A Young Pastor Speaks to the Importance of the 2010 Hunger Report

At church on Sunday, a homeless fellow came in midway during our service. I had snuck off to use the men's room just after the sermon. As I was returning from the church basement, this fellow opened the church doors. He had been sleeping outside all night, "sleeping" in sub-freezing temperatures. His coat was more of a jacket and certainly was not adequate for a walk on a cold evening, let alone sleeping outside all night.

I welcomed him inside. Helped him to a bench in the back of the church. Covered him with a few of the used coats that we had in a box and which the church is collecting for the needy. I stood with him as he prayed. Eventually, he warmed enough to join the rest of the congregation. After services, one of our church members took the fellow to a truck stop to get a hot shower. Someone else bought him some clean clothes at Goodwill.

As I am typing this tonight, I sit in a warm house. My wife is in the other room watching TV. My cat and dog are lounging lazily. I can hear the freezing rain outside and am wondering:

where our homeless friend is bedded down for the night.

And he is just one. According to a Kalamazoo Gazette report from July 18, 2009, "Kalamazoo County's homeless population jumped more than 40 percent from 2007 to 2008 at the same time that Michigan's homeless count remained virtually unchanged, according to a federal report." And that is just Kalamazoo. SW Michigan encompasses Benton Harbor, Battle Creek, Niles, Allegan, Sturgis, and many other communities.

It is all rather overwhelming.

So, I needed some encouragement. And I think I found it in the message of this young African American pastor in a Twitter message that I got this evening from Bread for the World:




Amen.

CNN: Hungry Mothers Cook for Hundreds

Berrien Springs High School Gives Thanks by Celebrating Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Berrien Springs may be unique in SW Michigan. A small town home to Andrews University, a school which attracts students and faculty from many countries of the world. Diversity of racial and ethnic background is the norm in the community because of this unique relationship.

Carrying on with tradition at Berrien Springs High School, students started their Thanksgiving observance a day early by celebrating the school's rich cultural diversity.

Wednesday morning's program featured students performing everything from African and Nicaraguan dances to a traditional Russian folk song and the theme from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The assembly in the high school gym opened as it does every year with the procession of flags representing nearly 40 countries students hail from followed by the U.S. national anthem. The students' families are drawn here by Andrews University.

Students then performed dances and songs from a variety of countries and cultures ranging from Mexico to Korea, northern and southern Africa to Russia and China. The assembly ended as it always does with the singing of "God Bless the USA."

During the 90-minute assembly, students were also treated to a fashion show developed by senior Jedidiah Ayivor, who is of Ghanian heritage. He has carried the Ghanian flag in previous years and sang a song from "The Lion King" with a group last year.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/11/25/local_news/2567145.txt

A Brief Introduction to Poverty - An Opportunity to Learn

Hi, One Southwest Michigan community. My name is Paula Adams. I am a new AmeriCorps VISTA with the Poverty Reduction Initiative based in Kalamazoo County. This means I am volunteering to live with a poverty level income allowance for 12 months while I work for PRI. (With the exception of the executive director, Jeff Brown, PRI is staffed by VISTA volunteers.)

During my VISTA year I will be doing PRI's communications and public relations. Our organizational mission is to reduce poverty by collaboration, education and economic activity. My goal is to build and strengthen relationships between PRI and our local, state and national partners. Please visit haltpoverty.org for more information about the Kalamazoo PRI.

I am grateful to have this opportunity, both personally and professionally. If any of you have seen the movie "Inception" written and directed by Christopher Nolan, one way to know you're not dreaming is by asking "How did I get here?" It's probably something many of the 43+ million Americans who live in poverty ask themselves every day. Unfortunately, they are not dreaming.

Here's the short version of my own answer:

Three months ago I had no idea that AmeriCorps existed. (AmeriCorps is the "stay-at-home" domestic sister of the global more "popular" Peace Corps.) In September the contract for my temporary workforce development position was ending and my own future was uncertain. I wanted to go back to marketing and communications work, but jobs are scarce and competition is tight. One lucky email from a colleague with this job posting changed my future, opening the AmeriCorps door, so to speak. Here I am today, my first week in the office, sworn into national service and just beginning to learn about poverty related issues.

Choosing AmeriCorps service was an easy decision and a difficult one. Is the work needed? Yes. Poverty rates have been increasing, not decreasing, up to 14.3% in 2009, according to the Census Bureau. We want to change that. But after all, who chooses to live in poverty? This is a big question on many levels. Do people actually choose poverty? Is our society choosing poverty? If so, why? What exactly is poverty, anyway? Is poverty merely living on a small income or is it something else?

These are some of the questions I have starting out. Maybe you share some of these questions. I'd like to hear from you. I see this blog as a forum to discuss the questions, answers, and explore potential solutions to the very real problems that result from poverty - hunger, homelessness, difficulty getting and/or keeping a job, the inability to provide opportunities for our children.

I believe we can only solve these problems together, as a community - local, national, global. I'd love to hear what solutions work in your area, in your household, in your state, in your nation. How can we help and empower each other to be prosperous and successful, whatever that means to us as individuals? I invite you to share your successes and your lessons learned. If you'd like to contribute a post, let me know.

Thank you for allowing me my voice as a "temporary" resident here. I am honored to do this work, and have a lot to learn. I will be challenged into new ways of thinking, of relating, and of strategizing in this job. As I learn, I will share with you whatever insights I gain, whether they be wise or foolish. I hope that you, my reader, will comment, contribute, and teach me in return. I am grateful to have you as a reader and a teacher.

Happy Thanksgiving. May you experience bounty and abundance for the day and the upcoming year.

A Detroit News Editorial: Food Banks Help Michigan's Needy

"Recently, my family and I were trying to decide what we wanted to have for dinner. We debated back and forth on where to go and what type of food we wanted. We considered all the various restaurants down the street on our side of town but nothing "sounded good."

After spending what seemed like an eternity trying to decide, given all the options available, we decided to stay home and eat leftovers. After dinner, I started thinking about the people who aren't debating where or what to eat, but how to put food on the table for their families. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day bustle of life and forget that there are many people who are struggling to make ends meet"

From The Detroit News:

detnews.com/article/20101123/OPINION01/11230340/Food-banks-help-Michigan’s-needy#ixzz168EFURYf

Southwest Michigan teens help lead discussions on race as part of Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit

Southwest Michigan Teens are working together to address the issue of race as part of Kalamazoo Valley Museum's RACE exhibit. A total of 50 teens from the ages of 12 to 18 have attended the five public sessions held at KVCC’s downtown campus and two private sessions held by the Girl Scouts of America and the Jack and Jill Club.

Courtney Asselin, 14, of Paw Paw, commented on the bones display in the exhibit that discussed anthropological forensics. “You can’t determine race by bones.” She added, “Discrimination doesn’t have a point. It’s like having a black dog and a white dog. They’re all dogs, just different colors.

NATIONAL RACE EXHIBIT

What: "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibit.

Who: The installation, created by the American Anthropological Association and The Science Museum of Minnesota, is designed to spur a national dialogue on race. It explores the subject from biological, historical and human points of view, using photographs, movies and interactive displays.

Admission: Free.

Where: Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N. Rose St., downtown Kalamazoo, near the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites.

Run dates: Through Jan. 2.

Museum hours: 9 a.m. -5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays; and 1-5 p.m. Sundays.

For group tours: Call the museum at 269-373-7990.

For private facilitated conversations: Call Leah Catherman at the YWCA at 269-345-5595.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/11/southwest_michigan_teens_help.html

An Editorial Cartoon from Brian Duffy

This editorial cartoon from Brian Duffy of Daily Ink. and King Features more or less expresses pretty well what some of us already know: when the economy turns bad, the most vulnerable among us suffer the most.

However, Brian said it in a cartoon better than I just did.

Hint: If you are having trouble reading the cartoon, click on it for a clearer and larger view.

Migrant Workers in Michigan: An Invisible Population

• More than 90,000 (migrant workers) come to Michigan every year to harvest crops. That number includes family members - children, spouses, parents - who don't work in the fields but travel to keep the family together.

• An estimated 70 percent of them are in the United States on legal work visas or are U.S. citizens.

• Their average income: $12,000 to $16,000 for a family of five.

• Most live in one of 800 migrant camps around the state provided by the growers who hire them.

The Civil Rights Commission began investigating migrant working conditions in 2009 after a public forum in Kalamazoo raised some red flags about possible health and safety violations.

The commission decided to investigate further through a series of town hall-style meetings around the state where workers, growers and migrant advocates could testify about everything from wages to clean water.

Commissioners also visited several of the state's 800 licensed migrant camps.

Among their more startling findings:

• At one camp, there were three showers available for 35 women and children to share.

• At another camp, there was a single toilet and shower for all workers and their families to share with no curtain or other form of privacy.

• Several instances of overflowing or broken toilets and no running water.

After a (Civil Rights) report was released, Michigan Farm Bureau issued a statement lambasting it for casting a "damaging black eye" on all farmers. Now, a Farm Bureau representative is on the state task force and the Office of Migrant Affairs is publicly applauding farmers who take proper care of their workers. Even critics say they've witnessed farms where workers have access to on-site day care, schools and health clinics.

"This situation is not unlike others," Core said. "There are good apples in the bunch, and there are bad apples. We have to find a way to effectively deal with the bad apples."

Several state agencies have some responsibility for dealing with migrant farm workers, including the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, the Department of Agriculture and DHS.

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20101121/NEWS01/11210505/Recent-report-cites-Third-World-like-living-conditions-for-migrant-workers

Early Estimate: Project Connect affects 1350 Kalamazoo County Residents

Yesterday, Project Connect went off without a hitch. The event served 800 individuals, which will in turn affect 1350 Kalamazoo Residents. One of the most significant improvements for this event was moving the registration process to another area, eliminating the congestion that plagued the event last May. Services such as haircuts, the free lunch and winter coats came in right in the nick of time, providing an exceptional benefit to the attendees of the event.

WOOD TV 8 also ran some exceptional coverage of the event yesterday: http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kalamazoo_and_battle_creek/Kzoo-helps-all-with-Project-Connect




The next Project Connect event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11th from 1pm - 6pm at the Kalamazoo Expo Center in at 2900 Lake street.

Berrien County Restaurants Host Fundraisers for the Homeless

"Four years ago a group of area agencies took on a huge goal — to end homelessness in Berrien County.

Alysia Babcock, executive director of the Benton Harbor Emergency Shelter, said that since the Housing Resource Network (HRN) wrote a 10-year plan to accomplish this goal, a lot of progress has been made.

And she is hoping a county-wide fundraiser during Homeless Awareness Week, which began Sunday, will continue the momentum.

Seven county businesses will be donating 10 percent of their customers’ bills to the Barrier Busters Fund, a county-wide fund that provides financial assistance to local families living in poverty.”The monies raised will be used for things grants usually don’t cover,” Babcock said. “IDs or birth certificates are hard to come by for somebody living in poverty.”...

... This year, HRN has helped three previously homeless families become homeowners.

The fundraiser began last Wednesday at the Niles Pizza Hut and continues today at The Nuggett in downtown Niles and Wednesday at Mancino’s and Blueberry Hill in Niles.

Personal donations can be made out to Emergency Shelter Services Inc. (with memo to Barrier Busters Fund) and mailed to 645 Pipestone Benton Harbor, MI 49022."

www.nilesstar.com/2010/11/15/restaurants-fundraising-for-local-homelessness-assistance/

Record Number of Americans Face Hunger

The number of Americans who struggled to get enough food last year remained at a record high, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

More than 50 million Americans lived in households that had a hard time getting enough to eat at least at some point during 2009. That includes 17 million children, and at least a half-million of those children faced the direst conditions. They had inadequate diets, or even missed meals, because their families didn't have enough money for food.

"Household food insecurity remains a serious problem across the United States," says Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon.

He says there's a reason the hunger numbers hit a record high in 2008 and stayed there in 2009: a struggling economy.

"It is a considerable reflection of what is going on in the economy," he says. "So jobs, employment, the overall economic health of the country are a major portion of it."

www.npr.org/2010/11/15/131328286/record-number-of-u-s-households-face-hunger

Number of homeless students up 41 percent in the last two years

A WWMT news story covers the struggle that local families must adapt to after losing their homes:



Watch it at: http://www.wwmt.com/articles/sure-1383727-homeless-west.html

Kaiser Family Foundation Asks Serious Questions About Cutting Entitlement Programs for the Poor

Well before we have any clarity on the impact of the election on health reform, the pundits are handicapping the prospects of efforts to make a serious dent in the national debt and deficit. Three national commissions are hammering out recommendations for reducing the debt and reining in entitlement spending, putting two giant health programs that serve the elderly, disabled and low-income Americans, Medicaid and Medicare, as well as Social Security, in the crosshairs of a new policy debate...

Nearly half (47%) of all elderly and disabled people on Medicare have incomes below twice the federal poverty level (less than $20,800 for an individual and $28,000 for a couple in 2008). Poverty rates are even higher among women, African American and Latino Medicare beneficiaries. And two-thirds of the 8 million disabled people on Medicare who are under age 65 have incomes below twice the poverty rate; beneficiaries with disabilities face more serious access problems than others on the medicare program...

If new policies are proposed to rein in entitlement spending and reduce the deficit, it seems only reasonable to include the following criterion among others for evaluating proposals: do no harm to the financial security or access to care for elderly and disabled beneficiaries living on low and modest incomes. Indeed, given the high out-of-pocket costs these groups have, and the large share of their incomes they already pay for health care, a comprehensive approach might well seek to improve circumstances for these most vulnerable groups, while also advancing "hard choices" for entitlement programs to reduce the deficit.

www.kff.org/pullingittogether/People-Behind-The-Entitlement-Debate.cfm

Benton Harbor Seeks Promise Zone Designation from Lansing

Benton Harbor Area Schools officials say they are hoping to send their outgoing students to college for free in the near future.

Although still in its preliminary stages, Leonard Seawood, the district's superintendent, said officials are putting together a plan to present to the state in hopes of approval for such a program.

"We've had to go through the hurdles," he said.

The idea was first started in Kalamazoo a few years ago. It's called the Kalamazoo Promise and provides for any high school graduate in Kalamazoo's public school system accepted into a Michigan college or university to receive free tuition. The program, which has since been implemented in other districts around the state, is privately funded.

Seawood said there are 18 other sites around the state that are in the same boat as Benton Harbor and attempting to receive backing from the state, which is required. He added the most important question is how the district will raise the money to pay for the tuition.

www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101110/News01/11100360/1052/News01

WWMT 3 Report: Shocking levels of poverty in Kalamazoo County

Last week, Poverty Reduction Initiative Director Jeff Brown interviewed with Channel 3 about the rising poverty levels in Kalamazoo. Watch the story here: http://www.wwmt.com/articles/county-1383511-kalamazoo-mich.html

Story transcript:

With the unemployment rate in Michigan sitting at 13 percent, we know people are suffering, but numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show the poverty level in Kalamazoo County is shocking.

Jasmine Conley and her two children are staying at the women's shelter in Kalamazoo, trying to find a job and a place to call home. Conley is definitely not alone, according to numbers recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Kalamazoo County ranks fourth in Michigan for the number of families living in poverty.

93 percent of single moms are also finding it hard to make ends meet. In the City of Kalamazoo, 75 percent of black children under the age of five are living in poverty.

“It's hard when you're pregnant, cause nobody wants to hire you,” said Conley. “I put in over 20 applications and I still haven't gone in on any of them.”

The Poverty Reduction Initiative believes a downturn in manufacturing and a large increase in unemployment for people who have less than a college degree are to blame, and the ones most affected are the kids.

“Kids, by and large, that grow up struggling in poverty are the ones that struggle through life,' said Jeff Brown of the Poverty Reduction Initiative, “and their kids struggle as well.”

Stores like Rescued Treasures in Kalamazoo help people get by on smaller budget, and the money raised goes back to helping low-income families. Experts say such families need more education and jobs accessible to them, not miles away from poor neighborhoods.

For Conley, she says she's using her surroundings as motivation.

“I just look at them and see how hard it is, which pushes me more to get out of here,” said Conley. “It's sad seeing everybody in here.”

For those who need extra help, there's a program called Project Connect. On November 17th it's hosting an event at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center and Fairgrounds. From 1:00 to 6:00 pm 75 different agencies will be on hand to offer some 50 different services.

Read the full article: http://www.wwmt.com/articles/county-1383511-kalamazoo-mich.html

Helpful or Hassle? Michigan Changes When Food Stamp Users Get Benefits

You could call Michigan's plan to change food benefit scheduling "forced budgeting." Instead of arriving all at the beginning of the month, benefits will be added to the Michigan Bridge Card at intervals throughout the month. Families often spend all their EBT funds at the beginning of the month, leading them without food and putting huge pressure on local food pantries to support them at the end the of month.

The new interval design would lesson these challenges by spacing out the times in which residents receive their benefits. Personally as someone who uses a bridge card, I can see both the the positives and negatives of this change.

Positive:

• It will force people to budget more consciously and they'll never run out of food at the end of the month.
• It will help keep stores better staffed and stocked, with shopping spread out throughout the month.
• Users will likely buy more fresh foods and vegetables at the end of the month, instead of stocking up heavily on boxed and frozen items early.
  

Negative:

• It will increase the hassle and micromanagement one must do when shopping for groceries.
  
• It will be harder to buy sale items in bulk because of less money on the card at once
  
• It may force families to have to wait without food not once, but multiple times a month while they wait for their cards to charge.
  

I can see why this change will help a lot of families by providing more funds left over at the end of the month. I can also see how it will slow the rush to food pantries at the frantic times during the end of the month.

For my personal use, I am not a fan. I run a steady budget and have never been impulsive with my spending. For me, it means waiting an extra day or two not once a month, but TWICE. My life is busy enough as it is and finding the time to run to the store will be more hassle. It also means holding back when bulk items are on sale because my card has less money.

It may help some families in Michigan, but it also will cause hassle others. I'm interested to hear the results in a few years.

Read the full article: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wirestory?id=12056499&page=2

Learning from our mistakes and embracing 'One Community'

For the last few weeks, I have been watching the dynamic PBS series "We Shall Remain" which coveres 5 episodes of Native American History, beginning with the time of the European colonization. It covers their history from the words and documents of Native Americans who lived during these different periods. In the third episode, the documentary focuses on the Cherokee relocation experience, otherwise known as the infamous "Trail of Tears." The relocation of the Cherokee led to the deaths of a quarter of the 12,000 Cherokee residents who made the disastrous march to territory West of the Mississippi.

What made this event even more outrageous was that these Cherokee looked and acted no different than ordinary Americans of the time. They had adapted western culture, clothing, lifestyle and converted to Christianity. As they marched towards their new land, they sang Christian hymns eerily similar to the experiences of the African-American slaves. This was not merely a territory grab, it was an ethnic cleansing. It was truly a stain on American history and an affront the values we hold dear as Americans.

There is much we can apply from this experience to issues that exist today. What great injustices are a stain on our country today? What about the laws in Arizona that target Hispanic-looking residents? The payday lenders that take advantage of our low-income residents? The simple fact that our ethnic minorities have poverty rates that are double, triple those of white Americans? The poverty rate among our many rural Native American communities scattered across the United States?

These problems exist because we continue to make choices which affirm that exclusion and inequality are acceptable. We refuse to make tough decisions to right the wrongs that we have committed in the past. Instead of asking why these problems exist, we decide close our eyes to them and focus on our own lives instead.

We have an opportunity to stand now as One Community. We have an opportunity to make changes that benefit the well-being of all Americans. We have an opportunity to fight the injustices that plague all our communities.

Are you willing to make that stand?

A Michigan Third Grader's View on Education Funding

If you watch the following third grader's presentation on Michigan's funding of education (as prepared for the Save our Schools group headed by Tom White), I guarantee that you will feel that public schools in Michigan have some very talented youth:

School Funding from a 3rd Grader from MASSP on Vimeo.