Poverty

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December 15, 2010 | 5:55 PM | By

What Five Local Charities Need, Right Now

Last week I mentioned that my favorite part of Thanksgiving this year wasn’t the eating or the eating– it was participating in the 40th Annual Trot for Hunger, benefiting So Others Might Eat. I know many of you feel the same way about trying to do good, especially around the holidays, so I thought it might be useful to compile a list of what five great local charities need, right now:

1) Sasha Bruce Youthworks. Addressing D.C.’s budget shortfall meant painful cuts which disproportionately hurt “safety net” organizations like this one, which works to help runaway, homeless and at-risk youth and their families. Sasha Bruce Youthworks was one of the first organizations that President Obama visited (and volunteered at!) after his inauguration. Jim Beck, Director of Development, said:

During the holiday season, the types of things we need are warm winter clothes: lightly used winter jackets, hats, socks and underwear of all sizes for young people. We also need gifts or toys for toddlers through teenagers. We are trying to have nice holiday parties for the kids in our care, who are not with their families.

Need more information? Call 202-675-9340.

2) Miriam’s Kitchen tweeted this wishlist, yesterday:

ON OUR WISH LIST: Sleeping bags, winter boots, coats, gloves, and socks. It's very cold outside for our guests, thank you for your help!
December 14, 2010 2:55 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@miriamskitchen
Miriam's Kitchen

If you have questions about donating clothing, call (202) 452-8926 or check out their site.

3) Bright Beginnings is a “nationally-accredited child and family development center” which helps homeless families with children. Right now, they need two things, according to Joan Woods, Director of Development and Communication:

Grocery store gift cards or Metro cards in 20 or 25 dollar increments. Recent metro fare increases have hit homeless families especially hard, and we try to help these families get their kids to school. We can give a grocery gift card to a family in crisis, so they can buy medicine, formula, diapers, whatever they need.

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FILED UNDER: Around the City, Non-profits, Poverty
December 10, 2010 | 12:05 PM | By

How to put the “Happy” in our Holidays

DCentric

SOME's 40th Anniversary Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger

I had a lovely thanksgiving. I rarely get to see my only sibling on that day which is dedicated to families, but this year, I spent it with her, eating pizza. That’s a tradition she unwittingly created while serving in the Air Force, overseas. Like me, she’s a strict vegetarian, and when she was stationed in certain countries, the biggest treat she could find was pizza, so every year for almost a decade, that’s what she ate. I’m proud to continue that tradition with her, because of the poignant story behind it.

So that’s how I spent my Thanksgiving– with family, eating cheese, introducing everyone to the wonder that is “Boardwalk Empire“. We even indulged in some eye-roll-worthy retail shenanigans at midnight. But what stands out to me most about this Thanksgiving–even more than the Gino’s pizza which was lovingly carried here from Chicago for us to enjoy– was how we started that morning; we were up by 6 and on the Mall by 7am, looking for parking so that four of us could participate in the So Others Might Eat 5k. I am embarrassed to admit that aside from being excited about naming our team (“Pilgrim and Wrong Indians”), I was grumbling about my lack of sleep and the lack of sun (or warmth) at such a cold, early hour.
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FILED UNDER: Media, Non-profits, Philanthropy, Poverty, WAMU
November 24, 2010 | 1:10 PM | By

Whole Foods for some, Bodegas for others

DCentric

Organic fruit at a D.C. Farmers' Market

I just had a conversation about this with one of you yesterday, about the stark disconnect and borderline shame I felt when I came home after buying cheese, local plum chutney and organic bread for entertaining– and walked right in to a display for a food drive. Newsweek is thinking about food inequality, too:

Alexandra says she spends hours each day thinking about, shopping for, and preparing food. She is a disciple of Michael Pollan, whose 2006 book The Omnivore’s Dilemma made the locavore movement a national phenomenon, and believes that eating organically and locally contributes not only to the health of her family but to the existential happiness of farm animals and farmers—and, indeed, to the survival of the planet. “Michael Pollan is my new hero, next to Jimmy Carter,” she told me. In some neighborhoods, a lawyer who raises chickens in her backyard might be considered eccentric, but we live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a community that accommodates and celebrates every kind of foodie. Whether you believe in eating for pleasure, for health, for justice, or for some idealized vision of family life, you will find neighbors who reflect your food values. In Park Slope, the contents of a child’s lunchbox can be fodder for a 20-minute conversation.

Over coffee, I cautiously raise a subject that has concerned me of late: less than five miles away, some children don’t have enough to eat; others exist almost exclusively on junk food. Alexandra concedes that her approach is probably out of reach for those people.

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FILED UNDER: Media, Food, Poverty, Privilege, Race and Class
November 23, 2010 | 3:42 PM | By

Giving Thanks by Giving Back

Mozul

Washingtonian has a great roundup of opportunities for giving back, this Thanksgiving. I’m doing the first event on the list, the Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger which benefits So Others Might Eat. It’s a 5K which supports “services for the homeless and hungry, including the thousand-plus meals served on Thanksgiving Day”.  Here are three more ways to volunteer or make a donation:

Central Union Mission
We know that time is precious during the holidays—help Central Union Mission with the click of your mouse by sponsoring a table for only $1.98 per meal or $19.80 for a “table” of ten people. Click here to make a donation.

Capital Area Food Bank
Donate to Bringing in the Birds With Bucks, which provides Thanksgiving meals to low-income seniors. Each meal ($15) contains turkey, cornbread mix, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, green beans, and corn. The group hopes to serve 2,500 people this year. Click here to make a donation.

Martha’s Table
Martha’s Table is hosting a community Thanksgiving dinner Sunday, November 21. There’ll be turkey, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies, and more. Call 202-328-6608 to ask about volunteer opportunities. The next day is the annual Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway, where the Obamas put in some time last year. To learn more or to donate food, click here.

More information is here.

FILED UNDER: Media, Hunger, Non-profits, Poverty
November 23, 2010 | 1:20 PM | By

17 Million American Families are Food Insecure

Obama-Biden Transition Project

The Obama family volunteering at a food pantry, Thanksgiving 2008.

Two days before a holiday which results in, if not celebrates overeating, I’m reading the Washington Post’s “5 Myths about hunger in America“. The dissonance I feel is like a bucket of ice water to the face:

The person most likely to be hungry is a single, working mother. Federal programs ensure that low-income children can get free meals at school, but their mothers – many of whom are single and work low-paying jobs in the service sector – often have to make tough choices between food, rent, gas for the car, health care or new shoes for their kids. Millions of American women who face this predicament will feed their children and go without meals themselves.

Another tragedy in America is the rapidly growing number of seniors who have to choose between food, medicine and utilities. Though few of our elders will admit to needing help, a 2007 study by Meals on Wheels indicated that as many as 6 million are going hungry. Meanwhile, that free food-delivery service has waiting lists in many cities. The 80 million baby boomers approaching retirement are expected to live longer than any previous generation, but not all have set aside enough resources for their final years. When that silver tsunami strikes, hunger will come with it.

FILED UNDER: The People, Food, Hunger, Poverty
November 22, 2010 | 12:50 PM | By

I know plenty of laid-off people in D.C., Congressman.

missycaulk

The Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s Mariah Craven rightly reproves U.S. Representative-elect Allen West (R-FL), who, while answering a question about tax cuts posed by David Gregroy on Meet the Press, invalidated the very real economic hardship District citizens face. Here is what Congressman West said:

I come from a — an area down in South Florida where unemployment is at 13 percent, foreclosures are absolutely high. We are seeing closed upon closed storefronts. But yet, when you walk around here in Washington, D.C., you don’t see people getting laid off, you don’t see, you know, anyone suffering, you don’t see the foreclosures.

Here is Craven’s response:

So, the Congressman doesn’t see anyone suffering when he walks around D.C. I wonder how much he has walked around the District and where, exactly, he’s walking. Has he walked around Ward 8 where the unemployment rate is 26.5 percent? Has he walked past the new IHOP in Columbia Heights where 500 people – many of whom were overqualified – applied for jobs? When he’s walking, is he talking to any single women who are caring for their families on less than $29,900/year – the median income for this family type, according to our new report 2010 Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area?

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FILED UNDER: The People, Poverty
November 19, 2010 | 10:56 AM | By

Barry: “right now, 55 percent of the new hires are not D.C. residents.”

Over at the Afro, Dorothy Rowley writes “District’s Black Residents Remain Hard Pressed to Find Jobs“:

The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported in October that while joblessness surged in part last year for the District’s African-American residents, employment remained relatively steady for its White residents and those with a college degree…

“The city’s high unemployment rate is obviously not going to turn around simply because the overall economy recovers, DCFPI Executive Director Ed Lazere, told the AFRO. “Our leaders have to make this a priority and have to make concerted efforts to address it,” he continued, “and given that the unemployment rates are highest for residents in isolated wards who often have limited jobs skills, it seems pretty logical that concerted efforts would help residents get access to skills – whether it’s through high school, a community college or other means.”

Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry, agreed. But he said the key to fighting joblessness – particularly in his district – is contingent upon attracting the ears of the private sector and federal government. “The city’s initiative has to be to become more involved with the private sector and the federal government,” Barry said. “There are 700,000 jobs in the District of Columbia and 340,000 of them are with the federal government. The rest are in the private sector, so we have to get the District government to start hiring more city residents because right now, 55 percent of the new hires are not D.C. residents.”

FILED UNDER: The People, Jobs, Marion Barry, Poverty, Race and Class, Ward 8
November 18, 2010 | 3:33 PM | By

On Limiting Welfare in D.C.

janinsanfran

What am I reading? “Social supports, not time limits, will reduce poverty“, by Linda Laughlin, a family demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. It was posted at Greater Greater Washington:

Instead of placing limits on welfare, the DC council should support the TANF Opportunities and Accountability Act of 2010 sponsored by Tommy Wells (Ward 6) and Michael Brown (at-large). The bill would invest in job training and educational programs as well as develop a better system to track welfare recipients in order to better understand when and why families enter and exit social programs.

The welfare system is far from perfect, but as the District faces continued economic turmoil brought on by the recession, this is not the time to limit access to important social safety nets. District food banks, shelters, and other social services are already strained and woefully unprepared to face coming economic hardships as the economy tries to build itself back up. Families that have not been able to leave welfare are some of the most disadvantaged families without any means of support other than social programs.

FILED UNDER: Government, City Council, Poverty
November 11, 2010 | 12:36 PM | By

Rooting for Ja’Juan Jones

What are you reading, right now? I’m immersed in “South Lakes’ Ja’Juan Jones finds his place after a homeless odyssey“, from the Washington Post.

His homeless odyssey has given his play on the football field an angry edge, one that he hopes will land him a college scholarship. A senior running back and free safety at South Lakes High School, Jones has grown up sleeping on floors, couches and, at one point, spent a year living in a shelter…”I’ve always seen Ja’Juan as pretty strong…He’s always had his mind set, this is what I want to do and this is how I’m going to do it. The day he realized he could get a scholarship to go to college, it was like fireworks on the Fourth of July. That boy was running around the house screaming, ‘I’m going to college! I’m going to college!‘ “

“We’ve lost a lot of stuff in storage,” Jones said. “That’s one thing about moving a lot. You put your stuff in storage and then you go back and it’s always gone. I’ve lost trophies. My dad’s American flag that we got when he died is gone too.“

“I started off wanting to just play football in college,” Jones said. “Now, I’m starting to realize that even if I can’t play football, I want to go to college, but, football is my ticket. I want an upper-class job. I want to be in an office. I want to be able to provide for my family, like they deserve to be provided for.“

FILED UNDER: Media, Children, Homelessness, Poverty, Race and Class
October 20, 2010 | 11:33 AM | By

On Not Being a Punk

Ta-Nehisi Coates posts about the “culture of poverty” and jeopardizing his big break at The Atlantic by getting in someone’s face in Denver two years ago, in “the most embarrassing thing” he has ever written:

I had thought as far as the dude stepping outside–but I hadn’t thought any further. I hadn’t thought about getting arrested. I hadn’t thought about the implications of a 6’4 260 pound black dude assaulting a 5’11 (maybe?) white dude. I hadn’t thought about all of this playing out against the backdrop of Obama’s nomination. I hadn’t thought about losing my job. And, most criminally, I hadn’t thought about my family , who were depending on that job…

“I ain’t no punk” may shield you from neighborhood violence. But it can not shield you from algebra, when your teacher tries to correct you. It can not shield you from losing hours, when your supervisor corrects your work. And it would not have shielded me from unemployment, after I cold-cocked a guy over a blog post…

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FILED UNDER: Media, Poverty, Race and Class