College Students Assisted by Food Banks

"At Michigan State University, there has been a 25% increase since 2008 in the number of students who visit its student-run food bank. Grand Valley State University opened a food pantry in April to help students as they struggle with higher tuition costs and families beset by layoffs and unemployment," per the Detroit Free Press.

For more information on how some colleges are helping students by opening food banks, see:

www.freep.com/article/20100206/NEWS06/2060324/1318/College-students-turning-to-schools-food-banks

Parents urged to help close literacy gap

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Area school administrators and religious leaders are sending out a call to the community to address the literacy gap among African-American students in Kalamazoo Public Schools.

“We have to opportunity to save someone’s life tonight. It’s that important,” Kimberly Parker-DeVauld, principal of Lincoln International Studies Elementary School, said during a forum Wednesday. “It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child. We’re here to shock you into action.”

There will be a reading and writing clinic on February 22nd, from 6pm - 7:30pm and continuing every Monday thereafter. It will be held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 120 Robertson St., Kalamazoo and support Parents with children from kindergarten through age 8. Call (269) 760-7743 to sign up.

Read the full article hear:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/parents_urged_to_help_close_li.html

Hunger on the rise in southern Michigan

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

A national report that says a growing number of Americans are in need of food also shows “hunger is increasing at an alarming rate” in an eight-county area that includes Kalamazoo County, according to the Food Bank of South Central Michigan.

The Food Bank, which serves more than 100,000 people a year in Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lenawee and St. Joseph counties through a network of food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and other organizations, on Tuesday released a report as part of a national Hunger in America 2010 study.

The report, produced every four years, is taken from 340 interviews with Food Bank of South Central Michigan clients and surveys of 233 of its feeding agencies.

From what many organizations have experienced out on the front lines, this is not something completely surprising. Times are dire and we need to continue to support the basic needs of our communities. Some interesting stats:

• 78 percent of all households served are food insecure, meaning its members don’t know where their next meal will come from.
• 44 percent of all households served have to choose between paying the utility bill/heat or getting food.
• 60 percent of all households have unpaid medical or hospital bills.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/agency_says_hunger_is_on_the_r.html

Students plan to protest loss of Michigan Promise scholarship at State of the State address

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

What's happening:

Nearly 5,000 college and high school students are expected to protest outside the Capitol the cutting of the Michigan Promise scholarship.

Ben Lazarus, a sophomore at Central Michigan University and founder of NoBrokenPromise.com, is spearheading the protest with the help of Common Sense in Government, a non-partisan group, and students from a number of major universities across the state.

“It’s hard to find leaders at the university level,” Lazarus said. “In Lansing, it’s tough to stand against both parties, but I felt it was my responsibility and I’ve been impressed with the response I’ve gotten from my fellow students.”

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“The message we’re pushing now is for students to call their legislators and tell them to boycott the State of the State address and listen to the real state of the state on the steps of the capitol building,” Lazarus said. “The stories of students and taxpayers, hardships because of their broken promises.”

They have created a Facebook page to rally support around the Michigan Promise. You can join it by clicking here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=115556985977

The Scholarship's impact on Michigan students:

Students at Grand Valley, such as sophomore Janelle Cranmer, know first-hand the difficulties caused by the lost scholarship money. GVSU students were billed $500.

“For some of us like myself, paying for next month’s rent and food is now in question,” Cranmer said.

Said GVSU senior Gregory Hatt, “I think because some students are suffering so much, that’s translating into a lot of motivation and drive to help rally other students and other people in the community that are upset.”

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/students_plan_to_protest_loss.html

Battle Creek Opens New Alano Club for Those in Recovery from Alcoholism or Addiction

"The (Battle Creek) Alano Club will hold a grand opening event from 1 to 4 p.m. (Sunday) at the Community Recovery Center, 1125 W. Territorial Rd. There will also be a Recovery Night featuring music, dancing, speakers, games and more beginning at 7 p.m."

Alano Clubs host 12-Step meetings and other activities for those involved in AA or NA or similar groups.

www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100129/NEWS01/301290014/1002/NEWS01/New-Alano-building-opens-tomorrow

Point-in-time survey to count homeless in Kalamazoo

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

The count, also held at several other locations frequented by the homeless, was a kind of mini-census during which participants filled out a survey that asked them how they lost their housing, whether they have a child or a disability and how long they’ve been homeless, among other demographic information.

On Wednesday night, law enforcement officers around the county were to do an observational count and area hospitals were to do a count of the homeless in their emergency rooms.

The effort is sponsored by Local Initiatives Support Corp., a nonprofit that coordinates the county’s affordable housing partnerships. Michelle Schneider, LISC assistant program officer, said the count is important because it provides assistance agencies with demographic and other information that enables them to better help the homeless population.

“We’ve got to keep in mind, though, that this is just a snapshot,” she said. “There almost certainly are more homeless people in the county than what the numbers will say.”

Preliminary numbers won’t be out until the end of February, she said. The count in January 2009 found 985 homeless people in Kalamazoo County.

A report released last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which requires a point-in-time count to be conducted every two years, showed the Kalamazoo County’s homeless population increased by 40 percent, to 862 people, from January 2007 to January 2008.

Schneider said Wednesday that she couldn’t speculate on whether the numbers collected by LISC will be higher than last January, but did say a rash of evictions and foreclosures in 2009 likely forced many people onto the streets.

The 2010 Census will provide a much more accurate count of the county’s homeless population, she said.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/survey_seeks_to_count_homeless.html

Suburban poverty on the rise

For many of us, the notion of poverty still conjures up images of those struggling in downtrodden inner city neighborhoods or rural families living in geographic isolation, unable to access adequate support services - But a new report from the Brookings Institution turns the image of white picket fence suburbia on its head.

From the Spotlight on Poverty website:

According to the 2008 Census Bureau data, 17.7 percent of metropolitan residents and 15.1 percent of rural Americans live in poverty.

But the Brookings research, authored by senior Brookings fellow and former Spotlight contributor Elizabeth Kneebone, shows that to fully address poverty in America, we need to broaden both our perceptions and public policy objectives beyond the more traditional focus on urban and rural poverty.

Lawmakers must understand the shifting local geography of poverty to effectively provide services and social programs. Officials and providers have to ensure that critical programs and job training services are accessible to struggling suburban families. Understanding the reality of suburban life for low-income families is an important step in reducing poverty and providing help to those that need it most.

See the article at:

http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/OutOfTheSpotlight.aspx?id=a27186ba-fa73-4769-bdc6-4c7817767482

Muslim group is 'positive presence' in East Side neighborhood

As a Big Brother Volunteer, I have been fortunate to build a relationship with a young boy who lives in the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood. He is a practicing Muslim who regularly participates in the community events at the Bilal Islamic Center. I can attest to the positive impact and mentoring they have already provided to him.

The Kalamazoo Gazette highlights the work of the Bilal Islamic center on the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood. For a community that has limited activities and organizations available, the Bilal Center is making positive contributions and building relationships in throughout the neighborhood.

Some excerpts from the article:

The real purpose for that mosque was to be a vehicle for community development,” said Zarinah El-Amin Naeem, 30, a Bilal member and Western Michigan University staff member in charge of an upcoming Kalamazoo exhibit on race. “The reason that it’s on the East Side is because we see that that is an area that needs a lot of development, and we’re hoping to use the mosque in a way that will lead to the upliftment of that area.”

In December, the mosque purchased its first rental property, which members plan to subdivide into housing for four families.

Patricia Taylor, executive director of the Eastside Neighborhood Association, said members of the Bilal Islamic Center introduced themselves to her soon after her arrival at the neighborhood association about four and a half years ago.

“I don’t really think of their religious affiliation as much as I do their focus and determination for a peaceful neighborhood in general,” Taylor said. “It doesn’t matter what one’s race or religious affiliation, their goal is to have a good neighborhood, a good viable neighborhood, and part of their impact, actually, is their willingness to come into an area that is totally depressed.”

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What they do

The Bilal Islamic Center hopes to improve Kalamazoo’s East Side by buying and refurbishing more housing to rent to stable families. It also aims to rid the area of drug sales and other crimes by participating in the Neighborhood Watch group.

“We tried to pick a target, a place where it was bad,” said Mateen, owner of the Little Fish Dock restaurant, at 1726 E. Main St., diagonally across the street from the mosque. “We feel that we can make a difference over here.”

Since 2006, mosque members also have been getting to know the community by inviting residents to their New Africa Nights on Wednesdays. The nights are part community potluck and part religious studies. One recent Wednesday night, about 10 men and women gathered at the Little Fish Dock to discuss needed roof work for the new rental housing, management of the new property and other concerns. They later broke for a dinner of chicken soup, spaghetti and white rice with curry and turmeric.

One visitor that night was the Rev. John W. McNaughton, a former pastor of Stockbridge Avenue United Methodist Church and current chaplain for the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Battle Creek.

“They’re very community-minded,” McNaughton said of the mosque members. “What’s good for the community they’re interested in.”

Read the full article here:

http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/muslim_group_is_positive_prese.html

Michigan: Falling Behind in Pre-School Funding

The Center for Michigan issued two articles this month on the benefits of pre-school funding. According to one of the articles:

"Rob Grunewald, associate economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, has produced noted early-childhood research. He said that longitudinal studies show that early childhood programs targeting at-risk and low-income children demonstrate a variety of long term benefits. They include better school performance, higher high school and college graduation rates, less crime and higher earnings that lead to more tax revenue for the state... And it's important to note that most of the benefits accrue to the general public, rather than the recipients of the services," he added."

The full article can be found at:

www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/special-report-mi-falling-behind-other-states-in-early-childhood-funding/

Thrift Store in Dowagiac Helps Women's Transitional Home

"Apostolic Lighthouse Church, M-62 West, (on) Jan. 13 opened Hope’s Door Thrift Store ... in downtown Dowagiac to fund a transitional home for women looking to rebuild shattered lives...

... Proceeds from the thrift shop are earmarked to fund a transitional home for community women attempting to put their derailed lives back on track, such as those who may be going through a bad divorce, exiting an abusive relationship, coming out of drug or alcohol rehabilitation or making the transition back into society from incarceration."

For the full story, see the Dowagiac Daily News:

www.dowagiacnews.com/2010/01/21/pennies-made-sense-but-so-does-retail-for-church-which-opens-transition-house/