Solid Ground supports teaching youth about racism and social justice!

Solid Ground is lending support to the issue playing out at The Center School, where teacher Jon Greenberg was directed to discontinue the racism section of his Citizenship and Social Justice course.

Greenberg is well-known to the Solid Ground community. He is a former Penny Harvest Coach, and his students have been powerful advocates for people living on low incomes, people of color, and others facing oppressive barriers to full participation in our community.

Below you will see a message from Gordon McHenry, Jr., Solid Ground’s President & CEO, to the Seattle Public Schools Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and Ombudsman, calling on the district to keep race and social justice units in the curriculum. This statement reflects Solid Ground’s commitment to engage on these issues in the community. Thanks to everyone who brought information and perspective to our process.

Superintendent Banda, Assistant Superintendent Tolley, and Ombudsman McGlone:

Solid Ground is a King County based community action agency. Our mission is to eliminate poverty and undo racism and other forms of oppression that are the root causes of poverty. We provide direct services including several programs where we are a partner of the Seattle School District. We value and appreciate working with SPS to educate and develop our youth.

We support the teaching of a curriculum that engages students in discussions of race, gender and class, with a focus on understanding white privilege. There is a continued need for this kind of curriculum as students live in a more and more diverse community and as employers place a growing emphasis on students who can work well in a global marketplace. As you evaluate the situation at Center School, we urge the District to ensure that race and social justice remains a part of the curriculum. It is important to support those teachers who educate our youth on topics like race, gender and class that continue to be a source of struggle for our society. Thank you.

Best Regards,

Gordon A. McHenry, Jr.
President & CEO, Solid Ground

Zombie Debt: Help stop the haunting!

Marcy Bowers is Director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network.

After building on Poverty Action’s successes passing landmark consumer protection bills, we are mobilizing our network to support HB 1069, which will help regulate an alarming new predatory industry called “Zombie Debt.”

Here’s a quick look at what we’re fighting against:
The Zombie Debt industry is largely unregulated and profits off deceptive practices that intimidate people into paying on old debt or “debt” that they might not even owe. Like a zombie coming back from the dead, old debt comes back to haunt consumers. We urgently need your help to pass this bill which regulates Zombie Debt and the predatory practices of debt buyers.

Check out this video to see how you can help stop Zombie Debt:

TAKE ACTION!

• Tell your lawmakers to support HB 1069!
• Call the Washington State Legislative Hotline at 1.800.562.6000 and tell your elected representatives to SUPPORT HB 1069.
• Got a Zombie Debt story to tell? Contact the Statewide Poverty Action Network at danielle@povertyaction.org.

More on the ghoulishness of Zombie Debt:
Zombie Debt occurs when companies sell their old debts for pennies on the dollar to third-party debt buyers. Debt buyers then try to collect on old debts or debts that have already been paid (and sometimes never even owed in the first place). Many times, the information is out of date, has already been paid in full, or is assigned to the wrong person entirely.

Everyone is at risk to be targeted by debt buyers’ search for profit by using the courts and financial system against the public. Debt buying is one of the nation’s fastest growing industries. It is largely financed by Wall Street and is exploiting the lack of industry regulation to extract billions of dollars from people all over the US.

Debt buyers are flooding our court systems:
Debt buyers are increasingly taking advantage of state courts by filing lawsuits to collect on the debt they purchase. Unfortunately, these predatory debt buyers are exploiting our courts by using default judgments against Washingtonians when they might not even owe the debt. Debt buyers don’t even know if they have the right person, the right amount, or any real evidence, but they are able to obtain judgments due to antiquated state laws that don’t protect people from deceptive financial industries.

Low- and moderate-income consumers are disproportionately affected:
One study found that 95% of people with default judgments entered against them lived in low- and moderate-income communities. At a time when struggling families need every penny to survive, Zombie Debt is threatening Washingtonians’ well-being and economic security.

TAKE ACTION: WE NEED YOU!

• Send your legislators this message: “Washington needs to regulate debt buyers and protect consumers from unfair debt practices. SUPPORT HB 1069.”
• Have experience with debt buyers attempting to collect on debt you don’t owe or never incurred? Have you paid high fees to a debt settlement company only to end up in a worse situation than when you started? Give us a call to share your story! Call 1.866.789.7726 or email danielle@povertyaction.org.

Tell your senators you care about AmeriCorps

Along with cuts to Title X Family Planning programs, on February 19 the U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service, which in effect means doing away with the AmeriCorps and RSVP National Service programs. If passed by the Senate, these cuts will impact King County by devastating programs and services that work to prevent violence, increase literacy, build community and reduce generational poverty in our community, including programs at the Seattle Police Department and more than a dozen other local criminal justice system agencies, schools and social justice organizations.

For example, JustServe AmeriCorps Member Antoinette Spillers, placed at the Seattle Police Department, increased dialogue between community and police at a time when several high-profile incidents created significant concern about police brutality and community-police relations in Seattle. Antoinette carried out the canvassing and networking efforts to engage more community members in the Seattle Police Department’s Native American and East African, Muslim, Sikh and Arab Community Advisory Councils. And JustServe AmeriCorps Member Monique Franklin has played a major role at Open Arms in supporting mothers with young children to lead community-driven violence prevention, infant mortality prevention and early childhood education projects.

Antoinette Spiller

JustServe AmeriCorps Members like Antoinette and Monique positively impact our community in countless ways as they work to reduce violence and poverty in King County. Working closely with our partner sites, JustServe AmeriCorps Members have made a difference in the lives of more than 2,000 people in the last few months alone.

Just a few highlights include:

• ­ Youth Violence Prevention & Intervention: 519 youth at risk of violence or incarceration gained leadership and conflict resolution skills, participated in service learning activities, and connected with positive skill building programs that have shown to reduce the risk of violence.

• ­Victim Advocacy: 427 domestic violence survivors received crisis intervention services and advocacy through JustServe AmeriCorps Members based at the Seattle Police Department Victim Support Team and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

• ­Alternatives to Incarceration: 523 adult defendants with low-level misdemeanors participated in JustServe service activities as an alternative to incarceration – led by AmeriCorps Members based at the Seattle Municipal Community Court Program.

While eliminating funding for National Service programs would be a short-sighted move with dire consequences, this outcome is not set in stone. Please contact your senators to let them know that you care about the health and safety of our community.

In Washington State, contact:

Patty Murray: toll free 1 .866.481.9186 or via murray.senate.gov.

Maria Cantwell: toll free 1 .888.648.7328 via cantwell.senate.gov.

Teens in Action

Teens in Action is a new project giving voice and political power to young people. It is coordinated by the Statewide Poverty Action Network in conjunction with the American Government class at Seattle Interagency Academy Southwest, an alternative school in White Center that serves youth aged 12-18, primarily students of color and self-identified as low-income.

“The program is built upon the belief that young people as well as adults need to be able to build skills that allow them to act on their interests and concerns. Students will be empowered to speak truth to power and lead their communities in effecting change,” said Juanita Maestas, Poverty Action Board Member and one of the organizers.

The class will cover topics including:

• How government works
• Racial equity
• Immigrant rights
• Education
• and more

One of the student's letters to Olympia, calling for a no vote on HB 1126, the "Racial Profiling/Gang Bill"

Recently, the students analyzed legislation working its way through the state legislature and wrote advocacy letters on issues concerning them and their communities. The class will travel to Olympia on March 29 to lobby Senators and Representatives in person.

“We hope that Teens in Action will lay the groundwork for an ongoing commitment among these young people to take a bigger stake in our community, to contribute to community life, and help society better appreciate young people’s contributions,” said staff coordinator Senait Brown.

For more information on Teens in Action, email Senait Brown.

To support Statewide Poverty Action Network go to their website.

To get SolidGroundBlog posts sent directly to your inbox, sign up using the handy form on the upper left side of this page!

Join us for Hunger Action Day, February 25 in Olympia!

Root solutions for root causes!

During each Washington State legislative session, the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition hosts Hunger Action Day in Olympia to advocate for hungry families in Washington. Solid Ground is represented on the steering committee of the Coalition and helps coordinate Hunger Action Day, so we are encouraging our supporters to join us in Olympia on February 25 to engage our legislators in Solid Ground’s work to end hunger in Seattle/King County and Washington State.

Register today and join us in Olympia on February 25 — the success of our efforts in Olympia rely on your voices and the voices of those we serve being heard!

This year’s Hunger Action Day is especially important as the State’s budget crisis will result in the elimination or significant reductions of critical services that help struggling families meet their basic needs, like keeping food on the table. One in seven households in Washington struggled to provide enough food for their family in 2010. Washington now ranks as the 13th hungriest state in the nation, and the problem of hunger in our communities will continue to grow unless we speak out.

We are asking you to help us by telling your friends, family and coworkers. Blog about it, tweet it, share it on Facebook.

For more information on Hunger Action Day 2011, click here for the event info packet.

See you in Olympia!

Get Up, Stand Up!

While the budget crisis has gotten most of the press from the 2011 legislative session in Olympia, there are also some important bills that need your support to give homeowners facing foreclosure a fair chance at staying in their homes, and to bolster protections against predatory lending that were passed last year.

Foreclosure Fairness Act
Our housing counselors report that one of the biggest barriers faced by homeowners threatened with foreclosure is the extreme difficulty of getting whoever owns the loan to discuss modification options. What used to take a few phone calls and a few hours to work out can now stretch out over months of calls, and many forms of delay. This brief video on the Foreclosure Fairness Act dramatizes how consumers are being stonewalled. Please check it out and post the link on Facebook and other social networks to attract attention to the issue!

The Foreclosure Fairness Act (SB 5275 and HB1362) would mandate that banks, or whoever holds the loan, must offer face-to-face mediation with homeowners. In the 23 states and municipalities that have mandatory mediation, 60% of homeowners in foreclosure are able to stay in their homes! The banking industry is trying to strip the mandatory mediation out of the bill, which will take away its most important tool. Please contact your state Senator and Representatives and urge them to support the Foreclosure Fairness Act and to keep mandatory mediation in the bill!

You can use this web form to email your legislators in support of the Foreclosure Fairness Act.

Keep Protections against Predatory Lending
Last year the Legislature enacted law to protect Washington State residents from predatory lending. This year the banking industry is fighting back with two bills that would strip away crucial consumer protections. Please contact your lawmakers and urge them to oppose these bills: HB 1678 and SB 5547.

You can use this web form to email your legislators to oppose gutting protections against predatory lending.

To find out who your Senator and Representatives are, go to Statewide Poverty Action Network and look for the zip code tool on the top of the page.

Students submit bill for civil rights education

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Editor’s Note: One of Solid Ground’s staff members forwarded this note about the efforts of her 5th grade daughter, Kate, and her classmates to further education about civil rights and social justice. Makes you proud! She writes:

“My daughter is in a group at her school which studies the Civil Rights Movement and related topics during recess and lunch, and puts on an annual assembly. Their group is sponsoring a bill to encourage instruction in the history of civil rights in the state. The bill, SB 5174, is having a hearing today (before the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee) and they are participating by teleconference.”

Here is the letter the students sent to committee Chair Rosemary McAuliffe:

Dear Senator McAuliffe,

We are the MLK group at Madrona K-8 school in Edmonds. Our group formed in December 2009 to create an assembly for our school. Since then, our group has expanded. In learning about the Civil Rights movement, we researched Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, and we watched the movie of the Children’s march in Birmingham, AL. Then we listened to his “I Have a Dream” speech, and we wrote our own speeches and decided which ones would go into our play. Next we made a play with a news broadcast, and we shared this with the whole school at an assembly in Dr. King’s honor.

We took time outside of class to make this all happen, and we are sponsoring SB 5174 [Encouraging instruction in the history of Civil Rights].

Senator Chase introduced SB 5174 for us because we want to make sure kids know how to treat other people. We believe that people should know who changed the segregation laws in our country. We think we are lucky that we live in this time, and we have freedoms here. We think it is important to learn about places and times that don’t have the freedoms we share. If people don’t learn about the Civil Rights movement, people could take it for granted. This might lead to the same things happening again. We also learned that kids can make a difference, and we want other kids to know they can, too.

We would like a hearing for this bill and the opportunity to testify. If for some reason the hearing is at a time we can’t attend, we would like to watch it on TVW or perhaps a remote connection to the committee hearing from our school or Edmonds City Hall.

~Signed, Madrona School MLK Group, Judi MacRae, advisor,
and 32 4th through 6th graders

The bill would encourage school districts to “prepare and conduct a program at least once a year to commemorate the history of civil rights in our nation … and the importance of the fundamental principle and promise of equality in our nation’s Constitution.”

12-year-old documentarian tackles homelessness

It’s the morning after the One Night Count of homeless people in our community. I volunteered, along with numerous Solid Ground staff and volunteers, and hundreds of other folks throughout King County. We walked, arguably, every street, investigated every park bench and green space, because we want to get a more realistic picture of who is homeless in our community.

It’s a very adult pursuit, one that is sobering and, frankly, somewhat depressing. For all we are doing in Seattle-King County to end homelessness, and we are doing an amazing job developing new affordable housing and program models, we still have thousands of people living in cars, under bridges, in the lobbies of post offices.

But somehow this little movie gives me a glimmer of hope. It was put together by 12-year-old Leo Pfiefer from Salmon Bay Middle School. Leo developed this project as an entry for C-SPAN’s StudentCam documentary contest, “an annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think seriously about issues that affect our communities and our nation.”

It gives me hope to think that 12-year olds are looking at the issue of homelessness and asking: What do we need to do to solve this problem?

It gives me hope to think about the 11- to 13-year olds I recently interviewed from our Penny Harvest program who are not just asking good questions, they are raising money and granting it to organizations that are making a difference. Keep an eye out here for more from those amazing young people.

I, for one, hope Leo goes far in this competition. We need more young people asking tough questions to the people in power. And we need them to help us formulate better answers.

I’m in!

I'm in! Seattle Seahawks players tap this sign on the way from locker room to practice field as a reminder of the commitment it takes to succeed.

At Solid Ground we talk a lot about the importance of advocacy. We work to get you involved in the political process. We lobby for funding and initiatives that strengthen our community by providing equal opportunities to people living on low incomes.

We’ve cajoled you online and in our newsletters. We phone bank you and blast emails to get you to sign petitions, send cards to the legislature and phone the Governor. And our Statewide Poverty Action Network has supported folks with low incomes around the state in claiming their political voice and building their power in Olympia.

As Solid Ground’s Communications Manager, I’ve personally reached out to thousands of you to engage you in the political system. And while I’ve made my share of phone calls to elected officials and written and signed many petitions, I need to own up to something here. I’ve never made the trip to Olympia to meet one-on-one with the people who represent me in the Washington State Legislature.

But this year, I’m in! And you need to be in, too.

We’ve all heard about the crisis in the state budget. You can bet that corporate interests will be well represented in the state capitol, protecting their slice of the pie.

Like the much maligned Seattle Seahawks, folks who care about the fate of working class people in our communities are huge underdogs. We really need to fully commit to the cause this year. We need to commit our hearts and souls, our phone calls, letters and visits, if we are to to protect the very fabric of our community— the ability to protect and provide for the most vulnerable among us. To keep our Hawks metaphor alive: We need to Always Compete and put it all out on the field, if we are to have any chance to succeed.

People power!

So, Monday, January 17, I am celebrating Martin Luther King Day by tapping the “I’m In” touchstone and joining hundreds of other people in Olympia to lobby the Washington State Legislature to strengthen our communities by:

• Protecting people from foreclosure by implementing a foreclosure mediation process in the state. Foreclosure mediation would give homeowners an opportunity to sit down with their lender to discuss alternatives before losing their home and most valuable asset. Twenty-three other jurisdictions — state and municipalities — have some sort of mediation process to seek foreclosure alternatives. These programs have found that 60% of people participating in mediation avoid losing their homes.
• Supporting programs that will help people with low incomes build up their assets and create opportunities to prosper.
• Ensuring access to TANF, Disability Lifeline and other programs that help people maintain their dignity.

Join Poverty Action on the Capitol for MLK Day to advocate for the issues important to you and your community.

For more information or to reserve your spot, please contact Kate.

Transportation, breakfast & lunch, & interpretation are available. Children are welcome to join.

I’m in! Are you?

Why giving the rich a tax break will not work as a strategy to fight poverty!

The New York Times magazine ran a story about ‘the Charitable Giving Divide’ this weekend, validating what those of us who raise money for social causes know to be true — that the wealthy give a smaller percentage of their total income to charitable giving than do the poor. In fact, households making less than $25,000 a year gave 4.7% of their income to charity, while households making $75,000 a year or more gave away just 2.7% of their income! So while that 2.7% of a higher income might mean more actual dollars than the 4.7% of a lower income, it also means that as a percentage of their income, wealthy households give less than low-income households. At a time when poverty rates are rising, we need more resources to meet the great needs of our community.

So while I applaud Bill Gates’ commitment to give half his wealth away, I hope that this will not be used as proof or evidence in support of extending tax cuts for the wealthy. Giving the wealthy tax cuts clearly does not mean that they will turn around and donate these funds. And when they do donate, we also know that it often does not go to those in the most need:  ”instead it was mostly directed to other causes — cultural institutions, for example, or their alma maters…”.

Why do the wealthy give less and the poor give more (as a percentage of their overall income)? Paul Kiff from the University of California at Berkeley found in a study that he conducted “that if higher-income people were instructed to imagine themselves as lower class, they became more charitable. If they were primed by, say, watching a sympathy-eliciting video, they became more helpful to others — so much so, in fact, that the difference between their behavior and that of the low-income subjects disappeared. And fascinatingly, the inverse was true as well: when lower-income people were led to think of themselves as upper class, they actually became less altruistic.”

Hmm? So we all should go out and make ‘sympathy-eliciting’ videos in order to fight poverty? Sure let’s do that, but I would also encourage a few more actions as we head into this next school year!

1) Advocate for NOT extending the tax cuts for the wealthy. It’s clear that these tax cuts do not mean that there will be more resources for those living in poverty.

2) Give more yourself! If folks making less than $25,00o a year are giving 4.7% of their income to charity, clearly those of us making more than that can at the very least match that! For example, I have made a personal commitment to give at least 5% of my income to charity each year (I usually give about 8% but commit to no less than 5%).

3) Teach young people about giving and the importance of giving. Check out the program I direct, Penny Harvest. Your child’s school can participate in this youth philanthropy and service learning program.

4) Volunteering is much more powerful than ‘sympathy-eliciting’ videos. Check out volunteer opportunities with Solid Ground, or get your workplace involved in United Way’s Day of Caring.

5) Share this article with friends and family, and encourage them to commit 5% of their income to charity!

What does immigration reform look like?

Solid Ground staff (l to r) David Olivera, Sukanya Pani, Irene Woo & Gordon Pun

Every year for the past five years or so, members of Solid Ground’s staff have joined in the annual May Day Immigration Rights Rally & March – marching in solidarity with hardworking community members and their families calling for comprehensive immigration reform.  

And every year on this day, a few thousand immigrants and allies gather and march demanding reform that will make it easier for immigrants and their families to legally live and work in the United States – and to end the destructive policies that lead to detentions, raids and deportations that are breaking up families and separating children from their parents. 

Solid Ground / Poverty Action staff, family & friends

Irene Woo, Solid Ground's Anti-Racism Coordinator; Bev Spears, Statewide Poverty Action Network's Director & Maru Mora-Villalpando, Washington CAN! Community Organizer

But this year – fueled by outrage in response to last week’s passage of an Arizona law that promotes racial profiling by encouraging law enforcement to question anyone about their immigration status if there is “reasonable suspicion” that they are undocumented  – Seattle’s 10^th Annual May Day march was larger and more passionate than ever. 

It’s not clear exactly how many people attended – one estimate was more than 10,000 – but from my vantage point, a virtual river of people filled the streets from Judkins Park in the Central District, flowed down South Jackson Street through downtown and Belltown, end emptied into Memorial Stadium at the Seattle Center. 

A river of marchers at 14th Ave S and S Jackson St

 

There were joyful moments: a Latino dad draped in an American flag, his small son riding on his shoulders; drums beating; people chanting. But overall, this was serious business, and the signs marchers carried reflected it. 

From “Stop Racism / Alto El Racismo” to “Do I Look ‘Illegal’?” to “I Pay My Taxes / My Husband is Not a Criminal” to “First Natives, Then Blacks, Now Latinos, Who’s Next?” to “My Skin Color is Not a Crime,” the messages expressed a demand to stop injustice, honor our common humanity, and fiercely resist laws and a political climate that dehumanizes people who are striving to create better lives for their families. 

As Renée Saucedo, Community Empowerment Coordinator at San Francisco’s La Raza Centro Legal eloquently puts it, “We must continue to support immigrant communities in their struggle to obtain a fair legalization law. We must not allow certain advocacy organizations to negotiate away rights on their behalf. By organizing, marching, etc. we must continue to demand just immigration laws and to work towards ending policies which criminalize and exploit members of our community.” 

May Day March & Rally for Immigrant Rights!

From our friends at Washington Community Action Network:  

Washington CAN!'s youngest spokesperson, 11-year-old Marcelas Owens

 

Join Washington CAN!, Statewide Poverty Action Network, Solid Ground and many others at the 10th Annual May 1st March & Rally for Immigrant Rights! In 2006, thousands of people across the nation took to the streets to protest inhumane immigration policies and support immigrant and worker rights. In Seattle, the May 1st march has historically been a grassroots effort with full support from all sectors of the community and driven by the Latino community in the Puget Sound Area. 

There is an indisputable need for immigration reform for everyone in our country. We need comprehensive immigration reform that reflects our American values of justice, fairness, and respect for humanity. We believe all communities can come together to better our country. 

Event Information: 

• Rally 12:00pm at Judkins Playfield (behind St Mary’s Church- 611 20th Ave S, Seattle)
• March 12:30pm
• March will end at 1:30pm followed by a program with elected officials and music at Memorial Stadium in the Seattle Center (401 5th Ave 98109)
• Contact: Email maru@washingtoncan.org

Thank you for all you,
The Washington CAN! Team 

***************************************************************** 

¡Marcha y mitin del 1ero de mayo por derechos de los inmigrantes! En el 2006 miles de personas a través de la nación inundaron las calles para protestar políticas  migratorias deshumanas y un apoyo a derechos de los trabajadores e inmigrantes. En Seattle la marcha del 1ero de mayo ha sido históricamente un esfuerzo comunitario con apoyo absoluto de todos los sectores de la comunidad y liderado por la comunidad Latina del área de Puget Sound. 

Hay una necesidad indiscutible de una reforma migratoria para todos en este país. Necesitamos una reforma amplia que refleje nuestros valores Americanos de justicia, igualdad y respeto por la humanidad. Creemos que todas las comunidades pueden unirse y mejorar nuestro país. 

¡Acompáñenos a la Décima Marcha Anual por Derechos de los Inmigrantes e invite a sus amigos y familiares! 

Información del evento: 

• Sábado 1ero de mayo, 2010
• Mitin 12:00pm en el parque Judkins Playfield (detrás de la iglesia St Mary – 611 20th Ave S, Seattle)
• Marcha 12:30pm
• Marcha terminará a la 1:30pm y será seguida por un programa con oradores políticos y música en el Memorial Stadium en el Seattle Center (401 5th Ave 98109)
• Reservaciones: mande un correo electrónico a maru@washingtoncan.org  

Gracias por su apoyo, 

La Red Activa – Washington CAN!

“The Revolution will not be Adultist!”

“The Revolution will not be Adultist!” is the quote printed on the most recent popular Seattle Young People’s Project bowl-a-thon t-shirt. I find myself thinking about this quote often. Often when I wear the t-shirt, people read the quote and I see a confused look on their face or the look of faking understanding. I think underneath that confused look is the question, “What is Adultism?” In the Seattle progressive, liberal, even radical scene we talk a lot of good talk and even take some good action around issues of racism, sexism, and classism, but too often the discussion about how adultism intersects with these other oppressions is missing. 

Today I ran across a Facebook status update by my friend, Adam Fletcher, on “re-defining adultism.”  On his blog he defines “adultism” this way:

Adultism is the addiction to the attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and actions of adults. It is a major concept in the organization of society: Adultism prevails in every sector, including government, education, social services, and families. Its defeat is often seen as a bad thing, as adults are mostly capable only of seeing their own abilities as those that are truly needed to the function and well-being of our world.

The problem with adultism is that it ignores, silences, neglects, and punishes children and youth simply because they are not adults. Every young person experiences adultism from the day they are born until the day the world around them recognizes them as an adult.

I like how Adam frames adultism as an “addiction.” Addictions take active effort to overcome. The first step in overcoming addiction is awareness of the problem that we have, right? So I encourage you to ask the question: How are you and the groups that you are a part of ignoring, silencing, neglecting and even punishing children and youth? Have you written a grant “about and for” young people in your community without seeking youth input into that grant application? Do you have any youth involved in the decision making of your group? Have you found yourself saying recently, “Well they (a young person)  just aren’t ready for that responsibility yet?” Have you been part of either creating or enforcing arbitrary age limits that young people can or cannot participate in an activity or program?

How can you and the groups you are involved in start sharing your adult power with young people? How can you engage young people in decision making? How can you as an adult (if you are one) start following the lead of young people instead of leading young people? How are you overcoming your addiction to the attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and actions of adults?

Encourage Gov. Gregoire to sign TANF bill (HB 3141)

Please take a minute to contact Gov. Gregoire and ask her to sign HB 3141, which provides access to education and training for families who are on TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Getting this bill enacted into law will help parents focus on work and training so that they can make sustainable changes in their lives.

HB 3141 would create more training and education options for TANF recipients and would authorize 12 months of childcare for parents who participate in Head Start or Early Childhood Education and Assistance Programs. This is a great idea. Currently the TANF program only authorizes parents to receive two or three months of childcare, forcing parents to repeatedly reapply for care. Continuous care would improve the quality of the early learning experience for the child, while allowing parents to focus on work and training.

In this time of economic crisis, strong social support systems like TANF are more important than ever to help families meet their basic needs and lay the foundation for economic recovery. The new training opportunities and additional childcare subsidies included in HB 3141 will provide needed support to help working families become independent and weather these hard times.

What the bill does:

• Shifts the intent of the WorkFirst program to focus on moving recipients into sustainable long-term jobs with wages that lead to self-sufficiency.
• Mandates 12-month eligibility authorizations for Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) for families with children enrolled in Head Start, ECEAP and Early Head Start programs.
• Directs the WorkFirst subcabinet to conduct a review of the WorkFirst program to apply evidence-based approaches to moving families from welfare to sustainable employment. 
• Expands the emphasis on education and training.

You can write to the Governor at:

Governor Christine Gregoire
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA  98504

You can FAX your letter to her at 360.753.4110.

You can call her office at 360.902.4111.

Or you can use the wizard on the Governor’s website to email her (go to the bottom of the page!).

Are we seriously talking about cutting GAU again?

We all hope that if we face a job loss or become disabled, we will have the support we need and the opportunity for a good quality of life. Strong public systems like General Assistance for the Unemployable (GAU), which is in the process of being renamed the Disability Lifeline, ensure all people can meet their basic needs when times are tough, as well as lay the foundation for economic recovery.

GAU/Disability Lifeline is more than just a social service program for people unable to work due to physical and mental disability. It is the assurance that, if something terrible happens that inhibits your ability to work, you will have some support. The $339 monthly cash grant and medical coverage that this program provides is often the difference between housing and homelessness, between a meal and going hungry. Currently, 21,000 people rely on GAU/Disability Lifeline to pay rent, cover critical medications, and pay for basic needs. Despite all of this, both the Governor and the Senate have proposed to drastically cut this much-needed program.

In their proposals, both the Governor and the Senate limit the amount of time a person can receive GAU, and the Senate reduces the already small monthly grant to a $50 stipend. This is outrageous. Now is not the time to make such drastic reductions to this crucial program. With less than one week left in the legislative session and legislators debating their budget proposals as I type, we must act NOW! We must urge our legislators to raise more revenue to protect GAU and the other critical programs that help people meet their basic needs.

At Poverty Action, we combed through the budget proposals so you wouldn’t have to. Check out our analysis of all three budget proposals.

Email your lawmakers or call them toll-free at 1-800-562-6000 and urge them to raise more revenue to protect the Disability Lifeline, formerly GAU, and other crucial programs. If you or someone close to you would be personally affected by the elimination of GAU or any other crucial program, please include that in your message.

Thanks for taking action to provide economic security for people with disabilities!

What’s up with the legislators supporting banks instead of homeowners?

Several weeks ago the bill SB 6648 was turned down by the Washington State House. This bill would have given homeowners a second chance to avoid foreclosure. Lenders would have been required to participate in a mediation to evaluate if there is an affordable and sustainable means to keeping the home, as opposed to selling the home at an auction sale. Reasonable criteria would have been established and lenders would have been required to implement modifications under the current FDIC programs. Moreover, banks would have been mandated to create a fair and open process that would have benefited both, the lenders and homeowners.

In other words, homeowners currently in foreclosure and heading into foreclosure sale would have been given a second chance to keep their homes. The lenders, on the other hand, would have been able to get an expedited process to help mitigate their losses in addition to mitigating expenses related to foreclosure which can amount up to $70,000 in fees per foreclosure sale. Banks end up buying these properties and selling them at a discounted price, which translates into more losses for the investor and a trickle down effect on the value of properties around neighborhoods.

Funding for interpreters for DSHS clients at risk

Our good friend Lauren Berkowitz, an organizer with Washington Federation of State Employees, reports:

The governor, with DSHS’ suggestion, has proposed eliminating funding for medical and social service interpreter services. As of July. Can you imagine a Washington state that doesn’t fund interpreters for DSHS clients?

Put simply, this is wrong. Denying access to medical care because of language is a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The only way around it is for doctors not to take Medicaid clients. How could this possibly save the state money when it means that people will have to go to the ER for everything simply because the ER will have interpreters while the doctors and clinics will not?

Seven hundred (and growing!) interpreters from across the state have come together to save the funding and fix the system. They’ve come up with companion bills in the House and Senate that propose three things:

1) Save funding for interpreter services – make it a law that the state must provide them.

Another take on lobbying in Olympia

Check out this great article in Real Change. Kudos to the Statewide Poverty Action Network for organizing a great day of rallying, skill building and lobbying on MLK Day!

Nancy Amidei, patron saint of citizen lobbyists!

Their side had lawyers, we had humans

In the last week and a half, Peter Zimmerman has gone to Olympia three times to advocate and lobby on behalf of people who are homeless or struggling to get by on low incomes.  

Capt. Z. takes on Olympia

He has handed petitions to the Governor and legislative leaders calling on a budget that enhances revenues to protect vital programs, helped members of the Spokane Tribe of Indians to meet with their legislators, and testified in support of a bill that would create a common application fee for renters, easing a financial burden on what is a serious barrier to housing for low income folks.  

Advocacy in Olympia can seem intimidating to folks who have not done it. While Peter has only been speaking up publically on these issues for a year and a half or so, he has gained great insight and experience that can help us all do a better job jumping into the public policy pool. 

In the coming weeks and months Peter will share firsthand on this blog some of his experiences and reactions to the legislative session. But for now, please consider some excerpts from a recent conversation, which I’ll call: 

 Peter’s Top 10 Tips for Citizen Lobbyists

Peter Zimmerman rocks Olympia

Solid Ground Advisory Council member Peter Zimmerman had more than his Warholian share of fame this week, garnering coverage on radio, TV and the web as a representative of the Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition. 

Peter and 20,000 friends, courtesy Washington Bus

Kudos to Peter for keeping his cool under the media glare and delivering 20,000 signatures to Governor Gregoire and our lawmakers, calling on revenue enhancements to help save Washington’s fiscal bacon without taking it all out on cuts to the programs that serve hardworking low-income folks.  

Peter and Governor Gregoire, courtesy Washington Bus

You can read all about it on this post at our good friends Hella Bus, the blog o’ Washington Bus. 

KUOW 94.9 in Seattle carried this story about the movement to increase revenue in the state. 

Peter will be reporting in a future post here about his experiences lobbying in Olympia this coming week!