Education Awareness Day is Saturday in Kalamazoo: Event tailored partly to Hispanic families

This Saturday, an educational awareness day will provide students in grades 6 to 12, their families and other young adults with resources from food assistance to help with federal financial aid to information on scholarships. Specifically, Hispanic families and their children are being targeted to take advantage of the opportunities provided by higher education. The free event will run from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Hispanic American Council, 930 Lake St. in Kalamazoo.

Challenges faced by Hispanic students include "lack of awareness of assistance programs and having to work extra hours to keep resources flowing into the family, which can detract from spending time with children on their school work and planning for college."

“We want to be able to get the resources to the community in an environment that is safe territory for kids and their parents and where language barriers can be dealt with,” Lori Mercedes, interim director of the Hispanic American Council said of the event. “We’re always talking about making The Kalamazoo Promise a reality, but there are so many barriers to overcome. Our goal is to get these kids to the university.”

To learn more about the Hispanic American Council, visit http://www.hispanicamericancouncil.org/.

The full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/10/education_awareness_day_is_sat.html

Indiana Ends Food Aid For Developmentally Disabled Adults

Indiana has quietly ended a state grocery benefit paid to hundreds of developmentally disabled people who advocates say have no money of their own to buy food.

The state Family and Social Services Administration withdrew the grocery benefit just weeks after it announced it would no longer reduce the benefit for those who receive food stamps, which a lawsuit claimed was a violation of federal law that prohibits food stamps from being counted against other benefits.

The lawsuit was filed in July by the American Civil Liberties Union and Indianapolis attorney Steven Dick on behalf of Dick's 26-year-old autistic son. Dick said he believed the state ultimately decided to end the grocery benefit altogether because it could no longer factor in food stamps.

www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101022/News01/10220315/0/news

West Michigan Food Pantries See Drop in Demand

"The good news is that after being overwhelmed with requests, area food pantries are reporting a leveling off in demand.

Pantry providers point to a record 1.88 million people now receiving state food assistance as a major factor.

"Last fall, we were at capacity and concerned about being able to respond to such increases," said Marsha DeHollander, program director of ACCESS of West Michigan, which oversees a network of 100 pantries in the area. "We are still serving a lot of people -- more than 20,000 are coming to food pantries a month."

But DeHollander said usage is down 13 percent from their exceptionally high levels. She said they are serving around 6,700 people per month now, compared to 7,700 per month in 2009."

www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/west_michigan_food_pantries_se.html

Niles Salvation Army Accepting Applications for Christmas Assistance Program

The Salvation Army Christmas Assistance Program of Niles is accepting applications during the following dates:

• This week, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Monday, Nov. 8 and Friday, Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Monday, Nov. 15 through Friday, Nov. 19 from 4 to 7 p.m

www.nilesstar.com/2010/10/20/niles-salvation-army-accepting-applications-for-assistance-program-2/

Webinars offer information about claiming tax credits for working families

The National Women’s Law Center is offering two free online trainings to give taxpayers the information and tools they need to claim tax credits for which they are eligible. Register today at http://action.nwlc.org/taxcreditstraining. Both webinars are free, but registration is required.

Part I – Tax Credits: What Working Families Need to Know

Thursday, Oct. 21 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (1 hour)

Get the facts about how federal and state tax credits can give working families a leg up, and get access to resources that will help you to get that information in the hands of families in your community.

Part II – Tax Credits Outreach: Tips and Tools for Service Providers and Advocates

Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (1 hour)

You can make a big difference for families by making sure families get the information they need. Learn about simple outreach activities that can make a major impact for working families. This webinar will help you get free outreach materials, connect with local coalitions, find free tax preparation services in your community, and learn some successful techniques for spreading the word about tax credits.

For more information and to register for the trainings, go to: http://action.nwlc.org/taxcreditstraining

Michigan cities fare poorly in index of 2010 best-performing cities

As if it weren't obvious enough, new research by the Milken Institute shows Michigan cities fairing poorly in 2010 compared to other US cities. On this year's list, the Detroit-Livonia -Dearborn metro area ranked dead last at No. 200 on the list, the Holland-Grand Haven metro area came in 199 and the Warren-Troy-Farmington metro area ranked No.198. The Lansing-East Lansing metro area had the highest ranking of Michigan metro areas on the list at No. 157. Ann Arbor was ranked No. 161, Kalamazoo-Portage was No. 170 and Flint was No. 184.

The Lansing-East lansing area benefits from a high amount of government jobs and a massive university to supply it's success. However, if you actually go into the city neighborhoods of Lansing outside of the MSU and the capital area, you will find high pockets of poverty much similar to other Michigan cities.

Most of the reason for the low ranking was heavy job losses in the manufacturing centers of Michigan. This emphasizes even further how important an education is to participating in the future our state.

In order to reduce poverty in our region, we need to fix address the economic issues that underline our state. We also need to prepare our citizens to take the steps necessary to get a education and provide themselves with better opportunities for employment.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/michigan-job-search/index.ssf/2010/10/michigan_cities_fare_poorly_in_index_of.html

Stats underscore infant health risk in B.C.

According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, the city of Battle Creek remains at a comparatively high risk for maternal and infant health.

Right Start in Michigan 2010-The Other Half compared 69 communities in Michigan with populations of at least 25,000 on eight indicators of maternal and infant health. It placed Battle Creek 10th among the 13 highest-risk communities.

The study looked at data from 1998 to 2008 and found that communities with high concentrations of low-income women were most likely to have children who had health problems and who were unprepared for school.The opportunity gap that begins in childhood often extends into adulthood, said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, director of Kids Count in Michigan, a project of the Michigan League for Human Services.

The opportunity gap that begins in childhood often extends into adulthood, said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, director of Kids Count in Michigan, a project of the Michigan League for Human Services.

Michigan could be hard-pressed to find highly educated workers in the coming generation if more interventions are not provided early on, she said.

"If we do not address these disparities at the very outset of life, we are not going to get where we want to be," she said. "And we are actually moving in the wrong direction."

Statewide, black mothers and their babies were at the highest risk, followed by Hispanics, though poverty was a better predictor of poor infant outcomes overall, according to the report. Minority babies were more than twice as likely to be born to a teen parent as white babies.

Read the full article: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20101012/NEWS01/10120311/Stats-underscore-infant-health-risk-in-B-C-

Food Pantry: Cash Man Rap

Something fun from the Cash Man as he raps about the positive impact that cash donations, versus donations of canned good, have for food pantries.

(I am not sure you could dance to this rap, but it may bring a smile to your face with a worthwhile message as well):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7QMqqq6m3E

Educated, Working, But Homeless

The following CNN Money video report highlights one woman in Connecticut who is in a homeless shelter with her children, even though she continues to work. The mother discusses her employment, her desire to improve her opportunities by studying nursing, and her children.

money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/08/03/n_working_homeless_shelter.cnnmoney/index.html

Fresh Start Program Attempts to Break the Cycle of Incarceration & Substance Abuse

"A Berrien County program aimed at curbing recidivism for female jail inmates is catching the national eye.

The Fresh Start Prevention Program, started in 2009 by Abundant Life Ministries in Benton Harbor and partly funded by the county, has shown successful gains in its first year and a half, officials said.

Marletta Seats, Berrien County commissioner for District 3 and the catalyst for Fresh Start, said about 263 women and 53 men have participated in the program, with 40 people graduating from the eight- to 10-week course.

The program's key goal is to help the inmates overcome drug addictions through counseling."

www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101010/News01/10100395/1052/News01