Volunteer Center of SW Michigan Schedules Free Training for Non-Profits

The Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan in August will have training programs for employees and volunteers at nonprofit organizations.

Center officials said those connected with nonprofit agencies in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties will learn and practice such skills as registering organizations, post-volunteer opportunities and recruiting volunteers through the Volunteer Center's new HandsOnConnect volunteer matching website.

(For times, dates, and locations see the following article):

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/30/local_news/5816276.txt

Summer Education Programs Serve Migrant Children in Southwest Michigan

It may be summer, but students are filling the halls of schools in two central Berrien County school districts.

As they do every year, migrant farm worker children are spending time in classrooms in the Berrien Springs and Eau Claire school districts.

"We're trying to keep kids on grade level but also make it as interactive and fun as we can," said Tim Keathley, on the staff at Eau Claire schools.

The districts are among several in Southwest Michigan serving the migrant population. Others are Bangor, Coloma, Dowagiac, Hartford, South Haven and Watervliet.

The money comes from federal and state sources.

The programs tend to take summer into account and combine academics with other activities, like field trips and special events. When possible, students can earn high school credits.

Eau Claire schools had a "fiesta night" Wednesday to celebrate the end of the summer program while Berrien Springs had an open house for students and their families.

Sylvester Elementary School Principal Danny Bartz is in charge of the summer migrant program at Berrien Springs, which has had such a program for many years. He said the goal this summer was to do more to emphasize academics for the 120 students, ages 3 to 18.

"This year, we've tried to incorporate what we're doing during the year with our reading and writing program and our safe and civil schools initiative," he said. "We have ramped up our academic expectations. We've really tried to focus on reading and helping them understand more of the English language.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/28/local_news/5847993.txt

Online Map Hopes to Ease Michigan Summer Hunger Challenges for Youths

republished from the State of Michigan Department of Education website

LANSING – Summer in Michigan is lots of fun. However, for thousands of children, summer may mean going without the healthy breakfast and lunch normally offered at their local school.

There are free meals available to children across Michigan through the Summer Food Service Program. Yet, despite serving more than 144 million free and affordable lunches during the 2010 school year, only 2.6 million meals were served through this program last summer.

In an effort to provide these free meals to more children, the Michigan Department of Education has created a SFSP Site Locator Map. This online map allows parents, youth, and food assistance organizations to find the nearest meal sites across the state.

"The free Summer Food Service meal sites are in most communities, we just need families to be aware and able to find them,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. “This online tool is designed to provide greater information and access to nutritional meals for kids during the summer.”

The map is simple to use – just go to the Map webpage, click on the site nearest you and a pop up window with hours of operation and meals served appears. The map is updated weekly throughout the summer as additional sites begin operation. The public is encouraged to check the website throughout the summer for Summer Food sites nearest them.

The Summer Food Service Program was established to ensure that children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. Free meals, that meet federal nutrition guidelines, are provided to all children 18 years and younger at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of low income children. SFSP operators include public and private nonprofit schools, residential camps, colleges or universities, government agencies, and other private non-profit organizations.

The SFSP Site Locator Map can be found at www.mcgi.state.mi.us/schoolnutrition or at the Summer Food Service Program website at www.michigan.gov/sfsp

The Summer Food Service Program, administered by MDE through funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is available to children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

New Documentary Film Sheds Light on Issue of Migrant Children Farm Workers in Michigan and Other States

A new documentary film, The Harvest or La Cosecha, is being released this week in New York. The film follows the life of migrant children farm workers and their families as they travel from Texas through several other states (including Michigan) picking crops.

The trailer for the film follows:

The film was first introduced in June in Washington D.C. At a press conference on Capitol Hill Thursday, June 16th, Actress Eva Longoria and other child advocates held a press conference in announcing the introduction of “The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment” (CARE), legislation which attempts to ensure adequate protections for children working in our nation’s agricultural fields. Additional information about the film and the proposed CARE Act can be found at:

www.shineglobal.org/index.php/eva-longoria-and-congresswoman-lucille-roybal-allard-introduce-care-act-to-protect-child-farmworkers-in-the-us/

Additional information about the film can be found at the film's web site:

theharvestfilm.com/

What will happen to 25,000 Michigan kids cut from assistance?

Spokesmen from Michigan League and DHS talk about the impact of state budget cuts on poor children and families:

Bridge Academy gives adult students a chance for a diploma and a better life

Like many people wanting to change their lives, Benton Harbor resident Kent Rush just needed a nudge in the right direction.

Four years ago, Rush, 26, struggled to support three children, "running into a lot of temporary jobs, dead-end jobs, not making any cash - it was just like a dead-end street," he said.

At one of those jobs Rush suffered a thumb injury that had his doctors talking about amputation, which didn't happen.

"I was going into debt, I almost lost my house, I had to take off work eight weeks - I'm (saying), like, 'This factory work isn't gonna get it,'" he said.

But Rush's fortunes changed after joining YouthBuild, which is run by Michigan Works of Berrien Cass and Van Buren counties. YouthBuild is now part of the Bridge Academy, which opened last fall at 777 Riverview Drive, Benton Harbor.

The academy is a year-round alternative school for anyone 16 and over who is looking to complete their general education diploma or high school diplomas, Chief Education Officer Chris Fielding said.

Those who finish the program gain the job and life skills they need to function while making the transition to a better career.

"Employers are going, 'Please take direction, be part of a team, don't argue with everybody and be on time,'" Fielding said. "As a work force development organization, we have that opportunity to instill those skills."

Rush has seen that example play out in his life.

He works for Shelton Construction, which has taken him to major projects like the carousel restoration at Silver Beach and the Harbor Shores clubhouse.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/26/local_news/5807085.txt

Pew Study Shows Racial Wealth Gap Widens

There's long been a big gap between the wealth of white families and the wealth of African-Americans and Hispanics. But the Great Recession has made it much worse — the divide is almost twice what it used to be.

That's according to a new study by the Pew Research Center, which says that the decline in the housing market is the main cause.

The numbers are astounding. The average wealth of a white family in 2009 was 20 times greater than that of the average black family, and 18 times greater than the average Hispanic family. In other words, the average white family had $113,149 in net worth, compared to $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks.

That's the largest gap since the government began collecting the data a quarter of a century ago, and twice what it was before the start of the Great Recession.

Real Estate Downturn

Rakesh Kochhar, one of the authors of the report, says white households went into the recession in a much stronger position and, as a result, were better able to weather the storm.

One reason was investment in real estate. Minority families had most of their wealth in their homes, so when the housing bubble burst, Kochhar says, those households took a bigger hit.

"Especially Hispanics, for example. Sixty-six percent of their net worth derives from home equity," Kochhar says. "And they are concentrated geographically in parts of the country such as California, Arizona, Florida and Nevada, where the housing downturn was most severe."

The result is that the average Hispanic family lost two-thirds of its wealth between 2005 and 2009, according to the Pew report. Black families lost more than half of theirs.

www.npr.org/2011/07/26/138688135/study-shows-racial-wealth-gap-grows-wider

Chicago Physician and Authority on Premature Births: Racism is a Stressor that Can Trigger Pre-Term labor

It doesn't matter if you're well off financially. It doesn't matter if you have a college education. It doesn't even really matter if you've had adequate health care.

If you are a black woman living in the United States, you are much more likely to have a premature baby than a white mother in the same socioeconomic category.

What is causing this gap?

Dr. James Collins, a physician and researcher from Chicago and an authority on premature births, believes the culprit is racism.

"Racism exists, and racism is a stressor" that decreases the immune system and can trigger pre-term labor, Collins told an audience of medical professionals and community leaders Wednesday.

The event was sponsored by the Berrien County Health Department and Lakeland HealthCare.

Upward mobility for black women does reduce the rate for low-weight births, the leading cause of infant mortality, Collins said.

The rate of infant mortality is higher for poor, black single teenage mothers, especially if the mother was a low birth-weight baby.

If you live in poverty and were a low birth-weight baby "you're pre-programmed to have a low birth-weight baby," Collins said.

The lives of 6,000 black babies could be saved each year if the infant mortality rate for blacks could be lowered to that of whites, Collins said. For those who survive, low birth weight leads to health problems later in life.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/25/local_news/5755174.txt#comment

Branch Area Food Pantry Celebrates 25 Years at Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

The Branch Area Food Pantry (BAFP) held the annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner last Wednesday at the St. Charles activity hall, a time of fellowship and gratitude. There were 76 of the volunteers in attendance.

“I think Deacon Al (Provot) would be very pleased to see how far the pantry has come,” said Chuck Tippman, chair of the board. “This is the best-run organization of its kind I’ve been involved in.”

Tippman recalled when Provot recognized a need and began a pantry of sorts in a closet in the St. Charles office building 25 years ago.

www.thedailyreporter.com/news/x1009569270/Branch-Area-Food-Pantry-shows-gratitude-with-dinner

What "The Grapes of Wrath" Says about Today's Immigrant Workers

When John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, a reporter asked him if he thought he deserved the world’s most prestigious award for novelists. Reportedly, Steinbeck said, "Frankly, no."

Sadly for Steinbeck, this opinion was shared by many literary critics who thought that while he was a competent writer, he wasn’t worthy of the Nobel. Although he was a prolific writer, Steinbeck’s literary reputation rested primarily on one work that remains undisputed in terms of its contribution to American culture.

When The Grapes of Wrath was released in 1939, it caused a sensation that literature is probably no longer capable of provoking. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was the best-selling novel of the year. Just months later, in 1940, the book was turned into a film by John Ford that was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

For readers today, Steinbeck’s migration saga remains relevant as a piece of (dramatized) social analysis. It’s essentially a road novel about the Joads, a poor Midwestern migrant farming family. Throughout the novel, the Joads fight to keep their family intact while fleeing the 1930s Oklahoma Dustbowl for the hope of farm work in California...

(Today) It’s common to meet young men laboring on farms in the United States who haven’t been home in years. They keep sending their family money saved from their $9-an-hour wages, but there’s no human contact.

Even families that reconstitute themselves on the U.S. side of the border are not secure. The Urban Institute estimates that 100,000 immigrant parents of U.S. citizen children have been deported to Mexico over the past 10 years...

notes.bread.org/2011/07/the-grapes-of-wrath-revisited.html

Poverty study: 1 in 3 Michigan senior citizens struggles with money

A third of Michigan’s seniors are considered “economically insecure” — far more than the federal poverty limits would suggest, according to a new study.

Moreover, even in counties that are home to some of the most affluent suburbs where the wealthiest will buoy the overall median household income, at least one in four seniors on the other end of the economic scale struggles to make ends meet, according to the paper, “Invisible Poverty: New Measure Unveils Financial Hardship in Michigan’s Older Population.”

“There’s the popular perception that they have this nice car and their house is paid off and they travel the country. And that’s true for some,” said Thomas Jankowski, one of the study’s authors and associate director for research at Wayne State University’s Institute of Gerontology. “But others – many, many others – just skate on the edge of economic security.”

www.freep.com/article/20110720/NEWS06/110720009/Poverty-study-1-3-Michigan-senior-citizens-struggles-money-

"Injustices in the food sytem are abundant" - Niki Britton, Berrien County Health Dept

The goal of the Benton Harbor Farmers Market is to make fresh food available to all residents, particularly low-income people who might not have access to healthier choices.

"Injustices in the food systems are abundant, and this means that not everyone has the same access to affordable, healthy foods they need to live their best life," Nikki Britton, the Berrien County Health Department's epidemiologist, said in a press release.

Britton refers to neighborhoods without full-service grocery stores as "food deserts," where it is easier to get a bag of corn chips than an ear of corn.

This consumption of junk food can lead to diabetes and other illnesses.

Another entity trying to link small farmers to customers looking for healthy foods is the Conservation Fund. The organization recently announced that it had received a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help black and Hispanic farmers increase their production. The produce can in turn be sold at farmers markets.

"They are really the unsung heroes of local communities," said Peg Kohring of Sawyer, the Conservation Fund's Midwest coordinator and a member of the Berrien County Board of Health.

The grant will benefit farmers and markets in 11 southwest Michigan counties, including Berrien, Van Buren and Cass.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/20/local_news/5713273.txt

School Suspensions are Up Across the Board but are Significantly Higher for Minority Students

Researchers in Texas have released the most comprehensive analysis of school suspension and expulsion policies ever conducted. It's considered groundbreaking because of its scope and detailed examination of disciplinary policies that when misused often put students at greater risk of dropping out or being incarcerated.

The study, titled Breaking Schools' Rules, is extraordinary in that it looked at individual school records and tracked all seventh-graders in Texas — 1 million of them — for six years. One finding surprised even veteran educators: 60 percent of those students were suspended or expelled at least once between their seventh- and 12th-grade years.

Mike Thompson with the Council of State Governments Justice Center, which commissioned the study, said the frequency with which kids in Texas are suspended and expelled reflects a 20-year trend that has seen the rate double nationally.

"For example, in California in 2010 alone, nearly 13 percent of students were put in out-of-school suspension or expelled," he said. "In Florida, that was 9 percent."

Texas, though, is the only state that has been able to use this data to track kids and see what happens to them after they're suspended or expelled.

A Higher Rate Of Removal For Some Groups

Of the 1 million students in Texas who were tracked, 15 percent were disciplined repeatedly — 11 times or more. Half of them ended up in juvenile-justice facilities or programs for an average of 73 schooldays. These students were likely to repeat a grade and not graduate from high school.

Just as worrisome, Thompson said, is who is being suspended and expelled.

"African-American students and those with particular educational disabilities experience a disproportionately high rate of removal from the classroom for disciplinary reasons," he said.

One glaring example: 70 percent of black girls were suspended or expelled, compared with 37 percent of white girls, usually for the same offenses...

www.npr.org/2011/07/19/138495061/report-details-texas-school-disciplinary-policies

Do early-childhood programs enable poor parenting?

An oft-repeated perception among conservatives and libertarians is that early-childhood programs such as Head Start are counter-productive because they enable slacker parents.

The subject came up last week in an interview with House Speaker Jase Bolger when I asked him about state funding for early-childhood education.

Bolger acknowledged the research that shows the value of early intervention services, but also he sees it as an area where government programs enable the lack of personal responsibility. A quick excerpt from the story:

”It’s a very difficult balance,” he said. “Kids go hungry, so schools start feeding them. Kids get in trouble after school, so there’s after-school problems. Parents don’t read to kids at home, so we give reading help at school. Parents don’t get kids ready for kindergarten, so we need preschool.

We turn to schools to do the things that parents aren’t doing” and it builds an expectation in parents that it’s really the schools’ responsibility, Bolger said. “It’s an unintended consequence of government doing too much.”

So is there evidence that the good from early-childhood programs is offset by parents easing up on their own responsibilities?

www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/07/school_zone_blog_do_early-chil.html

Monday: Homeless Advocates to Discuss Tax Proposal in Downtown Kalamazoo

As they try to build momentum for a Kalamazoo County ballot proposal, homeless advocates are holding a public meeting Monday to unveil survey results that show whether there is public support for their plan.

The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Van Duesen Room at the Kalamazoo Public Library on Rose and South streets.

Last month, Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission Chairman David Anderson asked for the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners to put a 0.33 mill tax request on the Nov. 8 ballot. Anderson is a Kalamazoo city commissioner.

www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/07/homeless_advocates_to_discuss.html

Economist Magazine: Food Stamps are the "Most Effective" form of economic stimulus "increasing economic activity by $1.73 for every dollar spent"

WHEN the dismal news came on July 8th that the unemployment rate had risen fractionally to 9.2%, both Republicans and Democrats declared the data proof of the folly of the other party’s policies. How, Republicans asked, could Democrats even consider raising taxes when the economy is so weak? How, Democrats retorted, could Republicans advocate big cuts in the safety net when so many Americans are in desperate need? As the haggling over raising the legal limit on the federal government’s debt reaches a climax, the feeble state of the economy is making the budgetary trade-offs involved ever less appealing...

Take food stamps, a programme designed to ensure that poor Americans have enough to eat, which is seen by many Republicans as unsustainable and by many Democrats as untouchable. Participation has soared since the recession began (see chart). By April it had reached almost 45m, or one in seven Americans. The cost, naturally, has soared too, from $35 billion in 2008 to $65 billion last year. And the Department of Agriculture, which administers the scheme, reckons only two-thirds of those who are eligible have signed up.Advocates for the poor consider (cuts to food stamps) unconscionable.

Food stamps, they argue, are far from lavish. Only those with incomes of 130% of the poverty level or less are eligible for them. The amount each person receives depends on their income, assets and family size, but the average benefit is $133 a month and the maximum, for an individual with no income at all, is $200. Those sums are due to fall soon, when a temporary boost expires. Even the current package is meagre. Melissa Nieves, a recipient in New York, says she compares costs at five different supermarkets, assiduously collects coupons, eats mainly cheap, starchy foods, and still runs out of money a week or ten days before the end of the month.

It is also hard to argue that food-stamp recipients are undeserving. About half of them are children, and another 8% are elderly. Only 14% of food-stamp households have incomes above the poverty line; 41% have incomes of half that level or less, and 18% have no income at all. The average participating family has only $101 in savings or valuables.

www.economist.com/node/18958475

Goodwill Summer Youth Program puts teens, young adults to work

For more than 80 Battle Creek area youth, the Goodwill Summer Youth Program has made the bleak summer job market a bit less intimidating.

The program, which receives its funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, targets youth from the ages of 16 to 24 and trains them for employment. After training began June 27, the first wave of 76 employees began working July 5 and will continue for eight weeks.

"We're right on schedule of where we wanted to be," said Jerry Mainstone, VP of Workforce Development at Goodwill. "Actually, we're probably 10 to 15 youth being placed ahead of where we wanted to be."

Mainstone's goal was to employ 80 youth this summer and the program has almost already surpassed that number.

"Our goal was to get 80 youth employed, and if that required 80 worksites, then that's what we would have done," Mainstone said. "But we were able to find some worksites that took multiple kids because they had multiple departments to put them in."

www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110715/NEWS01/107150309/Goodwill-Summer-Youth-Program-puts-teens-young-adults-work

Lori Mercedes has survived a civil war and breast cancer and is now program director at the Hispanic American Council in Kalamazoo

After surviving a civil war in her homeland and a recent bout with breast cancer, Lori Mercedes’ philosophy is to “have a plan for tomorrow, but get it done today.”

She left her home in Nicaragua in 1987, while that nation was in an official state of emergency because of political power struggles, to move to the United States.

“When you talk about the land of the free, it means a totally different thing to me,” she said. “I am able to say what I want without fear of persecution or the repercussions it would have on my family.”

Mercedes, 40, settled in Kalamazoo 10 years ago when she said she “fell in love with the city” while visiting family. And what started as a volunteer job to fill empty days became a passionate career for Mercedes, who is program director at the Hispanic American Council, Kalamazoo’s largest Latino advocacy group.

www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/07/lori_mercedes_has_survived_a_c.html

All of Michigan's problems are now solved because fewer poor people will be on welfare

Commentary from MLive:

The Senate on Wednesday struck a blow for democracy and Michiganders everywhere when it
voted to cap welfare benefits at four years.

That move will save Michigan's General Fund $64 million and it will also kick 12,600 people off welfare rolls starting in October. They were living large with an average check of $511 per month. That's equivalent to a nice car payment for many middle class folk (read: people who work in Lansing), unless you're spreading out payments over 80 years to drive a ride you can't really afford.

What will this mean for you? Not much, but judging from MLive comments, people seem to think it will be a big deal.

Does it mean you'll get better schools for your kids and better customer service from the Secretary of State? Umm ... I wouldn't hold my breath...

www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/07/all_of_michigans_problems_are.html

Harbor Habitat for Humanity Takes on Its First Renovation of an Existing Home in Benton Harbor

When Alica Isom applied for a house with Harbor Habitat for Humanity in May, the organization asked her to take a look at a place no one wanted: a dilapidated, boarded-up house covered with graffiti on Agard Avenue in Benton Harbor.

Isom decided to take the plunge, and construction on the building was kicked off Tuesday. The house will be the first that Harbor Habitat will renovate rather than build from scratch.

Standing near the gutted structure on Tuesday, Isom said she has faith that Harbor Habitat will bring the house up to snuff. She said she hopes she and her two daughters will be able to move in before Thanksgiving.

“It will be a real big push” to finish the house by then, said Nick Pampalone, the site supervisor for Harbor Habitat.

But if Harbor Habitat can do it on time and under budget, it could mean a new direction for the organization. Pampalone said that in two years the organization may be doing renovations exclusively. On the other hand, the Agard Avenue home may turn out to have been the organization’s first and last renovation.

Ideally, rehabilitating a house rather than building it from scratch should reduce costs by about 30 to 40 percent, Pampalone said. But problems could crop up that force Harbor Habitat over budget or past its construction time line.

Because it’s the organization’s first attempt, it’s difficult to know, Pampalone said.

“This is our big experiment,” Pampalone said.

But it’s an experiment that Pampalone thinks will yield results and likely lead to more renovations, he said.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/13/local_news/5626897.txt

West Michigan Cities Find Ways to Help Restore Homeownership

When a “For Rent” sign went up across the street from the Bluebird Avenue SW home they’ve lived in for 40 years, Tim and Merva Keena were curious.

When the neglected and vacant two-bedroom home went into foreclosure, they were concerned.

“I thought it ain’t looking too good in the neighborhood,” Merva Keena said. “The brown siding was old and (the house) was worn. Not too good for our property values.”

The Keenas’ fears are not unique or unwarranted. Many vacant homes suffer from neglect, with overgrown lawns, unplowed sidewalks, plywood where windows used to be or other signs of disrepair.

And their number has been growing. Census data documents the effect of the deep recession combined with soaring foreclosures and plunging property values on a vacancy rate that grew across the state by more than 37 percent over the last 10 years.

www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/07/west_michigan_cities_find_ways.html

Why Black Women, Infants Lag in Birth Outcomes

From Michigan Public Radio:

The overwhelming majority of babies in the U.S. are born healthy, and their growth brings joy and comfort to their parents.

But across the country, there is a whopping disparity in birth outcomes based on race. Black women fare worse than white women in almost every aspect of reproductive health.

"Any state you look at, you see the same disparities, and race is the strongest predictor of disparities," says Dr. Deborah Ehrenthal, of Christiana Care Health System in Delaware. "So we see higher rates of infant mortality, higher rates of preterm delivery." Black women are about 60 percent more likely than white women to deliver babies early, and black infants are about 230 percent more likely than white infants to die before their first birthdays.

In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Christiana Hospital, a corridor is filled with the hum of incubators, which serve as a lifeline for fragile newborns.

Along with the large staff — including more than 100 nurses — you can't help but notice the parents in the NICU, hovering over incubators, rocking quietly in chairs.

Tiera Carter was visiting the NICU for the first time since giving birth to her 1-day-old son. His name is David, and he weighs less than 2 pounds.

"His chances are pretty good of him gaining weight and getting better, right?" she asks Dr. David Paul, a neonatologist.

"It's going to take him a while," he says. "It's going to be two to three weeks until we see him gain weight."

Fragile lives. Fingers crossed.

www.michiganradio.org/post/why-black-women-infants-lag-birth-outcomes

West Michigan Foster Mother Fosters 500 Children in 50 Years Service

On Friday a West Michigan woman was honored for her efforts to give as many children as possible a home.

It's an incredible story of commitment and dedication to helping kids. Elaine Vanleeuwen has been there as a foster parent for 500 kids over the last 50 years.

Many of those kids were on hand for a reception at Children and Family Services in Kalamazoo to recognize all she's done.

Elaine and her husband took on their first foster child in 1961 and they continued taking in foster children over the next 50 years.

Elaine's husband, Alan Vanleeuwen, who shared her commitment to kids, passed away eight years ago, but Elaine continued foster parenting. Even now at 79 she fosters three teenage siblings.

Mattawan Community Food Pantry Continues to Grow

Five-and-a-half-tons.

11,000 pounds.

That's the amount of food in one month that the Mattawan Area Pantry, a group of Mattawan area churches, businesses and organizations, in an ecumenical effort, currently averages as it offers assistance to Mattawan Consolidated School District residents.

Food pantry volunteers have previously stated that hunger is a growing problem in Van Buren County, as nearly 11,000 families each month have trouble putting food on the table.
For several years, a food pantry had been operated by the Mattawan Congregational Church (now Mattawan Community Church.)

As the church operated the food pantry, church members began to see residents' needs increase for food and other items.

About 18 months ago, Access First Credit Union, in Mattawan, began initial talks about starting a community food pantry.

Those talks strengthened through an Access First Credit Union employee at the time, who knew Laura Osborne, Mattawan Community Church's associate pastor. In the fall of 2010, the Mattawan Area Pantry Board was formed to help oversee the food pantry.

Board membership is made up of volunteers from MPI Research, Access First Credit Union, the Mattawan Kiwanis Club, St. John Bosco Church, Mattawan, and Mattawan Community Church.
The board is completing paperwork that will designate it as a non-profit group, separate from the church. It has also filed for 501(c) 3 non-profit status.

Mike Hartwigsen, of Access First Credit Union, business development, Mattawan, said the Mattawan Area Pantry has developed into something "far beyond anything we could have ever started.

"It's taken on a life of its own."

www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20463665&BRD=2188&PAG=461&dept_id=414962&rfi=6

Kalamazoo County Commissioners Continue Discussion on Possible November Ballot for Housing for Homeless

Kalamazoo County commissioners need to vet a proposed tax to support housing for the homeless before deciding whether to put it on the November ballot, board Chairwoman Deb Buchholtz said Tuesday.

"It's going to be more important to do this right than to do it quickly," Buchholtz said during Tuesday's Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Last month, Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission Chairman David Anderson asked the board to put a 0.33-mill tax request on the Nov. 8 ballot to fund more housing for the homeless. The Local Housing Assistance Fund gives subsidized housing vouchers, purchases permanent housing for the homeless and gives money when people face housing emergencies.

The board has until Aug. 30 — or three more regularly scheduled board meetings — to decide whether to put the issue before county voters.

www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/07/tax_for_homeless_may_get_more.html

Speaker's Bureau for the (Former) Homeless

The typical speakers bureau can get a celebrity, a politician or a media pundit to address your group for a few thousand, or maybe tens of thousands of dollars. But one speakers bureau made up of men and women who have been homeless will provide someone for only $40.

And the speech could be just as compelling as one given by high-priced talent.

John Harrison is one of those speakers. With his ruddy good looks, salt-and-pepper hair, khakis and white button-down shirt, he looks like someone who might spend a lot of time relaxing on a sailboat. Instead, he's still struggling to get back on his feet after years of homelessness.

He's addressing a Jewish youth group, part of a program organized by the PANIM Institute in Washington, D.C. The teens came into the room laughing and joking, but are soon mesmerized.

Harrison's message is clear: Almost anyone can become homeless, and people should be nice to those who are homeless.

"Seemed like all of a sudden, people walked by me like I wasn't even there," Harrison tells the group.

"I remember going into a restaurant to get what I called a 'two for one.' And the 'two for one' for the person experiencing homelessness is the warmth and the food for the price of the food. And so, I was optimistic. They took my order. But when they brought me my food, it was to go. Because that was the message. Go," he says.

www.npr.org/2011/07/04/137534446/ex-homeless-speak-out-to-change-perceptions

Kalamazoo TV 3 Reports on Issues of Families and Homelessness

Kalamazoo based TV channel 3 is taking a hard look at the issues of families and homelessness.

In Kalamazoo County there are a number of families dealing with incredible stress as they try to keep a roof over their heads.

On Friday we spoke to several families who say they are running out of options. Some who stay in hotels and can't afford the rent, while others have too many people to safely stay in one room, all face challenges that continue to mount.

“It's four kids and two adults,” said Angela Fluellyn.

Fluellyn says the one bedroom motel room is the best she can do right now, she says her weekly rent is going up to $200.

“Nobody has too much income besides cash assistance, apply for jobs, no guarantee that anybody gets employment,” said Fluellyn.

Fluellyn says she's been busy filling out applications, but currently the family relies on government assistance for rent and the food bank for food.

www.wwmt.com/articles/kalamazoo-1392893-looking-anyway.html