Joyce talks about the DNC

Joyce gives her take on Michelle Obama's speech, the pundits reaction reactions, and what appeals to her about Barack Obama.




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Roundup of the Convention

The Democratic National Convention is now behind us; the Republican National Convention starts on Monday; and then, next Saturday, September 6th comes the third convention -- the National Family Convention in Los Angeles, Chicago and Birmingham.

There will be plenty of news to report from those three cities, as more than 13,000 working families come together to make history and unveil the national family platform.

But for now, it's worth taking a look back at this week's convention in Denver. New America Media has a great roundup of reports from ethnic and alternative media sources. Among the stories worth reading:

Indian Americans Flex Muscle at the DNC
Obama's Minority Dream
Run DNC: Hip Hop Generation Comes of Age with Obama

Check out the complete collection of stories from New America Media here.

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Families in Economic Freefall--and Off the Political Radar

(Luz Vega-Marquis is president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation, sponsor of the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign. This entry was originally published at New America Media.)

In McAllen, Texas, Martha Sanchez doesn’t dare drink the water that runs out of the tap, for fear of getting sick. In Augusta, Georgia, Sunny Johnson, a single mother of two, thinks that working full-time as a certified nursing assistant should earn her a wage that puts her above the poverty line. (It doesn’t.) In San Francisco, California, Cathleen Muhammad wants justice and good health for her children, who appear to have been made seriously ill by exposure to asbestos from a nearby construction site.

These three stories exemplify the different struggles families are facing in America today; meanwhile we have 37 million people — 7.7 million families — living in poverty.

As the country prepares to elect the next president of the United States pundits and politicians will certainly talk about "working families" --"middle class families" -– and "poor families." Isn’t it time we address the needs of America’s families collectively?

All families, despite their economic status – be they two-parent or single-parent families – share the same goal: to provide for their families and ensure a bright future for their children. America’s families rise and fall together.

Last year, Marguerite Casey Foundation launched the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign — a campaign designed to hear directly from families as to the challenges they face and to change how we as a country address the social and economic needs of our families.

Between January and June 2008, approximately 12,000 families from diverse backgrounds, often with children in tow, gave up their weekends and evenings to participate in 65 Equal Voice townhall meetings held across America. At each town hall meeting, they were inspired, engaged and motivated. Families conveyed not only a sense of urgency but also their desire to be directly involved in the creation of policies that affect them — to be drivers of change.

They tied family stability to living-wage jobs, affordable housing, quality healthcare and education. They let us know that their well-being is not tied to a single issue, that piecemeal solutions have failed to address the complexities of their lives. The testimonies of families at the townhall meetings have been synthesized into a cohesive National Family Platform.

On Sept. 6, 2008, at a multicity convention of 15,000 families in Birmingham, Chicago and Los Angeles, we will release the Equal Voice for America’s Families National Family Platform and call on the country, lawmakers and the next president of the United States to adopt a comprehensive approach to addressing the issues and challenges that families face.

Families are the backbone of our nation and no family should live in poverty. Everyone who works hard should be able to advance and participate fully in the economic, political, and cultural life of the nation. To do so, America’s families need income equality and the opportunity to build wealth to insure upward mobility and equal outcomes.

We can no longer ignore the fact that single-issue policy solutions are failing families. The needs of families must be addressed universally.

The strength of our country depends on the strength of our families. It’s time we listened to the voices of America’s families.

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U.S. Census Bureau Report Shows Poverty is On the Rise

More than 37.3 million people lived in poverty in the United States in 2007 -- an increase from 36.5 million in 2006, according to the US Census Bureau's annual report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage, which was released today:

The poverty threshold for 2007 was set at 21,000 dollars for a family of four, regardless of whether they lived in a smaller US city such as Milwaukee or a large city like Los Angeles, where the cost of living was significantly higher.

"The number of people without health insurance coverage decreased to 45.7 million people in 2007" from 47 million in 2006, said David Johnson, head of the housing and household economic statistics division of the Census Bureau.

But while the report showed slightly more Americans had health coverage than in 2006, the changes were too little to cheer about...

Children are disproportionately affected by poverty, the report showed.

Eighteen percent of children in the United States lived in poverty, compared with 11 percent of adults, aged 18-64, and just under 10 percent of senior citizens.

More Americans aged 65 years and older would be pushed into poverty if they did not receive Social Security benefits, the report showed.

More Americans falling into poverty, and just a few gaining access to health insurance?

As Paul Fronstin, a senior research associate at the Employee Benefits Research Institute, puts it in the article quoted above:

"This isn't progress."

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Help Us Spread the Word on Facebook

The Democratic National Convention is starting today in Denver -- and we're just over two weeks away from the National Family Convention in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Birmingham.

You can help us get the word out by becoming a "fan" of Equal Voice for America's Families on Facebook.

And if you're on Facebook and planning to attend the convention in any of our three cities, be sure to RSVP.

Who Would Have Thought?

Who would have thought that 10,000 people from LA to Seattle to Chicago to New Orleans to Phoenix would come together in big and small gathering to discuss the issues and challenges that are impacting their communities and their hopes and dreams for the future…

Who would have thought that 50 family delegates from across the country would spend their weekend away from their family and friends to discuss, modify and ratify a peoples platform that represented the issues and concerns from their communities….

Who would have thought that 6,000 people from California, New Mexico and Washington State would travel by bus, car and plane to Los Angeles to make their voices heard on behalf of poor families and communities across the country….

Who would have thought that those 6,000 people in LA would be joined, by the miracle of technology, by 4,000 people in Chicago and 4,000 more in Birmingham on the same day…

Who would have thought that community-based organizations big and small from every region of the country would set aside their egos and organizational priorities to support and implement a campaign that they may or may not have had a hand in creating, but ultimately wanted a part in supporting…..

Who would have thought a Foundation in Seattle would have the audacity to inspire, cajole, and nurture a movement of and by families….

Who would have thought?

It has been quite a ride, and it is not over yet.

We still have 16 days till September 6th, and a lot of bus routes, brown bag lunches, name tags, child care activities, translation services and hotel rooms to ensure before then, but if the proceeding paragraphs prove anything, they prove:

We Can Do This!

Charles Fields is a program officer for the Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign.

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Lifecast - Corey Camphor, August 18, 2008

Corey Camphor talks about being pulled over by the police, and shares a family moment.



Visit our new Ning community, Lifecasting Across the Digital Divide, to see all the video posts from Corey and our other Lifecasters. You can check it out, join if you want, invite your friends, and tell us what you think about the issues facing families in America today...we'd love to hear from you!


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Joyce on the difficulties of relocating

Joyce Cook talks about trying to move her family to a safer neighborhood. She's been trying to make the move since last month, but there are many factors involved.




Click "Lifecasting" under Categories/Labels in the right column to see all posts from our Lifecasters.

Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, online video, lifecasting.

Lifecasting Across the Digital Divide

We've set up a new page that allows you to easily follow your favorite lifecasters.

Click here for a sneak preview.

We'll be adding more videos -- and introducing new lifecasters -- in the coming days, so bookmark the page and check back frequently.

And, as always, take a moment to forward your favorite videos to your friends and family. We need your help to make sure the voices from across the digital divide are heard.

Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, online video, lifecasting.

Upcoming Conventions

All eyes may be turning to the Olympics in Beijing this weekend, but in the coming weeks the needs of families will take center stage.

In just ten day, the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Denver, followed on September 1 by the Republican National Convention. On September 6, approximately 12,000 families from across the country will hold a one-day, three-city convention to call for the adoption of a national family platform that comprehensively addresses the needs of families.

At all three conventions, you're likely to hear a lot of talk about the economy, unemployment, energy prices, and immigration, among other issues.

But at only one convention will you hear first-hand how such issues directly affect working and low-income families -- and what families themselves propose as the best solutions.

We invite you to "tune in" to the National Family Convention of the Equal Voice for America's Families campaign on September 6th in Birmingham, Chicago and

Los Angeles. We'll be featuring a number of reports online, both during and after the convention, as more than 13,000 families gather to call for the adoption of the national

family platform that is the result 65 townhalls involving more than 12,000 people across the country during the past year.

What will families have to say that is different from the solutions proposed by either candidates? Where are there similarities?

Where do the proposed solutions diverge?

Find out by joining us online for our campaign's convention on September 6th. And please, help us spread the word about this momentous event by forwarding this blog post on to your friends and colleagues.

Because when 13,000 people gather to give voice to bottom-up solutions to our country's economic and social challenges, it's worth taking a moment to listen. -- Luz

Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, middle class, , republicans, Democratic National Convention, Republican National Convention, Denver, Minneapolis, presidency.

Campaign Snapshot

It's less than a month before the Equal Voice for America’s Families Convention on September 6, and the level of preparation is mind-boggling.

Here’s a snapshot of where things stand:

13,000 people registered for the convention
6,000 registered in Los Angeles
4,000 registered in Birmingham
3,500 registered in Chicago
1,975 Hotel rooms reserved
1,300 Flight reservations
350 Buses
250 Volunteers
3 Convention cities
1 Common cause: The adoption of a national family platform that comprehensively addresses the needs of families!

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Lifecaster Roderick Thomas

With limited internet access and the Navajo Nation's recent problems with satellite service Roderick has had some difficulty delivering his post for this week.

We'll hear his Lifecast later in the week, but in the meantime you can watch a short clip of Roderick talking about high school and getting his life back on track.



To see the longer version of this video, visit New America Media.


Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, online video, lifecasting.

Unleashing the Transformative Power of Star Paschal

New America Media has the latest in a series of portraits of families around the country who are involved in the Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign.

"Star Paschal had prayed for 2008 to be a breakthrough year for her. Newly divorced, suddenly the sole support of her three daughters at age 27, in December 2007 she asked for God's help for her family - but not only for her own family. She prayed for an opportunity to give back to her community."

Then Star attended an Equal Voice for America's Families town hall meeting in Montgomery, Alabama:

She watched as people like herself -- single mothers like herself, young adults like herself, African Americans like herself, tenants who knew the constant struggle she knew -- stood up before the microphone and described a community where everyone has health care, where jobs pay enough, where taxes aren't more than a family can afford, and where children thrive. She connected her own frustration with a greater sense of injustice. She suddenly heard all the stories in the room combine into one collective cry that the rest of the world seemed too unconcerned to hear.

Before she fully realized what she was doing, she found herself standing before the microphone. "I want to speak for those who are just stuck. This has been going on for too many years," she said. "It's time to stop just talking and start doing something. Parents come to me and just cry. I tell them there's nothing I can do because I don't make the rules. But here today, seeing my people coming together and supporting each other, speaking up against injustice, it makes me feel like we can set a better path for our children."

Eloquently and powerfully delivered, Star's words were received with excitement. When she reflected back upon the sense of community her grandmother described, when "everyone raised everyone's children," a heartfelt "mmm-hmm" ran through the crowd. People came up to her at the next break to tell her how inspired they were by what she said.

Describing the Town Hall Meeting afterwards, Star said, "I did not know I had it in me. For years I felt that no one understood. But these people had so much passion. You could hear in their voices that they were fed up. My heart was filled with joy, as these were my people. I feel a part of me has come alive, a part I did not know existed.”

Read the entire portrait of star here.

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EVAF Lifecast - Corey Camphor, August 8, 2008

In this short video Corey Camphor talks about how he saves gas on his commute to work, and feeling blessed.

America's Middle Class Families Still Losing Ground

Middle class economic security is taking an ever harder hit as economic conditions worsen, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress.

Some highlights:

* The sharpest deterioration in middle-class financial security is associated ƒ with the cost of a medical emergency. We estimate that only 33.9 percent of families had enough wealth in 2007 to cover the cost of a medical emergency, down from 35.0 percent in 2005 and 43.7 percent in 2000 (See table on page 3). This deterioration comes as a result of less wealth and higher costs of medical emergencies.

* Drops in personal wealth have contributed to the decline in middle-class ƒ financial security. Because house prices started to fall and debt continued to rise in 2007, we also observed the share of families who could weather an unspecified emergency equal to three months of income decrease to 29.4 percent in 2007, from 30.5 percent in 2005 and 39.4 percent in 2000.

* The share of families who had ƒ enough resources to cover a spell of unemployment has declined since 2000. In 2007, 44.1 percent of families had enough wealth to cover a spell of unemployment, little changed from 44.0 percent in 2005 but still down from 51.0 percent in 2000. Unfortunately, the 2007 data likely reflect only a temporary respite from decline since the labor market has substantially deteriorated in 2008, beyond the time series data presented here.

Read the full report here (PDF).

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Watch New Lifecasts

This week Roderick Thomas talks about the challenges his family faces in White Horse, New Mexico and Joyce Cook shares a victory from Richmond, California.

RODERICK THOMAS



Roderick Lifecasts about family struggles, and using his writing as a release from stress.

If you didn't see last week's post you can find out more about Roderick in this short video, and visit the New America Media site for even more of Roderick's story.

Journalist Holly Watt reported last week in a Washington Post article about the Navajo Nation's fight to keep its internet access from being shut down due to a contract dispute with a satellite company:

"The tribe of about 250,000 people already has lost Internet service to libraries and community centers known as "chapter houses," and has little access to cellphone service on a reservation that stretches across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Most Internet access there is provided via satellite, which is due to be shut off. Much of the Navajo Nation is inaccessible to land lines." The loss of satellite service threatens not just the many students taking online classes and the daily communication that most of us take for granted, but access to emergency services as well.

One resident said that without satellite service the nearest place for most people to access the Internet is "about 60 miles away."

While it looks like a crisis has been held off by last minute intervention by the FCC, the situation highlights some of the problems faced by remote rural communities, including the difficulty of communicating your experience and your needs when access to the outside world is so limited and tenuous.

JOYCE COOK



Meanwhile, from Richmond, California, Joyce shares a victory in her work to create change in the California youth prison system.

Click here to find out more about Joyce and read her past posts.

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Attendance for America's National Family Convention Soars Past Goal

When the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign began, our goal was to engage 10,000 families across the country around the issues they face -- and to develop a national platform based on the input of working families.

Now -- after 64 townhall meetings all across the country -- we are just one month and a day away from the Equal Voice for America’s Families National Convention, to be held on September 6 in Birmingham, Chicago and Los Angeles.

And we're pleased to report that we've exceeded our goal of engaging 10,000 families: as of today, more than 13,000 families have already registered for the National Family Convention.

September 6 promises to be a memorable day, with more than 13,000 families calling for the adoption of a comprehensive national family platform.

That day will represent not the end of the campaign, but a beginning.

As Cesar Chavez said, “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed...”

Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, convention.

Meet Roderick Thomas

Meet Roderick. He'll be hitching a ride 60 miles each day to share his family's story through his weekly video lifecast. In this video you'll hear from Roderick and his family, and see how his participation in an Equal Voice for America's Families Town Hall meeting left him feeling empowered.



Look into my bloodshot eyes
A young Native wanna rise to surprise
As I pray every day lookin' to the sky
Hopin' to see a vision
Hard-headed me I can't listen...
- Excerpt from a piece by Roderick Thomas.

Roderick and his extended Navajo family of 12 will be Lifecasting from White Horse, New Mexico.

Visit New America Media to see a longer version of this video, and to read more about Roderick and his family.

Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, online video, lifecasting.

A Comprehensive Approach to Poverty

I wanted to share with you a piece that I wrote for Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, which summarizes our campaign to date. -- Luz

“I got a 50-cent raise, and bread went up 49 cents. What am I supposed to do?”
— Charmain, a working single mother.

A prevailing attitude among Americans is that the poor can work their way out of poverty. Poverty in America is viewed as a personal failure rather than a collective failure of our society and government to ensure equal outcomes.

More than 37 million Americans live below the federal poverty line of $21,000 for a family of four. Americans are working more and making less. Today a loaf of bread can cost as much as a gallon of gas, and many families have to choose between food on the table and gas to get to work. Many families go to bed at night without food or a roof over their head, while others struggle to hold on to their piece of the American dream – their home.

America’s families are at a tipping point. They can no longer survive on piecemeal solutions. Therefore, it’s encouraging to see poverty being discussed at the highest policy-making levels. No less than former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and current Speaker Nancy Pelosi are among those who have offered suggestions to address poverty in our country.

Last year, Marguerite Casey Foundation launched the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign — a campaign designed to hear directly from families about the challenges they face. More than 10,000 families attended Equal Voice townhall meetings across the country, answering questions such as “What is important to you and your family?” and “What policy changes would most help your family?”

Whether it was a young woman in Chicago having to choose between heat for her apartment or gas to get to her job because she could not afford both; a mother in New Orleans struggling to keep her family housed as rents spiraled up, or a family of farm workers in South Florida working without benefits or healthcare, the stories we heard illustrated the commonality of the struggles families are facing, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity. Almost every family attending was holding down one or more jobs to try to make ends meet.

At each townhall meeting, families conveyed not only a sense of urgency but also their desire to be part of the solution — to be drivers of change. They were inspired, engaged and motivated. They defined poverty as lack of access to living-wage jobs, affordable housing and quality healthcare and education. Families let us know that their well-being is not tied to a single issue; a family making a living income but with no healthcare benefits may experience as much stress as a family that is surviving on wages just above the poverty level but has Medicaid coverage. The challenges families face must be addressed comprehensively not issue by issue.

On September 6, 2008, at a multi-city convention of 10,000 families in Birmingham, Chicago and Los Angeles, we will release the Equal Voice for America’s Families platform and call on the country, lawmakers and the next president of the United States to adopt a national family platform. I strongly encourage everyone to read the National Family Platform when it becomes available and support its adoption by local and state policy makers as well as national policy makers. You can sign up for an electronic version on the Equal Voice Web site, www.equalvoice2008.org.

Throughout the campaign, families have crossed historical lines of separation to work on social changes that will benefit all families. Groups that had been divided, such as Latinos and African Americans, have united for their common good. Why, then, have politicians been unable to come together to support families, the most fundamental unit of society?

Given the renewed interest of policy makers in Washington, D.C., in addressing poverty and given the 10,000 families calling for change through the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign, the time seems right for a conversation on poverty. Here are some questions to get the dialogue started: 

• What can we — as individuals and as a nation — learn from listening to and heeding the experiences of those living in poverty? 
• Would we be better served as a country if we strived for equal outcomes rather than equal opportunity? 
  
• Is it time to call for the adoption of a national platform to comprehensively address the challenges families face?

It’s truly exciting to me that so many on both sides of the wealth gap are interested in ending poverty. Imagine the type of society we would have if we truly put all families first. Let us come together to ensure that America’s families thrive and that the American dream does not become extinct.

Technorati Tags: activism, economy, politics, poverty, families, working+families, 2008 elections, barack obama, john mccain, social justice, current affairs, current events, immigration, online video.