Demand Rising for Anti-Poverty Programs Nationwide

by Leigh Graham · 2009-01-09 12:15:00 UTC
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Seems everyday my Google Reader and News Alerts inform me that another city or state is seeing greater demand on its social service programs - for unemployment benefits, for food stamps, for child care, for job training and placement, for mental health services.  In Muncie, IN, about 100 people braved frigid weather to learn how they can come together to fight poverty in their community.  Attendees recognized and voiced concern about the rising ranks of the "working poor" in their midst.  Meanwhile, Christy Hardin Smith at Firedoglake is practically a one-woman soapbox about the need to fight child poverty in the U.S.  Did you know that Headstart, the federal early childhood ed program, returns nearly $9 in benefits to society for every $1 invested?  Me neither.  How can we continue to underfund such successful programs and ignore this epidemic?

Or maybe, in the midst of crisis, we can finally change course.  Demand is growing for a larger, activist government to deal with our pressing social problems of unaffordable healthcare, weak educational performance, and rising poverty and inequality.  Community-based organizations are passing resolutions this year to focus on poverty alleviation as a central activity.  Military Generals are making the case for early childhood intervention for a strong armed forces!  And both the federal and some state governments are loosening eligibility for food stamp programs (FDL again).

One of the reasons I am a big supporter of poverty simulations, if done respectfully, is because I believe that walking a mile in someone else's shoes is one of the best ways to understand her experiences and views.  As more and more communities finally "see" the poor living in their midst, and more and more neighbors fall into economic hardship, perhaps we have finally arrived at a critical yet diffuse enough mass to really tackle poverty head on.

This concludes the first "Silver Lining Fridays" here at Change.org.  :)  Have a great weekend!  Don't forget to stop by!

Leigh Graham
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