Stimulus package still limited on details

As Obama delivered his first address to congress this week, many watched in awe as he spoke loquaciously about his plans to uplift our nation through his stimulus package. Proof that many were so impressed came in a CBS poll which showed Obama's approval rating for handling the economic crisis leapt 17 percent after the speech among those who watched it, from 63 to 80 percent.

There is a general consensus that people agree with what our government is doing to stop the crisis, even though the details on how we are going to do it are extremely limited.

For example, in a recent phone conversation with CALSP, I thought I would be getting insider details on how funds dedicated to Headstart early childhood programs could be accessed. However, the phone call turned out to be another bout of rehashing information available by simply reading any report on the stimulus.

The simple fact is no one knows how discretionary funds will be available in any category. Qualifications for grants and projects applications have still yet to be determined, creating a buzz among organizations scrambling to apply for any funding available.

It is extremely important for us to continue monitoring these updates as they come in. I ask for any commentators to discuss what they interpretations are of any part of the package, and for any ways that we might best utilize this opportunity.

Changing the Discourse on Poverty

The "American Dream" has been a great public relations campaign for the United States in the last century. For who could argue against a country of where anyone can succeed, regardless of race, class, or gender?

Everyone loves a Cinderella story, of whose repertoire now includes the impressive 8 Oscar victories by hit film Slumdog Millionaire. However uplifting the story, we all know deep inside that the chances of anyone in poverty truly rising out their condition without resources is slim to none. America is no exception.

Knowing this is true, why are we so quick to judge those on the lower rungs of the later? American popular culture has historically given a tough shrug to its poor residents. If you can't pick yourself up and rise above, its your fault. It would seem that the foundations of our culture would not allow smart, hard working people to fail.

In the idea of the American dream, a philosophy based off of self-reliance and personal responsibility, there exists a an inherent problem: the idea that some of our poor are deserving or their condition, whereas others are not.

Generally, the "deserving poor" refers to people who live in generation poverty. Generational poverty is a cyclical problem where those who lack resources for their own lives have none to give to their children to rise above their conditions. As studies suggest, education is one of the highest indicators of poverty across the United States. Parents who lack education themselves are rarely in conditional to give their children advice on how best to pursue theirs.

On the other hand, the "undeserving poor" refers to those of whose poverty status is situational or temporary. This group of poor has likely greatly expanded with the recent layoffs caused by the economic crisis. Unlike those in generational poverty, these members usually have either job experiences or education necessary to rise out of poverty again when the opportunity comes.

The idea of deserved and undeserved poverty needs to be broken. At a time when our economic playing field is leveled, there is a chance for increased empathy towards all people in poverty conditions. It is time we should realize that whether generational or situational, no one deserves to live in a condition where they struggle to meet their basic needs.

If we do not break this ideology, it could have rippling effects on our society and the well-being of all Americans. When the economy finally does recover, no one knows how long it could take to reach its previous height. What will result is families who were once in situational poverty could find themselves being confronted with a long-term problem. It is like a fish net: while many will be lifted up through the net back to financial stability, others will fall through to the bottom.

Someday after this depression has passed, we will forget about the distinction between deserving and undeserving poor. Those who fell through the net could find themselves less deserving for aid than before.

Its time to change the discourse on poverty not because we need to save these few. It is simply because no one deserves to be labeled as undeserving.

2010: Michigan's Defining Moment

The elections of 2008 proved that Americans were ready for a change in the direction of leadership, and in the coming years we will know the ramifications of this choice. Certainly, the Obama administration's massive government stimulus bill will have large affect on the future of Michigan, as well as the choices he makes towards addressing the auto industry and job market.

However, if one is looking for a full, sweeping change for the state of Michigan - it might be more realistic to look further into the future to 2010. In this pivotal election year, 38 state senators and 70 percent of the Michigan House of Representatives will be gone by January 2011.

This is truly a dramatic shift in leadership for a state in sure need of a face lift. Spearheaded by the Non-profit Center for Michigan, The Michigan's Defining Moment Campaign seeks to develop a common ground vision and agenda for Michigan's transformation to a new era of prosperity. The campaign has already laid groundwork, scheduling 175 community meetings in every corner of the state.

PRI representatives will be attending Saturday's meeting in Kalamazoo at Borgess tomorrow to give their input. It is an opportunity to bring our agenda to the meeting, where will can explain the benefits to Michigan residents of reducing poverty.

It is no secret: poverty is a cost burden for everyone in a community. With Michigan's rising poverty due to economic conditions, more must rely on safety-net systems of survive. This is not sustainable in the long run; we have to create a future where everyone has an opportunity to succeed. The more independent, self-reliant individuals we can deliver in our communities, the less burden we put onto our welfare systems. The benefit there is obvious - less welfare support used means less tax dollars being pumped into people who do not create capital for themselves.

We should use this shift in leadership to bring about opportunities to develop programs which give our residents as many opportunities to be self-sustaining as possible. The more people working, creating, innovating, contributing, the more our economy and community will thrive.

If you haven't had an opportunity to attend a meeting to discuss this defining moment, they are still happening across the state. To find one near you, visit the Community Conversations Website. The more people we can engage in these meetings, the better opportunity we have of creating a new Michigan that functions for everyone.

An Economic Warning: Collaborate or Risk Failure

As if struggles in the economy weren't hard enough on Michigan's population, Jennifer Granholm's announcement last week on the state budget brought more troublesome news. Her speech outlined $670 million dollars in cuts as the only way to balance Michigan's tumbling budget.

Included in the cuts:

• $54 million from family preservation and prevention services, including Community Protection and Permanency Planning ($21.8 million to $17.8 million), Teen Parent Counseling, 0 to 3 Secondary Prevention, Family Group Decision-making, the Marriage and Fatherhood Initiatives, the Black Child and Family Institute, and the Michigan Youth Opportunity Initiative.
• $5 million for before and after school programs
• $7.6 million in Community Mental Health funding
• $164 million for K-12 education - A reduction in the per-pupil foundation allowance of $59 per student.

Despite the passing of stimulus package of which suggests that some of these cuts will be compensated for, it is evident that many cuts will remain in effect. To compound the situation, the private business sector, and as a consequence many foundations, simply do not have the resources to provide to non-profit organizations as there were in times of economic prosperity.

For organizations of whose focus lies on child and family welfare, the news is quite overwhelming. It will be harder than ever this year for non-profits to have the resources necessarily to provide services to low-income children and their families. In a fight for survival, they will be faced with choice: collaborate with other organizations for limited resources, or risking competing against them.

For the Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative, an organization founded on the idea of working together for the greater good, the time to collaborate is more vital than ever. The most weighted resources available will now be through larger-scale federal grants and mega-foundations, both of which are rarely accessible to small non-profits.

However, if we combine our efforts and form coalitions that support larger efforts, we can work together to access the deeper pools of funding.

Though the economy may prove times tougher than before, we have a chance like never before to establish relationships which will enhance efforts for the greater good of all. Its time to join arms with regional organizations and give ourselves the best opportunity to succeed.

Lets Focus on the Children

Getting the leaders of over 50 organizations to focus on one specific area of poverty reduction was never going to be an easy task. So when a nine county collaboration on regional poverty was chosen to solve the regions problems, they knew their task was far from easy. It was going to take a cooperative force much larger than any known in recent history to direct this ambitious process.

For many of the organizations leaders, it seemed like another meeting of much "talk" and little action. For those facing dire situations back in their own regions, any time lost would be to the detriment of their communities. A feeling of hopelessness rose from some commentators, which became evident by the frustration in their voices as they spoke.

When the frustration seemed poised to boil over and threaten the collaboration, a new focus brought people together under one banner: children.

For Kalamazoo residents and other counties as well, the idea of focusing on low-income children is not a new idea. The Kalamazoo Promise has often been cited as a model program for other communities.

However, it is quite obvious that all is not well for the youth in Kalamazoo. When a bicycler is attacked by ten loitering teens, it is quite evident there is still much left undone in the community. Reports like the Kid's Count Data Book show that Kalamazoo is still far behind many communities in the several indicators such as education and health.

One interesting program model that was brought up that inspired several in the group was the Harlem Children's Zone. The HCZ is a holistic system of education, social-service and community-building programs aimed at helping the children and families in a 97-block area of Central Harlem.

Some of their successes include:

• 100% of students in the Harlem Gems pre-K program were found to be school-ready for the sixth year in a row.
• 81% of Baby College parents improved the frequency of reading to their children
• $4.8 million returned to 2,935 Harlem residents as a result of HCZ's free tax-preparation service
• 10, 833 number of youth served by HCZ in 2008

For the developers of the HCZ, it would appear this concept was developed from scratch, with little existing programs before hand. However, in Kalamazoo, we already have the foundations several of their parts to develop a similar zone in the area.

What programs do we have, and what areas need improvement? We do have programs that are successful in Kalamazoo County that don't need to be scrapped, but how we determine which programs need to be highlighted must be put in question. Research needs to be accomplished to determine how we would implement the conditions of this very successful program in Southwest Michigan communities.

If we can find the success and gaps in programs to making a similar "zone" for Kalamazoo, the next step could simply be marketing the story in order to increase awareness and access higher sources of funding available for larger programs. Obviously, the next step would be to reach out to other county regions and increase the collaborative effort. The larger and more organized we can be, the better access to resources.

The Harlem Children's Zone is an intriguing program that we should learn from, but we should strive to develop elements that mold specifically to our own local communities.