Michigan Begins Notifying Families that Welfare Benefits are Running Out

Michigan has begun notifying some families receiving welfare benefits that their federal assistance is running out.

The move could affect nearly 14,000 families who had secured an extension on the 5-year federal limit to receive benefits, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Letters began going out Tuesday that include contact information for caseworkers who will try to help families find other assistance programs. They also encourage recipients to call United Way's referral service for help getting additional assistance, if needed.

"I'm concerned" about the families, said Michigan Department of Human Services Director Maura Corrigan, "but we're here to help them make that transition - to fulfill the intent of the law and to get them to self-sufficiency."

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110810/NEWS04/108100334/Michigan-lets-some-families-know-welfare-aid-running-out

St. Joseph Church-Kalamazoo to Host Kenyan Priest on 9/11 to Raise Awareness and Funds for Drought Stricken Horn of Arfica

Yes, I know that our 401k and 403b retirement plans are in the dumpers because of what is happening in the U.S. and global stock markets. Yes, the American government in Washington during the debt ceiling debate has just gone through a period of what can at best be considered ineffectual.

Still, thousands of miles away in the Horn of Africa there is a severe drought. So, I am including this article from the Kalamazoo Gazette as a reminder of the many who are less fortunate than we are who live in the U.S.

According to the article:

"An estimated 29,000 Somali children younger than 5 have died as a result of the drought, U.S. officials said last week, and the U.N. estimates more than 600,000 children are acutely malnourished."

The Gazette further states,

"When Maureen Metty visited Kenya this summer, it was easy for her to see that things were not looking good.

There was dry land where rivers and lakes once were, and locals told her it had been some time since rain had fallen in the African country's northwest.

“They told me at that point that they probably had about two hours of rain in a year and a half,” said the nun from Kalamazoo’s Sisters of St. Joseph.

For further details, see:

www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/08/kalamazoos_sisters_of_st_josep.html

Berrien County's Self-Help Legal Resource Center is doing brisk business

For years Debra Williamsen felt out of luck, powerless to collect the share of property she claimed was hers under a 1999 divorce settlement. Living on disability payments and unable to afford a lawyer, the Hagar Township woman heard from a friend that help was available for people who want to represent themselves in court.

Williamsen dropped in at the Self-Help Legal Resource Center in the Berrien County Courthouse and learned how to file for a new court judgment.

On a recent day Williamsen was back at the center with her longtime friend, Etta Little, filling out the paperwork to seek a lien on the property, which is being sold. Williamsen said she's confident she will get the $39,000 she was supposed to receive 12 years ago.

Without the center's help in providing forms and instructions, "I would just be out in the cold," she said.

Little previously had success handling her own case, which involved enforcement of a settlement for money. She said the center helped her through the process.

"If you don't have the resources to get things done, this is where to come," said Little, who is also disabled.

Jennifer Willhite of Coloma, visiting the center on the same day to complete paperwork for a child support matter, first used a self-help legal facility while living in Las Vegas. "They've been great here," she said. "They do a great service."

Willhite said she contacted a lawyer about representing her in the support case but could not afford the $1,500 fee.

"That's two house payments," she said.

Without the information she gets at the center, Willhite said she would have had to go to court unprepared, perhaps hurting her chances.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/08/07/local_news/5727533.txt

PBS Religion & Ethics Addresses: What is a Fair Tax System?

The main purpose of a tax system is to raise revenue for the common good, for the public good. That’s its purpose. But it has to do so in a way that is fair, that involves shared sacrifice, because really it’s a matter of sharing the burdens of a free society and of a good society. That’s, morally speaking, what taxes are about. So unless a tax system meets the test of fairness, none of its other advantages really matter.

- PROFESSOR MICHAEL SANDEL (Professor of Government, Harvard University)

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

CNN: Teacher Jobs Disappear

Friday's jobs report could kick off the worst quarter for state and local government jobs on record. And teachers are at the center of the bullseye.

The public sector is estimated to have shed 65,000 positions in July, according to Greg Daco, U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight. Some 50,000 are projected to come from state and local governments.

And things won't get better anytime soon. The state and local government sector could shed around 110,000 jobs in the third quarter, which would top the massive downsizing that occurred in the early 1980s.

"The sector keeps bleeding jobs," Daco said. "The third quarter could be the worst ever."

All told, the state and local government sector has lost 577,000 jobs since its peak in September 2008. Some 224,000 of those have been in education.

While teachers and other school employees are often dismissed temporarily over the summer, more are getting the ax this year because of major state budget cuts to public education. And fewer are expected to get rehired in September, leading to the grim estimates for the quarter.

"Since the state and local sector is facing a lot of tough budget decisions, it will lay off teachers it won't rehire in September," Daco said.

money.cnn.com/2011/08/04/news/economy/teacher_government_jobs/index.htm

15% of All Americans Participate in SNAP

Nearly 15 percent of all Americans participate in SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps), according to the newly-released U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures for May 2011. That’s a record 45,753,078 people.

While many argue that SNAP spending is “out of control,” two examples illustrate that the program is working as it should be—serving more people during economic hard times:

• As poverty and unemployment have increased, the number of participants has also gone up since the beginning of the recession in December 2007.
• The May 2011 figures include people affected by tornadoes in Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, who received benefits under SNAP’s disaster program.

notes.bread.org/2011/08/snap-participation-still-on-the-rise.html

Niles Library Rescues Salvation Army 'Feeding His Sheep' Program

The Salvation Army’s Feeding His Sheep program has been saved thanks to an offer from the Niles District Library in the 11th hour.
Last week the program, which provides weekend meals in backpacks to students in area schools during the school year, appeared to be in jeopardy due to lack of space at The Salvation Army office.

Jan Nowak, director of caring ministries and social services, told the Star last week that the program needed a 1,000 square-foot space that is heated and secure at no cost. Her prayer was answered. Library officials, after reading in the Niles Daily Star this week about the situation, contacted The Salvation Army about room in its basement.

“The library is always looking for ways to serve our community,” said library Director Nancy Studebaker. “We are a tax-supported entity and we are happy in any way we can use the resources of the library to benefit our community, especially children in need.”

www.nilesstar.com/2011/08/03/library-helps-salvation-army/

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