Help Cut Poverty in Half and Make Our Country Whole
Poverty in America is a moral and social crisis. It threatens the health and economic well-being of our families and our nation as a whole. In response to this crisis, Catholic Charities USA has launched the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. read more


Despite Slight Decline in Poverty Rates Much More Needs to Be Done to Cut Poverty in Half by 2020

CCUSA troubled by increase in uninsured rates among children

Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, issued the following statement regarding new statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau that shows that poverty has declined slightly in the United States.

“Any time the poverty rate decreases, we should celebrate. However, we must never lose sight of the fact that in one of the world’s wealthiest nations, 36.5 million people living in poverty, including 12.8 million children, continue to struggle to make ends meet.

“Catholic Charities agencies serve more than 7.4 million people each year, giving us first-hand experience in dealing with the personal tragedy of poverty. That’s why Catholic Charities USA launched its Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America last January to cut the poverty rate in half by 2020.

Catholic Charities USA is extremely troubled that the number of uninsured, including children, continues to increase. We firmly believe that there is no excuse for any child in our nation to go without access to health care, which is critically important to the well-being and development of all children.

“Each day we work to help to lift people out of poverty, but much more needs to be done. What will it take to shake our nation’s leaders out of their complacency and to convince them that America’s promise of a better life and a better tomorrow rings hollow for millions of people who are working hard but falling further and further behind.

“When Congress returns from its August recess, it is critical that both the House and Senate take real steps to help those living in poverty. It’s time for Congress to get to work and find the political will needed to make poverty a top agenda item and help the most vulnerable in our nation.

“We call on Congress to strengthen State Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover more children from low-income families before this successful program expires at the end of September. It’s also important for Congress to strengthen federal nutrition programs, including passing a Farm Bill that makes the application process easier, increases food stamp benefit amounts, improves outreach, and expands eligibility and eliminates asset limits. In addition, Congress must continue and improve Head Start and strengthen and adequately fund needed affordable housing programs.

“We must renew our commitment to help millions of Americans still living in poverty and the millions who are lacking vital health insurance. This is about who we are as a nation, and we simply must do better.”

What do you think about the Census numbers?

September 04, 2007 at 10:34 AM in News, Poverty Facts | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Census, Health Care, Poverty Rate, SCHIP, Unisured
CCUSA Staff breaks a sweat!

Yesterday, our Catholic Charities USA staff ignored our emails, let our calls go to voicemail and put on t-shirts. We went to the Franklin School Shelter operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC . In a one day sweep we scrubbed, painted and washed to help them get ready to bring in mental health services and to make the place a little brighter for the 300 men who use the shelter each night. Check out the pictures below:

gust 23, 2007 at 05:02 PM in Local Efforts | Permalink
Endorsing the Campaign? What does that mean?

We ask all people of good will to Endorse the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, but what does that mean?

By endorsing the Campaign you are making the statement that you agree with the Campaign goals, in essence you want to reduce poverty in America, and that you are going to take action.

Once you've endorsed the Campaign, and provided an email address, you'll receive alerts that show you different ways you can ACT to make that commitment to reducing poverty a REALITY! We also post actions on this site and local Catholic Charities also are taking steps in their communities that allow you to participate.

As an endorser, you have another key role- You can share your commitment with all those you know. You can forward emails, request flyers and take them with you to your house of worship, your school, your family dinners. You can post your thoughts and ideas on the blog. Join the myspace page, show the video to a friend.....there are so many ways to share and involve others... What are YOU going to do?

August 15, 2007 at 04:43 PM in Things You Can Do, Tools and Resources | Permalink
As Promised....Things we Talked about Today!

People ARE making a difference. We heard from NY, OH, IN, ID, MO, MN and OK agencies participating in the Campaign on a conference call. The purpose of our conference call was to share ideas, ask questions and hear from each other. We promised to give you the links for some of the resources and tools mentioned so, here they are:

Field Events from CCUSA: Download CCUSAFieldEvents.doc

Implementation Plans

* Kansas City, MO Download CCKansasImplementationplan.xls
* Long Island Download LongIslandYearlyPlan.doc

Homeletic Talking Points

* Catholic Charities of Kansas City, MO's Example Download Homeletictalkingpoints.doc

Latest version of Koinonia, the PSM Newsletter

* http://povertyinamerica.typepad.com/Koinonia.pdf

What Call are you talking about? If you'd like to be included on future conference calls about the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, or you have great ideas you want to share submit a comment and let us know or Contact us at Poverty(at)Catholiccharitiesusa.org

August 09, 2007 at 04:38 PM in Local Efforts, National Efforts, Tools and Resources | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Homelitic Talking Points, Implementation Plan, Parish Social Ministry, Resources
Living Wage?

Do you know what the "livable wage" is in your community?

Check out this tool, part of the Livable wage project at Penn State. It allows you to search by state and municipality. From the website:

In many American communities, families working in low-wage jobs make insufficient income to live locally given the local cost of living. Recently, in a number of high-cost communities, community organizers and citizens have successfully argued that the prevailing wage offered by the public sector and key businesses should reflect a wage rate required to meet minimum standards of living. Therefore we have developed a living wage calculator to estimate the cost of living in your community or region. The Calculator lists typical expenses, the living wage and typical wages in the location you have selected.

Try it out

August 08, 2007 at 02:43 PM in Economic Security, Tools and Resources | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Livable wage, living wage, Minimum wage