Michigan Schools Look at Cutting Music & Arts

"The arts are an initial way of communicating," said Woodson Reid, who headed (Detroit Public Schools) fine arts until last year. "Little children explain everything with their images and creations."

Such creations foster eye-hand coordination. "But our kids can be in the third or fourth grade," she said, "and still don't know how to hold scissors."

Antonia Caretto, a Farmington Hills clinical psychologist, said it all boils down to mental development.

"The more we can develop both sides of the brain," she said, "the better the long-term implications for creative problem-solving," which might be key to keeping this country competitive in a globalized world,"

according to an article in today's Detroit News, school districts in Michigan may be considering cutting programs in the arts and music due to financial difficulties in school funding from the state.

The full article can be found at:

www.detnews.com/article/20100222/SCHOOLS/2220332/Arts-lose-out-in-Metro-school-cuts#ixzz0gGKjWgRk

Onus of eviction falls heavier on poor black women, research shows

From the New York Times:

In an article in the New York Times, research conducted in Milwaukee demonstrates how the onus eviction falls heavier on black women than others. An excerpt from the article:

“Just as incarceration has become typical in the lives of poor black men, eviction has become typical in the lives of poor black women,” said Matthew Desmond, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin whose research on trends in Milwaukee since 2002 provides a rare portrait of gender patterns in inner-city rentals.

The study found that one of every 25 renter-occupied households in the city is evicted each year. In black neighborhoods, the rate is one in 14. These figures include only court-ordered evictions; the true toll, experts say, is greater because far more tenants, under threat of eviction, move in with relatives, into more run-down apartments or, sometimes, into homeless shelters.

Women from largely black neighborhoods in Milwaukee constitute 13 percent of the city’s population, but 40 percent of those evicted. Housing lawyers in Los Angeles and New York described a similar predominance of minority women, including Hispanic women, in eviction cases. (The figures do not include displaced renters from foreclosed properties.)

Even for working mothers, evictions and the ensuing damage to social ties, schooling and credit ratings can be an ever-hovering threat. Clarissa Adams, 38, a mother of three in Milwaukee, has been evicted four times in 10 years and is now trying desperately to break the pattern.

Since July she has shared a $570-a-month two-bedroom apartment with her daughters, ages 15, 18 and 23, and two small grandchildren. She is studying for a degree in social services and lost her job as a cashier in the fall after a dispute with her boss.

Unable to pay the last three months rent, Ms. Adams received some emergency assistance through Community Advocates, a private group. To stave off eviction, she promised to pay the landlord $1,000 by Feb. 15, just as her tax refund arrived. She owes an additional $955 by March 1 and hopes to scrape the money together while she looks for a job.

Previous evictions sent her into a deep depression, she said, and had temporarily split up the family, with her children staying a relative who did not want her.

“We just need someplace where we can be a family,” Ms. Adams said.

Eviction has devastating affects on both families and the communities who suffer them. To lose one's home is to lose the ultimate source of stability in life, making it extremely difficult maintain steady work. It creates a downward spiral which often can lead to depression and long-term government dependence.

Read the full article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19evict.html?pagewanted=1&hpw

Food stamps, child services fuel Michigan budget plan

From the Associated Press:

LANSING — Gov. Jennifer Granholm's latest budget proposal would hire hundreds of caseworkers to deal with rising demand for food stamps and to boost child welfare services in Michigan.

It won't be easy to find the extra money needed to hire the workers given the state's budget problems. The state must hire more child welfare workers as the result of a federal lawsuit.

Lawmakers on Thursday began hearings on the proposed Department of Human Services budget. Granholm's proposal would increase DHS spending by more than $100 million from the state's general fund for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The department's overall proposed budget of $7 billion is paid for mostly with federal money that covers a portion of welfare payments to children and families and other costs.

Understaffed Department of Human Service offices our a common theme across the state of Michigan. The situation has become so desperate in some areas, that leaders are searching for ways to prevent violence from occurring on behalf of frustrated workers at these offices. Hiring additional staff would be a beneficial way to support our needy population and delivery services more efficiently. The quicker we can send services to these people, the quicker they can stabilize their lives and actually depend less on others to support them.

See the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/food_stamps_child_services_fue.html

Allegan County receives high marks in Michigan Health-ranking report

Allegan County receives high marks in Michigan Health-ranking report

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

A new study suggests that Allegan County is the healthiest county in Southwest Michigan and that Kalamazoo County may be headed toward a healthier future.

St. Joseph, Cass and Van Buren counties, however, rank in the bottom half of Michigan’s 82 counties in a new County Health Rankings report from the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Allegan County ranked 14th on health outcomes and 15th on health factors. Kalamazoo County ranked 37th on outcomes but considerably higher on health factors, at 13th.


Allegan may have fared well in the rankings due to its easy access to parks, walking trails and outdoor activities that help keep people healthy. It also has “farm-to-table” food programs to make people aware of healthy food options.

However, the county has lost a lot of money for teen-pregnancy prevention and hasn't been able to do as much outreach as it it would like. It also has a shortage of physicians.

For a community with an urban core, Kalamazoo seemed to fair well compared to other cities in Michigan.

“I was pleased to find us in the top 20 in three of four categories of health factors,” she said. Those three categories were behaviors (smoking, diet and exercise, alcohol use and unsafe sex), clinical care (access to health care and quality of care) and social and economic factors (education, employment, income, family and social support, community safety).

Kalamazoo County ranked 63rd, however, in the category of physical environment, which includes factors such as air quality, access to healthy foods and density of liquor stores.

Buzas said one thing Kalamazoo County should do is look at ways it can improve access to fresh, healthy foods for the whole population.

She cited Louisville, Ky., as an example of what a community can do to boost access to healthy foods. Louisville made sure there were corner stores in downtown neighborhoods “without all the junk food and with lots of fresh food and produce,” she said.

Buzas also emphasized that the responsibility for improving a community’s health goes far beyond local health officials.

“It’s not just the health department. It’s all of us,” she said. “A lot of things play into the health of people. A whole lot of things create a healthy population or a not-so-healthy population.”

Social and economic factors play a big role in a community’s health, and the economic downturn has brought extra challenges, Buzas said. “Some people are worried about just having a roof over their heads and what their next meal will be on the table,” she said.

But Kalamazoo County is working to address those challenges, she said. “You’re seeing people dealing with issues of social equity — housing and poverty and transportation and access to healthy foods — and how those affect your health,” she said.

On a personal level, “the biggest thing we can do to improve overall health is what we eat and being active,” Buzas said. She cited the local Girls on the Run as a successful effort to encourage girls to be physically active.

Read the full article:

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

720,000 Michigan Residents Benefit from Earned Income Tax Credit

"Michiganians struggling to just get by in this dismal economy are getting a helping hand from an unlikely source: the tax man.

Federal and state tax agencies have anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars to give low-income workers and their families through the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Last year, more than 720,000 Michigan residents collected $1.5 billion from the federal credit, at an average of $2,047 apiece."

The full article is in Tuesday's Detroit News:

detnews.com/article/20100216/BIZ/2160368/Earned-income-credit-boosts-Michigan-s-low-income-workers

New Big Brothers Big Sisters program aim to help middle-school girls

New Big Brothers Big Sisters program aim to help middle-school girls

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kalamazoo is hosting a new program called Girls 2 Women, a program aimed at guiding middle-school girls in areas of education and career development.

The program will kick off at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Kazoo Books, 2413 Parkview Ave., in Kalamazoo with speaker Patti Criswell, American Girl author.

Criswell will speak about her career as a writer. Each girl will receive a copy of her book, which Criswell will be signing.

This event is the first of six “Girls Night Out” activities featuring a female career role model.

“I think this program helps girls look at their options, and see that there are opportunities out there to help make their dreams come true,” said Janene Weis, director of marketing and public relations with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Michigan.

Over a span of nine to 12 months, the girls will tour Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Van Buren Technology Center.

The girls also can participate in an overnight lock-in at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo and design a community service project.

At the end of the program, the girls will create a newsletter detailing their experiences.

“A lot of our girls come from lower-income families or at-risk situations. I just want them to see that there are options available to them to get an education — to get that dream job,” Weis said.

Girls and mentors interested in participating can contact Devan Bell at devanbell@bbbsmi.org or (269) 382-6800 ext. 138.

Read the full article:

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

Feeding America West Michigan Seeks Change in Food Distribution for the Needy

John Arnold, the Executive Director of Feeding America West Michigan "is on a mission to improve the charity-food system. He says one way to do that is by tackling an old myth: that people in need should be given what he calls "bomb shelter food." Arnold says, "Products like powdered milk and dry beans and dried noodles sound and look nutritious but you never see in people's shopping cart."

He says nobody eats that stuff, but somehow food agencies think that's what they supposed to give people in need. Arnold says we need to get people good, nutritious food in a way that makes it fun."

Today's Michigan Radio has a story about what Feeding America is doing to change the distribution of food for the needy:

www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1611599/Michigan.News/Making.The.System.Better..and..More.Fun

Andrews University Celebrates Black History Month

Andrews University in Berrien Springs has a series of lectures, performances and other events celebrating Black History month. Berrien Springs is proud to be the second home of The Greatest, Muhammed Ali. Mr. Ali once said:

"Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong."

For the full listing of activities, see the Benton Spirit at:

www.bentonspiritnews.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=204&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=2975&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1935&hn=bentonspiritnews&he=.com

Kellogg Foundation helps fight child obesity

Kellogg Foundation helps fight child obesity

From the Battle Creek Enquirer:

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is supporting a new effort led by First Lady Michelle Obama to combat childhood obesity.

Her campaign launched Tuesday when President Barack Obama signed a memorandum creating a task force on childhood obesity.

"Our current generation is actually on track to have a shorter lifespan than their parents," Michelle Obama said at a Tuesday press briefing at the White House.

Because one in three American children is overweight, or at risk of becoming overweight, "We have to act, so let's move," she said.

Sterling Speirn, president and chief executive officer of the Battle Creek-based philanthropic organization, said the Kellogg Foundation will commit its expert knowledge and financial resources to the First Lady's Let's Move challenge.

"Let's Move is a campaign that's going to rally our nation to achieve a single but very ambitious goal: to solve childhood obesity in a generation," Michelle Obama said.

To keep the initiative running even after the Obamas leave the White House, the First Lady said a new, independent, nonpartisan organization will be created to meet four goals set by the coalition:

• Offering parents the tools and information they need,

• Getting healthier food in schools,

• Ensuring all families have access to healthy and affordable food,

• Increasing opportunities for kids to be physically active both in and out of school.

Read the full article:

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100210/NEWS01/2100322/1002/Kellogg-

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that affects Americans across the spectrum of race, class and income. However, it can disproportionately affect those who live in poverty. Born into a culture that already doesn't value health as highly as it should, low-income families are further disadvantaged because they lack access to healthy foods and health care.

According to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, income is a higher predictor of health than genetics. In a study called "The Poor Pay More," researchers write about the widespread impact of the well-being of the poor on our society as a whole:

There are many reasons to be concerned about the well-being of the poor. Poverty limits the ability of individuals to fully participate in society; they miss out on the benefits of such participation as does society as a whole. Poverty’s effects spread within families and across generations and require social expenditures that take resources from other areas.

We also now see that the effects of poverty go beyond social and economic concerns and are felt on the body as well. The notion that the “poor pay more” extends to their bodies as well. In an endless cycle, we have an endgame in which poverty begets poor health and poor health can lead to poverty.

---

It is not enough to simply acknowledge that poverty robs some of us of good health and weakens us as a country. Much is known about the potential for national policies, and related policies at the state and local level, to break the links between poverty and poor health. Applying such knowledge is a critical step in improving the health of our nation.

Read the full study here:

http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/thepoorpaymore2009.pdf

Kalamazoo's north side will have a new grocery store in 2010

According to the director of the Northside Association for Community Development, Kalamazoo's north side will have a new grocery store in 2010.


From the City of Kalamazoo:

Director Mattie Jordan-Woods said local officials have received at least six responses to a recent request-for-proposals for a new store to replace a Felpausch grocery that closed in May.

Jordan-Woods declined comment on when a search committee could announce its selection for a new tenant for the vacant store at 512 N. Park St.

"Without a doubt, there will be a grocery store there in 2010," she said. "But we know we have to take our time and do it right. This could be our last chance to get a store in there."

The north side currently has no store that offers fresh fruits, vegetables and other produce to residents in the area. They have to drive either to Portage, Oshtemo or the east side in order to purchase groceries in quantity.

After the previous store, Feldpausch, closed last year, the only options left were quick-shop stores - which often package overpriced, salty and fatty alternatives. Acquiring a grocery store in the region will help residents live healthier lives, while allowing them to spend less on food and transportation.

Read the full article:

http://www.ci.kalamazoo.mi.us/portal/business.php?news_id=157