that most need the help. And I’ll never forget any of my neighbors there – and I hope that they all succeed, and carry the experience that they had from this, and move forward – and become productive and part of society again.”

So when Jackie saw an opportunity to try to give back to Sand Point (beyond the enormous gift she made by sharing her personal story), she jumped at the chance. She found out that her bank, US Bank, is running a “Get Ahead in 2010” promotion through February 28, 2010. US Bank clients can post a short blurb describing what they would do with a $5,000 prize. Jackie signed up, writing that if she wins, she will donate the funds to Sand Point Housing. Help us help her win!

To vote for Jackie’s story:

1)  Go to https://getaheadin2010.usbank.com/StoryGallery/

2)  Type or paste the words “Homeless Families in Washington” in the search window, and click on “Go.”

3)  VOTE! Her story will come up as “Homeless Families in Washington, Jacquelyn W., Seattle, WA”

You can vote once a day until the promotion ends on February 28, so bookmark the link and vote every day until then. Let’s help Jackie raise some funds for Sand Point Housing!

• To read the current and other issues of Solid Ground’s groundviews newsletter, go to www.solid-ground.org/AboutUs/Publications.
• For more information on Sand Point Housing, go to www.solid-ground.org/PROGRAMS/HOUSING/SANDPOINT contact Joshua Welch at 206.529.9450 or sandpoint@solid-ground.org.
• For information about Solid Ground’s plans to build more housing at Sand Point, go to www.solid-ground.org/GetInvolved/SandPointCC or contact Zanne Garland at 206.694.6862 or zanneg@solid-ground.org.

Former clients give valuable feedback

A big part of Solid Ground’s work is grounded on building upon the strengths of the people who come to us for services. Everyone has personal assets that contribute to their own journey back to solid ground. And everyone has something to offer that can help make us a better, more responsive organization.

We started an Advisory Council of former clients to learn from their wisdom and experience, to make us a more culturally competent organization, and to provide an avenue for folks to claim their own leadership. Following is a brief video account about one of the members, Juanita, and why she joined the Advisory Council.

For more information, visit our Advisory Council: Join Us! webpage, or email Ariana Cantu, Solid Ground’s Administrative Information Coordinator.