Homelessness in the Shadows of Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington

While the folks in Congress and the White House argue about national budgets, deficits, and such, a writer for the Washington Post wrote the following piece:

It’s noon, and it’s over 100 degrees in Washington. The media and others have endlessly repeated their solid, survive-the-heat advice: Stay inside, preferably near air conditioning, and drink lots of water. Good advice, unless you can’t get or stay inside or consistently access fresh water — in other words, if you’re homeless.

You can’t visit or live in the nation’s capital without recognizing that homelessness is an enormous problem here. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there are more than 6,000 homeless men, women and children in the District (of Columbia) and well over 25,000 homeless people in the District, Maryland and Virginia combined. In 2009, a third of the District’s homeless could be categorized as experiencing “chronic homelessness,” meaning that for reasons including disability and mental illness, they had been homeless repeatedly or for long periods. Although only some of them were completely “unsheltered,” many shelters or transitional housing facilities don’t allow occupants to return during the day. Here in Washington, the homeless can often be found in parks, on sidewalks and in alleys during the day.

But let’s stand back from the panoramic view of homelessness in the capital, however troubling. This day is headed toward 105 degrees, and the heat index (a measure of how hot it feels) will surpass 115. Today and tomorrow and for as long as deadly heat pervades Washington and large parts of the country, homelessness isn’t a troubling phenomenon; it’s a life-and-death situation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-the-heat-hits-think-of-the-homeless/2011/07/26/gIQAT8B3hI_story.html

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