Lutherans Discuss Issue of Poverty From a Religious and Moral Perspective

Many of us who are concerned about poverty come at the issue from a deeply religious or moral perspective.

All of the major religions of the world have some aspect that speaks to the issues of compassion for the less fortunate.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in its current issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics devotes the entire issue to poverty.

Here is one example:

"One billion human beings are hungry today. One billion people do not have enough to eat. The number alone is staggering. But what makes it scandalous is the fact that God’s abundant creation — the fertile earth and seas — can produce adequate nutrition for all. Scarcity is not the problem."

The full series of articles on poverty can be found at:

www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Journal-of-Lutheran-Ethics.aspx

Michigan campaign aims to dispel "myths" about assistance programs

With politics polarized on many important issues in our country, it comes as no surprise that welfare and consequently welfare reform have been under rhetorical crossfire for quite some time. There are some who believe that welfare makes our citizens dependent on government aid and a tax burden on the rest of the population. To combat this ideology, The Michigan Department of Human Services is conducting a series to demonstrate that welfare is both effective and necessary to maintain stability in Michigan:

For those who are skeptical of government assistance programs, the state of Michigan wants you to know something: Welfare works.

And in times like these, social safety net programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, child care and unemployment benefits aren’t just effective, they’re in huge demand, the state says.

“There is an unprecedented need for these programs,” said Ismael Ahmed, director of the state Department of Human Services. “These days, people seeking assistance could be your neighbor, a friend or a family member. A lot of people don’t realize how close they are to needing help.”

To dispel some of the misinformation about assistance programs — for example, that they are a waste of taxpayer dollars and that those who receive benefits abuse the system or live mainly in urban areas — the state has launched an educational campaign entitled “Welfare 101: Busting myths about welfare.”

“Those myths have caused a stigma that may prevent some people who truly need help, especially families with young children and the elderly, to come forward,” Ahmed said. “We want to put an end to that because the safety net helps families get back on their feet.”

Among the arguments cited includes evidence on making sure welfare fraud does not go unnoticed:

• According to DHS Director Ishmael Ahmed, every $1 that the state investigates towards fraud brings a return of $5 to the program.
  
• The Government Accountability Office estimates that for every $1 in food stamps, a mere 1 cent was obtained fraudulently.
  
• In addition to helping to meet a need, every $5 in food assistance generates $9.20 in local economic activity, the state says.

Read the full article here: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/welfare_needs_rising_sharply.html

Funding for At-Risk Pre-Schoolers Faces Uncertain Future in Lansing

"The state House has restored funding for a program that assists thousands of at-risk preschoolers in Michigan, but a final showdown awaits in the Senate.

On Thursday, the Democratic-led House approved $1 million in funding for the Child Care Expulsion Project. This would preserve an 11-year-old program that offers counseling to families of children at risk of being expelled from child care because of behavioral problems...

..."This is an important program for Michigan," said Jack Kresnak, president and CEO of Michigan's Children, a children's advocacy group. "This is the state's only mental health program that deals with very young children's emotional and mental health issues. It not only helps children, but it helps day care providers how to deal better with children who are not socialized and have trouble adjusting to day care."According to Michigan Children, an estimated 7,000 children under age 5 are expelled from child care centers or preschools in Michigan every year. By contrast, fewer than 2,000 K-12 students are expelled in the state annually."

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100529/NEWS04/5290324/1005/NEWS04/Funding-in-limbo-for-program-that-helps-at-risk-preschoolers

SW Michigan Agency Seeks to Improve the Quality of Life for Those Suffering from Mental Illnesses

Cassopolis Family Clinic, (is) a community health center providing medical care to residents of Cass and southeast Berrien County, (earlier this week) during Woodlands Behavioral Healthcare Network's second annual Mental Health Breakfast to fight stigma and to share recovery stories, the agency awarded ... its community service award.

"Folks with a mental illness or developmental disability tend to have a mortality rate 20 years earlier than the general public," (Woodlands Executive Director Kathy) Boes said. "There are a multitude of factors which come into play, but that's pretty frightening. Often they have a lack of social support and medical insurance that could cover preventive health care. Sometimes they have been institutionalized and mistrust caregivers. The other component that impacts general health is medication. Over many years Cass Family Clinic has supported our consumers. They provide emergency care and preventive care. They're almost a support system for the individuals we serve."

"Mental illness, a developmental disability or substance abuse do not mean the end of a quality life, Woodland Behavioral Healthcare Network Executive Director Kathy Boes told a capacity crowd Tuesday morning at the second annual Mental Health Breakfast at Dowagiac Elks Lodge 889.

“You don’t need to give up on life,” she said at the 2 1/2-hour event. “Recovery is possible. You can get your own apartment and live independently and no longer spend time in a hospital.”

Bob Weber, Woodlands’ case management supervisor, explained the evolution of recovery. He first came to the agency in 1994 and has been back since 2001.

Recovery, a word long associated with treatment for substance abuse and condition disorders, “in a nutshell, it’s a philosophy of how to live your life the best you can, with all your limitations and strengths, so you can be productive and healthy and have relationships.”"

www.dowagiacnews.com/2010/05/24/stories-of-recovery-resilience-and-redemption/

Michigan Cuts Medicaid Dental Care: The Results? Nothing to Smile About

"Last summer the Michigan legislature removed adult dental benefits from Medicaid. That means more than 690 thousand people in Michigan are without dental insurance.

One group is experimenting with different ways to provide dental care to the people most in need.

When someone's smile lights up a room, it can be an indicator of their health and overall wellbeing. The Center for Disease Control says poor dental health contributes to a variety of illnesses, and in more severe cases even death.

That's what happened to Blanche LaVire.

She was a 76 year old woman who died last November in a group home near Alpena. She had infected abscesses in her mouth and needed of oral surgery. The trouble was she relied on Medicaid for her health care and months earlier, Michigan cut funding for all adult dental benefits in an effort to save money.

For many developmentally disabled people like LaVire, Medicaid was their only option for dental coverage."

www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1655074/Michigan.News/Medicaid.Cuts.Mean.Nothing.To.Smile.At

Food Assistance Programs Grow in Affluent Areas of SW Michigan

"The face of poverty is looking less urban as hard times linger in Michigan, state welfare officials say.

St. Joseph and Stevensville (more affluent areas in northern Berrien County) are no exception.

Food assistance requests in the St. Joseph area code rose 49 percent between July 2008 and April 2010, the Michigan Department of Human Services reported. Just over 1,100 families got food assistance in St. Joseph in April.

Stevensville's food assistance roll rose by 28 percent in the same period and saw 700 cases in April.

The number of Medicaid recipients rose to 1,664 in St. Joseph, a 30 percent rise in the period. Stevensville had 907 cases in April, a 28 percent increase.

Poverty "is no longer a problem in just the urban areas," state DHS Director Ismael Ahmed said Monday."

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/05/25/local_news/1449500.txt

Social Security as Poverty Reduction Program

"Social Security has been instrumental in reducing the historically high levels of poverty among U.S. elders. The Census Bureau began measuring poverty in 1959. The share of elders counted as poor fell from 35 percent in that year to 15 percent in 1975, to about 10 percent in 2000, where it has hovered ever since."

"About 39 percent of young men and 31 percent of young women will die or become disabled before they reach retirement age, according to the Social Security actuaries. Social Security’s life and disability insurance helps prevent poverty among families that suffer these losses."

These are just two of the statistics reported in "Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity" at:

www.spotlightonpoverty.org/ExclusiveCommentary.aspx?id=8c9cf9cc-c5ba-4f1c-8681-a5fee0a364f9

Revenue Consensus Meeting: Highlights

An editorial comment:

I attended and sat through my first Revenue Consensus meeting on Friday. Three hours of economists talking about GDP, CPI, housing starts, and lots of numbers. Did I mention the economists' jokes? (HINT: They aren't funny unless you are an economist.)

After that, the Michigan School Business Officials School Finance committee held a meeting in the House Speaker's Library room. Another hour of folks interpreting what we just heard. Boy, was that fun. Not.

So, here's what I heard:

The State's General Fund for 2009-2010 fiscal year which ends September 30 is in trouble to the tune of about 1/4 billion more than what they thought just this past January. The School Aid Fund is in better shape than projected in January by a similar amount. The economists project that 2010-2011 will be somewhat better, "moderately better" was the phrase used.

Revenues for the State of Michigan are at their lowest levels since the 1960s. The reasons are varied but include that we have had numerous tax cuts and more and more of our economy is exempt from sales tax since few services are taxed. I played on my high school golf team for four years, but don't see the fairness in our taxing a child's back to school clothing, but not taxing golf rounds. In fact, if anything it ought to be the opposite.

And while as a school business official, I appreciate that school revenues look slightly better, I also realize that many of the services that our families receive including mental and medical health, social services, police protection, day care, transportation, etc., are at risk.

So, I think we all should be concerned. No child, no family should slip through the gaps of an already stretched social safety net. My opinion.

Please allow me to expand upon this blog's slogan by stating that we are:

One Michigan, One Community.

Kalamazoo Farmers Market extends reach to low-income shoppers with EBT, WIC programs

Access to fresh foods and healthy groceries has always been a barrier for those with few dollars to spend and limited transportation. The Kalamazoo Farmers Market has been promoting their produce to low-income shoppers who use EBT and WIC Program for the last three years. The results have multiplied each year as more shoppers have become aware of the opportunity:

Fresh, local produce doesn’t have to be a luxury.

Coupon and token systems are available for those on food stamps or those receiving Women, Infant and Children (WIC) assistance to buy produce at farmers markets, giving people a chance to eat the best produce available while supporting local farmers.

The Kalamazoo Farmers Market on Bank Street and the People’s Food Co-Op’s 100-Mile Market both have Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) machines so people can purchase produce from local vendors with Bridge Cards.

Elizabeth Forest, board chairwoman of Fair Food Matters and People’s Food Co-Op booth manager at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market, said this will be the third year an EBT machine has been at the Bank Street market. It has been put to good use.

“People tell me every week that I can’t possibly understand how this program, having the EBT available at the farmers market, what it means to their family,” Forest said. “They’re able to stretch their EBT benefits though the month and are able to buy fresh local food.”

Forest said that in its first year, $6,000 in transactions were made by EBT. In the second year, $18,000 in transactions were made.

I can testify myself that I have used EBT at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market a multitude of times and have always been satisfied. There is something about home grown local food that makes it taste better and more enjoyable.

Kalamazoo Farmers Market is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays only in May and November, from June through October, market will be open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; located at 1204 Bank St, Kalamazoo.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/05/kalamazoo_farmers_market_exten.html

Hunger Impacts 17 Million, One in Four Children In America

According to CBS News report entitled "Childhood Hunger In America", nearly 17 million children or about one in four kids in this country are in households which "do not know where their next meal is coming from."

www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6500626n&tag=api