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.

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

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.

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.

The Blog Picture

Hello, everyone! I wanted to take a minute to welcome you to our blog -- and to share our big plans for making this blog as helpful to you as possible.

Through this blog, we'll be connecting you to the many voices of the campaign from around the country. We want the blog - and the moving, unfolding stories we'll be sharing - to be a tool for you to use to help achieve an equal voice for America's families. So please share your thoughts and ideas.

We are grateful to the many families and organizers who will be sharing their thoughts and personal stories on this blog in the coming weeks as our campaign unfolds against the backdrop of difficult economic times and an historic election. Each time I hear another heroic story from one of our families - stories of struggle and sacrifice, resiliency and hope - I think "if the American people only knew".

Well this is our chance to connect the American people to these moving stories. Please help us spread the word so that our equal voices are heard across the nation.

Here's the content schedule so you know what is coming:

• Monday -- Campaign Updates: the latest news on our efforts to bring 10,000 people together for a Day of Action. Take a minute to view the video from this Monday's Campaign Update post, The Journey So Far.



• Tuesday -- Working Families Voices: weekly "Lifecast" posts from 5 different working families that will be sharing their challenges, concerns, and perspectives on their lives, current events, the campaign, and ideas for change (Watch this video from Joyce Cook and meet our first lifecaster.)



• Wednesday -- In the News: a recap of current events in the media and how they relate to our efforts to end poverty.



• Thursday -- On the Ground: stories from our organizers. Charles Fields did our first On the Ground post yesterday.



• Friday -- Big Picture: My efforts to tie it all together.

You can help us amplify our voices by forwarding the blog posts and videos to friends, signing up for our email updates, and helping to spread the word on Facebook and through your social networks.

So please, check back daily-- and together we'll give a voice to America's working families.

- Luz

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