The Voices Project

Department of Mental Health - Funding is important for Employment Connections.

The Department of Mental Health, earlier this year, provided funding for Employment Connections of Massachusetts to reach out  its' arms to provide employment counseling to people who have disabilities related to mental health, and are trying to work.

I feel Employment Connections is valuable program because it gave much needed help without compromising the individuality of each person. Many Careers Centers focus on resume writing, computer training, and preparing for the interviewing process.  This is very valuable.  However, this is not sufficient enough for most people dealing with mental illness.

Many people dealing with mental illnesses are motivated to work and re- enter the workforce. Rightfully so, they are concerned about their health.  And, they must also address matters dealing with their adjusting into an ever-changing changing community.  Sometimes, they may find that they may have a choppy work history, date wise, or other, maybe because of hospitalizations and other related factors.

Having a partnership between the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Workforce Development has provided an opportunity for people with mental illnesses to address these factors and to work along side Disability Counselors, finding answers and figuring out how they can find longevity in an employment position of interest.

I feel many factors are often over- looked making it difficult for the disabled to connect.  Recently, the Ticket to Work Program, put in effect by the Social Security Administration, to open doors in the community for those disabled and wanting to rejoin the work force.  Many want to take advantage of this program, but may not fully understand all the incentives, which are not really explained well.  So, therefore using Ticket to Work may not be easy to make into a workable plan.

Many people with the same Mental Illness Diagnosis may share many different symptoms during the course of lifetime.  Or, some people respond to like- symptoms in a very different way.  So, this is why, being paired up with someone, as  a Disability Counselor, who understands and is educated in Mental Health  Illnesses, and who is willing to sit down and discuss with each individual, his or her strengths, or weaknesses, proves so important. 

This program is an asset and greatly needed to provide a fair and constructive way for people to pursue their career and educational goals while dealing with mental illness, and other disabilities.

This blog is to advocate for the continuation of funding from the Department of Mental Health to the Work Force Development Department of Massachusetts, as Employment Connections, and similar programs.

Amara
Crittenton Women’s Union
Woman to Woman Program Participant

Flexible and Quality Childcare - a Tool to Succeed

Over the past few decades, women have achieved a rising equality and presence within the workforce. This phenomenon has prompted policymakers to drastically change their approach to creating and implementing the nation’s welfare programs. For instance, social welfare programs like the 1996 Temporary Assistance for Families with Children (TANF) have imposed work requirements for single mothers who apply for welfare and other forms of public aid. These prerequisites include an 8 week job search, followed by an assessment, and participation in an authorized activity or community service for a limited timeframe. (www.spdp.org) Logically, this amendment is proactive and fair because it makes welfare-recipients in some sense earn their publicly-provided benefits. However, they also fail to fully recognize and commit to the needs of their children. Young children, especially, need constant supervision and attention; but with the work requirement, single mothers are often unable to provide their children with constant care. Therefore, in addition to these public benefits, welfare policies should also provide flexible and quality childcare for their applicants.

Extended and formalized childcare gives single mothers the freedom to maintain higher-paying jobs for their families. Sometimes these jobs require one to work irregular hours, which could force some single parents to either give up the offer or find a babysitter willing to work at odd hours of the day. For instance, any single parent working the night shift as a pizza deliverer will most likely have no means of attaining quality childcare at such late hours of the night. He or she will probably have to depend on a neighbor or a family member if lucky; but these people can sometimes act abusive or negligent towards the child. Therefore, it is imperative that policies, which have work requirements, give parents more flexibility and formalized/professional childcare for their children. These policy amendments could include universal preschool for low-income children, increased access to high-quality out-of-school programs for youth, experimentation with longer school days or year, and paid-parental leave and at-home infant child-care programs for low-income parents during the first year of the child’s life.

One might wonder how a country, with an already staggering deficit, will be able to afford such transformational and “radical” public assistance programs. There is only one answer to that. It will pay for itself. By providing low-income, single mothers with flexible and quality childcare, their children will have exponentially better chances of succeeding and attaining stable lives. For instance, the Perry Preschool Project, the longest-running study on the effects of preschool, has shown that youngsters who undergo quality preschool turn out to be more law-abiding, earn high incomes, and have more stable lives than children who were not enrolled. This study took 123 children from poor, African-American families living below the poverty line and placed them into a preschool curriculum in order to see the short- and long-term effects of universal preschool. After approximately 36 years, these children, who are now 40-years-old have higher IQ’s, earn higher incomes, and have less incarceration rates. Furthermore, many economists show that the country will experience a $13 dollar economic return for every $1 spent on universal preschool and other youth-oriented programs. Also, studies have also shown that it is cheaper to pay single mothers to stay at home with their infants than to give them in-kind benefits while working. Because programs like the Perry Preschool Project create all-in-all better citizens, less tax dollars will be wasted on maintaining the nation’s corrupt prisons and fighting crime. Now, the nation’s money can be spent on education, health care, and the like.

Contrary to popular belief, creating a better society does not start with tax dollars or work requirements. It starts with our children. Fostering a more nurturing, challenging, and proactive environment for them is paramount to achieving this goal. As a country that prides itself on its freedom of opportunity, we should provide our citizens with exactly that. Imposing work requirements with insufficient childcare on low-income single mothers is unfair and unrealistic. We need to care for all our citizens, even the ones deemed at risk for failure. Providing more flexible and quality childcare to low-income single parents helps parents maintain their careers, benefits children and most importantly, builds a better country.

Jinyoung Chang
Advocacy Intern
Crittenton Women's Union

Educational Access in Massachusetts

Across the country and right here in Massachusetts, there are many barriers to low-income people accessing education. Education level affects the kind of job a person can get, and in Massachusetts to get a job that pays a wage that can sustain a whole family most people have to have education or training beyond a high school diploma. It is especially difficult for low-income women to access this necessary education and training due to unique challenges women face. For instance, women are usually the primary care provider for their children. Also, with our country’s history of discrimination, there is still a wage gap between men and women, so women make even less than men when working jobs without self-sustaining wages. For every $1.00 that a man earns in Massachusetts, a woman only earns 77 cents.

Studies show that women without training and an education past high school have jobs that do not pay enough to support themselves and their families. The National Center on Family Homelessness found that these women need cash assistance longer than those who can access education and training. A study by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston found that the welfare system in Massachusetts does not successfully aid and encourage women to access education while receiving state assistance. Knowledge about a variety of education and training programs and how to make educational efforts count towards work requirements is not widespread enough. Paperwork to get benefits such as childcare vouchers can be tricky and confusing, and caseworkers often do not fully explain a woman’s options.

In December 2007, the national Working Poor Families Project and Crittenton Women’s Union produced a report entitled “Unlocking the Doors to Higher Education and Training for Massachusetts’ Working Poor Families.” They found that there is a large gap in Massachusetts between jobs with a certain set of required skills and people who have the skills to fill these jobs. If women can get the education and training they need for these jobs they will be able to get and keep jobs that pay wages that can support themselves and their families. Women with high school diplomas and no further training often earn less than men at the same education level because the highest-paying jobs at this level are trade jobs, which are dominated by male workers. Women face special challenges in acquiring higher education, and this report recommends that the state work to increase funding for community colleges as well as provide counselors to help women balance their multiple responsibilities and achieve success regardless of their personal struggles.

While government should work to improve access to education opportunities, smaller programs can also help low-income women towards fulfilling their potential. The Woman to Woman program at Crittenton Women’s Union is a course for low-income women that equips them with the skills to get jobs that pay self-sufficient wages. On CWU’s website, there are two tools: a “Self-Sufficiency Calculator” to help people figure out their actual cost of living and the wage they need to live with no government work supports, and a “Hot Jobs” search tool that helps people find jobs that pay self-sufficiency wages. The Hot Jobs tool includes descriptions of the education and skills necessary to pursue these jobs.

One of the best ways women can find out about education and training opportunities is through friends, family, or other community members. If you have participated in a helpful program spread the word to women who you think might be interested!

Nola Kosowsky
Advocacy Intern
Crittenton Women's Union

Teachers Understanding Children Coming From Violent Homes

My name is Marsha and I am a single mother of 3 children ages 16, 10, and 3. I am currently homeless and living in a domestic violence program. I am writing because I am concerned about the way the teachers in the Boston Public Schools lack the understanding children need when they have witnessed domestic violence and/or have been abused themselves.

For example, there is a 10 year old boy who relocated to Boston and was verbally abused by a sibling’s father and witnessed his mother being assaulted by him and saw injuries to her. In school he received a lot of support, got along well with others, but often kept to himself. Upon relocating to Boston, he was placed in a classroom with over 30 other kids and no support. He was picked on daily by the other children and when he went to the teachers for help he was ignored. This caused his anxiety to escalate and he knocked his desk over. The school often waited for his anxiety to escalate before taking action and their action was to suspend him including when he reacted to another child stabbing him in the neck with a pencil. All his suspensions did was send this child the message that he is “bad.”

For a child who is being abused or witnessing domestic violence school is their only “safe place.” These children do not have the skills to cope with the violence in their home and act out of depression, anxiety, fear, anger, and self-blame. These children suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is an anxiety disorder. They often feel nervous when something happens without warning, have trouble trusting and feeling close to other people, get mad very easily, and feel guilty because they blame themselves for the abuse. The class sizes are too big, often one teacher to 35 children in one classroom which does not allow the child to receive the attention they need. The schools are only focused on their curriculum because too much focus is put on them to prepare the children for the MCAS tests.

We need more schools to take an active part in helping the children learn and use coping skills to relieve their negative feelings in order for them to be more productive. Teachers, principals and school counselors need to realize that sometimes when you have students who are witnessing domestic violence and/or being abused themselves they need to be more sensitive to the child’s needs. They need to work with the “whole” child; including physically and mentally and understand the affects domestic violence has on them. They need to be trained and prepared to assist children in coping with their different feelings like fear, anger, helplessness, and anxiety. The schools need to be more knowledgeable on anxiety disorders such as PTSD. The school district should mandate yearly trainings before school starts. They need to stop labeling the children “problems”, “trouble”, “off the walls”, “out of control”, as this lowers their self esteem and reinforces to them that they are “bad." Give them other tools they can use to relieve their bad feelings instead of “acting out”. Schools should be trained to recognize warning signs and be able to make referrals and/or provide resources to appropriate adults in child’s life.

Marsha
Crittenton Women’s Union
Woman to Woman Participant

Why Can’t I Get a Daycare Voucher?

I have not worked for two years. I had a baby. Due to my daughter's medical issue, I had to stay home with her.

When I decided to go back to work I got a job at a retail store. The job only paid $8.25 per hour. I have always enjoyed learning. I found the Woman to Woman program that offered computer literacy and workforce development for free. As I worked toward my educational goals, I was concerned about daycare for my daughter.

My husband worked a full-time job but we were still considered low income. So I decided to apply for government assistance. I qualified for food stamps but not for cash benefits. I applied for a child care voucher but I did not qualify. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) told me I did not qualify for a voucher because I did not qualify for cash benefits. The only way I would qualify for a voucher is if my husband and I did not work. I was I woman trying to improve my life and the government was not willing to help me. I felt sad and confused and I did not know what to do. Finally, I found an aunt to watch my daughter. I paid my aunt one hundred dollars per week which I could barely afford, I decided did a little research and discovered I am not alone.

For example:

“The budget for University of Washington’s Childcare Assistance Programs comes for the Services and Activity fee (SAF). Last year the SAF had a budget of $12 million and allocated $757,055 directly for childcare subsidies. That was not enough funding to provide voucher to 38 percent of the total applicants who qualified.” (The Daily of the University of Washington. “Childcare voucher program underfunded.” October 5, 2007.)

“Among the 11.4 million children younger than 5 whose mothers were employed, 30 percent were cared for on a regular basis by a grandparent during their mother’s working hours.  A slightly greater percentage spent time in an organize care facility, such as a day care center nursery or preschool. Meanwhile 25 percent received care from their fathers. 3 percent from sibling and 8 percent form other relatives when mothers went to work (US Census Bureau News. Press Release: “Nearly Half of Preschoolers Receive Child Care from Relatives.” February 28, 2008.)

In Massachusetts, there are 22 thousand children on the waiting list. The only time a voucher is given in a timely manor is if the mother is homeless or living in a domestic violence situation or a teen parent.

My hope is that one day people who are trying to get out of poverty will have more support. I hope that children of low income families will be able to attend a day care with structure instead of staying with relatives. To allow access to more voucher the qualifications and funding need to be increased. Massachusetts should also keep the DTA Cash Assistance and Childcare Voucher programs separate so that one is not dependent on the other. Why do I have to live in poverty to get daycare for my daughter?

N.S.
Crittenton Women’s Union
Woman to Woman Program Participant

Ways to protect our children

I am writing about children being abused. I think there should be tougher laws in Massachusetts concerning this matter. You are always hearing about this in the news. It’s still a big issue!

According to Fox News, a recent report by the Center for Disease Control reported that one in 50 U.S. infants is a victim of child abuse (www.foxnews.com). From 1987 to 1997, Massachusetts had a 98 percent increase in the number of children reported for abuse or neglect. This study came from the national database institute. They compiled 91,000 infant subjects, including 30,000 infants that were aged one week or younger. In the Massachusetts State Call to Action report, they used a sample of 1,000 children who were reportedly abused in order to study child abuse in Massachusetts. They discovered that “neglect was the most common type of maltreatment in Massachusetts in 1997, totaling about 68 percent of substantiated cases, followed by physical abuse at 24 percent.”

The national average for substantiated sexual abuse cases is 15 percent. In Massachusetts, it is only 6 percent. But even though the percentage of substantiated sexual abuse cases in Massachusetts is less than half the national average, it is still too high! (www.masskids.org)

We are supposed to trust our parents, teachers, and neighbors. But we know that some children have been victims of their abuse. How can we as a people keep all of our children safe when we know there are some parents, teachers, and neighbors that are abusing them? These adults are people who you’re supposed to trust with our children!

We should be aware that child abuse still exists. More people should be getting involved by being trained to recognize the warning signs of abuse in children. These trainings should be offered in schools. Once people are educated on the warning signs, they will be able to notify the police of child protective services when there is a suspicion of child abuse. And finally, we should have tougher laws on people who abuse children by putting them behind bars!

A. Johnson
Crittenton Women’s Union
Woman to Woman Program Participant

Massachusetts used most of the money saved by Welfare Reform to help low-income families move out of poverty - APRIL FOOLS!

A new report released at the Massachusetts Statehouse on April Fools Day revealed the truth that many of us already knew - the state is spending $1.3 Billion a year less to help low-income families than it did a dozen years ago. The state made these cuts even though law makers promised that they would shift funding from the cuts in the welfare rolls to programs assisting working poor families.

The report by the Home for Little Wanderers and the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center found that the state shifted a small amount of savings into increased child care but areas such as employment services to current and former welfare recipients dropped 21.9% and other supports (aid to elderly and disabled, and SSI) dropped 22.6%.

Where did most of the savings go?  To fund tax cuts for the upper middle class and the wealthy!

While overall poverty rates in the U.S. have fallen since 1995, the poverty rate in Massachusetts remains at about 10% of all people living in the state. 

If you are as outraged as I am, join us in working to invest more in education, training, childcare and affordable housing to help families out of poverty, by signing up for the Voices Advocacy Network at www.LiveWorkThrive.org.

You can find the report called “Following Through on Welfare Reform” at www.massbudget.org

Ruthie Liberman
Vice President of Public Policy
Crittenton Women's Union

Making higher education more affordable

Education is the cornerstone of society. Yet, in our society, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain higher education. A college education, both private and public, is so expensive that it becomes an elusive dream for many in our society.

Many bright students have opted out of pursuing higher education because it is not affordable. According to the New York Times, students who borrow money to attend a public college finish with a median debt of $16,000. Some of the private schools are trying to remedy this situation by offering grants in lieu of interest bearing loans. But not everyone can attend these institutions. At the rate we are financing public education, we are punishing the very people we are trying to help. To pay these loans, many college graduates either remain at home with their families or take the first available position they are offered. And there are also those who cannot find employment and end up in default of their student loans.

Now what are we to do? We can continue to ignore the problem, or the state of Massachusetts can start investing once again into the average citizen and provide free higher education to their students. I strongly agree with Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to provide two years of community college free. Even better: provide two years funding towards any public education for all those who graduate high school in the state of Massachusetts.

Written by an anonymous Woman to Woman program participant

Where Is All The Tax Money Going?

With all the taxes we pay the government, why are there still tons of homeless people with no home to live in? In traveling the city, I notice a lot of vacant buildings that can be used as apartments. I see my tax money go to construction and casinos when really the best place to invest is try to decrease the population of homeless by building affordable housing.

I’m a mother of 4 children and I live in a scattered site shelter - which I am grateful for - but in the meantime, it’s not a permanent place to live. All day long I look for apartments, but I don’t find any that I can afford. Massachusetts should spend our money building more houses so low-income and homeless families will have a better chance of finding a permanent home.
   
Yours truly,
Y. A. H.

Let’s talk about snow!

Since last week, Boston has had 19-inches of snow with two storms combined. Now we have huge piles of snow banks to deal with. During the first snow, Governor Patrick declared a snow emergency that allowed for some sort of clean up effort. With the Sunday Nor’easter, three days after the first storm, the Governor did not deem necessary to do the same. As a result, parked cars were plowed in on some streets.

Consequently, we now have to deal with extremely narrow streets. On top of this inconvenience, there are a lot of sidewalks that haven’t been cleared properly to accommodate pedestrians, especially women with young children and baby strollers. Those sidewalks have been shoveled just wide enough to allow one person to walk in a straight line. And then there is the problem of icy walkways. Thus, some of us are forced to walk on the road which causes a safety hazard.

In local forecasts, temperatures are will not warm enough to make any significant change. Since we cannot rely on Mother Nature to help us melt all this snow anytime soon, I firmly believe that the city of Boston should put in place some effort to remedy the situation like progressively trucking out some of this snow and plowing more of the leftover snow on the roadways and bus stops.

- Helene

Proper Recycling: Small Changes, Big Impact

If every community in our city and around the world should get on board and learn how to proper recycle and take the time to do it. I believe that every neighborhood should be in evolved. Unfortunately, some residents do not know how to recycle property or just don't care. Our city has an excellent recycling program that provides our community with a number of recycling bins for plastic, glass, paper, and cans.

It was agreed that lack of non-participation may be due lack of residents not having information and education about how these services work and what it includes. Many of us had no idea that the city would accept an array of recycling items, for example, scheduled locations to drop off hazardous waste.

If every town, city, and state does their part in recycling it will be good for the planet and good for their community. If you get in the habit of recycling and it becomes part of your or our routine, you will think nothing of it. It really plays important part of our community.

Recycling is good for our environment.

- Contributed by an Anonymous guest author

Domestic Violence in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, a woman is murdered every 9 days as a result of domestic violence. On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. A study conducted by Jane Doe, Inc. found that there have been approximately 27 incidents of domestic violence related homicides in Massachusetts from January to August 2007, 17 of which were female victims and 3 were children. Although domestic violence can affect men as well, women are 5 to 8 times more likely to be the victim of domestic violence than men.

Jane Doe, Inc. has expanded the definition of domestic violence to include violence perpetrated against a current or former intimate or dating partner, violence against teens or adults who have a child with the perpetrator, violence within a relationship based on power and control or jealousy, violence perpetrated against any family member and any violence perpetrated against an innocent bystander trying to help a victim.

Who’s at Risk?
Two of the most likely targets of domestic abuse and violence in the last ten to fifteen years are pregnant women and new mothers. A total of 1,367 pregnant women and new mothers have been killed since 1990 across the country. In a study of 724 adolescent mothers between the ages of 12-18, one of every eight pregnant adolescents reported having been physically assaulted by the father of her baby during the preceding 12 months. Of these, 40 percent also reported experiencing violence at the hands of a family member or relative. Domestic violence affects women of any age and teens are no exception. Dating violence is one of the most common forms of domestic violence. Approximately one in five female public high school students in Massachusetts reported to have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from dating partners. Minority women have a higher risk of being a victim of violence, particularly sexual violence, compared to white women. Studies have shown that economic and social factors can significantly effect how women internalize violent incidents and their ability to seek help.

Now What?
Between 2002 and 2003 over 3,900 women and their families sought shelter and support as the result of domestic violence. Many battered women become homeless if and when they find the courage to leave their abuser or if they have been kicked out by their abuser. Ninety-two percent of homeless women have experienced severe physical and/or sexual assault at some point in their lives. In a 1998 study, 22 percent of 777 individuals surveyed stated that they had fled their home because of domestic violence. Victims and survivors of domestic violence have trouble finding apartments because they may have poor credit, rental, and employment histories as a result of their abuse. Requests for emergency shelter by homeless families with children continue to increase in the U.S. each year.

The Crittenton Women’s Union Horizons program was the first of its kind in New England to provide housing and support for battered women and their children. There are now 18 units of space available to women and their families escaping abuse. Horizons can only do so much and there are so many more women suffering from abuse in Massachusetts that need help. There need to be even more programs like Horizons, not only to provide a safe haven for these women, but also to help them realize their independence and potential and create a life for themselves and their families. But first and foremost, women need to realize and understand the risks posed to them and need to be aware of the prevalence of domestic violence. We need to learn how to protect ourselves and where to get help if necessary. Awareness is so important, not to create fear, but to empower women to be prepared and capable to make a change for themselves and their families.

Alicia Stokes
Advocacy Intern, CWU

My Viewpoint on Immigration

Immigration is the blueprint, foundation, and backbone of the United States. Freedom of speech, religion, and a dream for a better way of living has always been the morale fiber that has been interwoven throughout the history of this country. 

What is the difference between pulling up to the dock of Ellis Island on an over crowded ship then trying to use anything that is floatable to cross body of water risking one’s life for the same cause or idea?

The rich build businesses, foundations, and estates to pass on to the next generation and so that they will be remembered long after they have left this earth.

The poor tends to pass on heirlooms such as a mother’s wedding ring or dress, a hand-woven quilt, cooking recipes, and folklores about family history.

The Encyclopedia Americana puts it this way:

"People look for a place to settle where they can own land, eat well, vote and enjoy sense of equality and realize opportunities that were once denied the parents."

Has this not always been America’s dream?

So, if one is good enough to take care of their children, clean their house, do errands and take on the jobs that you think are beneath you, then what is wrong with their children sitting in the classroom learning the same as yours?

As long as the Statue of Liberty is out in the New York Harbor saying:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I considered this to be an open door invitation to anyone anywhere. I believe that everyone has the right to come here to build a life for themselves and their families.

By: Sandra P., Woman to Woman participant

What Role is TAFDC Playing?

TAFDC has been helping families with children in U.S. for many years. Yet many parents complain about not being assisted in the proper way. In fact, we have to sit down and think, is it really the organization's fault or our own fault? We have to consider both parties.

First, it is true that many TAFDC workers don't do their job by helping people in a timely fashion. Some of them are not really there to help, but to get their pay. There are workers who are there to help people, but are extremely busy, and have to be called frequently so they can assist you better. We cannot only blame the department, sometimes it's really trying to help people, but people don't want to take the opportunity to better themselves.

TAFDC is not a program for lifetime; TAFDC is a program that will help you certain amount of time, until you get settled with your life. Some people don't take the proper benefit of TAFDC. They waste their time and benefit themselves with the income, but they don't try to do something progressive with their lives. So, now do you still believe that all the blame should be put on TAFDC?

Where Do People Like Me Fit?

People, for as long as I can remember, have expressed to me how smart, special, good, strong, and caring I really am. People have also expressed to me they felt I would go far in life and would probably succeed at any thing I set out to do in my life. These things have always been nice for me to hear and I would agree. I am all these things, and so much more. However, sometimes I feel life is just downright frustrating and confusing.

People like me, for whatever reason, seem to have been given a raw deal to work from, learn, and hopefully grow and develop from. The game of life isn’t always easy for us to play. To us it seems there are always trick cards being thrown our way, people trying to steal what is rightfully ours, or people plainly cheating and trying to get over on us. We are not blind and are able to see what’s going on! Despite these upsets in our lives, we continue to fight our way through these obstacles to stay in the game of life. People like me just want a good prosperous life just like the next person. The simple things in life such as a nice and safe place to live, a good job to be economically self-sufficient, to have love, respect, courtesy, and compassion in our lives. People like me want to be freed from needing extra help that we have had to have to assist us in our lives so we could survive and be able to live. We never intended to be on any system for longer than we really needed to be. People like me never wanted to feel stuck.

People like me understand totally that we have to crawl before we can walk. We also understand, quite frankly, we might have made some bad choices in our lives that may have caused some of our heartaches and pain that we have experienced. We still deserve another chance to make whatever it was we did wrong, right!

When it’s all said and done, when we do decide to do something about the things in our lives that we are not happy about, we are sometimes slammed up against a wall. Why? We are doing everything we can to help ourselves. We have started to take some of the advice that had been given to us so many times by others who have seemed to care about us as a person, so what is the problem then? The problem is, some people don’t want people like me to become unstuck, it may make them feel better that they have more than people like me have and they may even feel they are better than people like me.

People like me sometimes feel we are used as other people’s doormats. People like me, are like precious diamonds that most people don’t appreciate until we have moved on to other things in our lives. Well! I am here to tell you people like me change the world. We are the people who spread hope and sunshine into other people’s lives. We are the people who are able to reach a wide range of people of all social statuses. We are the people who make good leaders. People like me are missionaries, teachers, counselors, ministers, and even doctors. People like me are people who will and have gone over and beyond the call of duty, to help and serve,

Or just fill in, because there is a need. So! Where do people like me fit in society? The answer is: We fit anywhere people will allow us to prove ourselves GREAT!

To Teenagers

Surviving or survival skills for teenagers can at times be difficult or even hard; this does not always have to be this way. This process or this phase of teenager’s lives can be a lot less difficult and safer if teenagers are guided and given the skills necessary as they strive towards independence and self-motivation.

It is imperative that in present day society that you have or seek out positive role models and mentors to help guide you through these very important years. You do not have to do this alone. Gaining life skills are of utmost importance if there isn’t good role modeling in your homes or around you. You must never settle for less. Look at your teachers, leaders in the churches around, police officers, heads of state, and so on.

There is corruption in every walk of life and on every level of society. This is when you find your spiritual side and live as closely to a power outside of yourself that is greater than you (maybe God). If religion doesn’t work for you, then always do the next right thing and if you don’t know what this should look like ask somebody, and not just anybody, but someone that has knowledge, power, strength, wisdom, understanding, and compassion. Someone that will be there for you no matter what; that will be there for you when you need them.

Teenagers, seek out people that are positive and making positive changes in their community. This is about your life. You are important. You matter to your community and that others can look up to you.

Life does next have to be a series of dead end streets. You must always lift your head up high and see that the sky is the limit. You can be happy, joyous, and free. You must ultimately work hard and remember that there can be limitless possibilities for you.

So with all the above in mind, teenagers stay positive, be healthy make wise choices, and you were meant to be here because YOU ARE IMPORTANT!!! and YOU MATTER!!!

Prison system reform: Stop the Cycle of drug offences

I am here to offer input on an issue that never gets addressed and is almost always ignored. From knowing some people who have been through the correctional system, I have asked myself, how is it that an inmate has access to drugs? Have you ever thought of what it even takes to visit someone in prison? The visitation processes are so difficult that, believe me when I say, it cannot be the visitor who brings it in. I know that many other people also have access to the inmates, but are not required to go through the same security measures that everyone else does. Because inmates have continued access to drugs while in prison, they may never be fully rehabilitated.

This is where my concerns for the inmate transitioning back out to society lie, especially when they leave and still have substance abuse issues and need additional recovery support. Someone in recovery might be on the verge of relapse despite all these programs supposedly available through the Massachusetts prison system (listed on their website,) But once you are in jail, it’s difficult to really get that help because the rehab programming is not consistent and inmates have continued access to drugs.

A reality check is needed in all aspects and areas of recovery and drug reform. I believe when the problem is ignored it becomes worse, the way it has throughout the years. Many inmates get released, then must deal with society—their blame and judgment—while the main issue is not dealt with, lack of prison system supports and resources when inmates are released.

Case management is not what it should be, nor  are the services they claim to offer. So by me posting these concerns, I am hoping that I can make you aware of what’s going on and how we may fix it. Someone you know may end up in this situation and may need guidance to the right ways of staying off of drugs and away from the circumstances that may lead them to going back to jail or relapsing. I feel that with state funding available to the prison system and responsible staffing, Massachusetts should not have an issue with consistency in service delivery.

I believe that a pre-release program should be mandatory for all inmates who are afflicted with the disease of substance abuse so that they can know the resources and requirements to enroll in rehabilitation programs before leaving a structured institution, including prison. Maybe this way they will be more willing to deal with their disease and not go back to where they came from.

Program Criteria for Entering the Workforce

It's true training programs for entering the workforce have been increasing since the late 1970's and 1980's when such opportunities almost became extinct. No longer were programs to help single mom's get off welfare a priority.

Now in 2007 with welfare reform, single mom's are told that they must return back to work or obtain employment once they're child reaches five years of age. They are no longer eligible for benefits. They are assisted with daycare vouchers and transportation Charlie Cards to attend such programs.

While programs are arising both on the private sector as well as government-funded, they sometimes meet unrealistic enrollment qualifications. For example, Susan is a mother of twin boys, age five. Susan finally found a program that sparked her interest, and her mother agreed to support her as long as she attended some type of program or school that would help her become economically self sufficient.

Susan enrolled in a program that would help her toward her career to find a job that would allow her to work, support her family, and offer tuition reimbursement to an accredited college of her choice, as long as it was in her field of interest through the program. The criterion is that she shows one year of work experience. Susan unfortunately got pregnant after she graduated from high school and soon after turned to the government for cash assistance. Therefore, Susan has never worked.

Yet Susan has worked; she has taken very good care of the boys. She has managed to make it on a very small budget that the welfare provided, her children have not been seriously ill and are very happy little boys. We have a tendency to minimize a woman's job in the household; we are the backbone of the family. Please take into consideration some of the criteria when attaching them to some of the government-funded programs. You could be keeping somebody from getting out of debt, continuing their education, or from supporting their family, which is our ultimate goal. We need more open enrollment programs that can reach out to all unemployed single parents, not just a few.

Domestic Violence as a Barrier to Self Sufficiency

At Crittenton Women’s Union, we offer programs that assist and educate women to achieve self-sufficiency for themselves, and for their families. But we most often think of that mission in economic terms: What skills does this woman need?  What kind of job is she training for?  How much money will she eventually earn?

For women who are victims of domestic violence, the batterer in their lives represents a tangible barrier to any efforts that she makes to achieve self sufficiency. Studies frequently show that the abuser interferes with a women’s ability to go to work, receive training or attend school. For example, a woman may report that on the night before an exam, her partner harassed her and kept her awake so that she could not study and was too tired to take the test the next day. Manipulations like this, in addition to actual physical violence, are another tool in the abuser arsenal to keep a woman economically bound to the relationship, no matter how negative the situation. 

In response to this type of situation, CWU maintains two transitional housing programs for battered women and their children, providing them with a safe alternative to remaining in a violent situation.  While living in one of these programs, women are also given the opportunity to involve themselves in education and workforce development initiatives offered by both CWU and our other partner agencies. In this way she can start to heal from her experience and also move towards self-sufficiency economically and emotionally without interference.

Domestic violence programs at CWU are part of a statewide network of 45+ programs that provide emergency and transitional shelter, hotlines, emergency relocation, and counseling for individuals and in groups. Funding for these critical domestic violence programs in Massachusetts has never been sufficient to meet the needs of victims.  In a recent Boston Herald article conditions are described as reaching a crisis level and funding not sufficient to meet basic needs.
 
Like its sister programs, transitional housing for domestic violence survivors at CWU has had a tenuous funding history and 50% of the annual funding must be privately raised through private donations and foundation grants. In February 2007, CWU applied for a federal grant from the Department of Justice to support its domestic violence program and we have just been notified that CWU will be the recipient of this new funding source from the Department of Justice.  DOJ is responsible for distributing funds under the Violence Against Women Act and this particular grant opportunity focuses on supporting transitional housing for battered women, as well as providing a variety of support services for this target group. The grant period will begin provides a total of $255,000 over three years, supporting approximately 20% of the program budget each year. 

This new addition to the funding pool will significantly assist CWU in continuing to provide critical services to battered women and their families, as well as meeting the financial needs of all its programs. CWU is extremely fortunate to be the recipient of this national award. However, funding at all government levels continues to be short for domestic violence efforts.  While our state budget for domestic violence services in Massachusetts has increased  by 33% in the past five years,  only 60% of that budget goes for those direct services that support hotlines, shelters, and counseling services.

Across the state hundreds of requests for safe housing are declined for lack of space in programs like the one operated by CWU.  The recent death of Elizabeth Cann, together with  the shooting of her two children makes headlines. Behind those headlines however, women that we never hear about, are threatened and beaten, deprived of their right to grow and achieve. To ensure these right to every woman, each of us needs to support more funding to help victims of domestic violence, whether it be with a your own donation or by advocating for more support with your legislator.   

Jane Titus
Contracts Officer
Crittenton Women's Union

The Definition of Poverty

Last week the US Census Bureau released the 2006 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) which reported that the FPL for a family of three to be considered “living in poverty” is $16,079. This is no where near what it takes a family of three in Massachusetts to get by. The application of the FPL is widespread. Food stamps, Section 8 housing vouchers, child care vouchers, WIC, all of these programs are based on the FPL, an antiquated formula created 40 years ago when families spent 1/3 of their income on food. The FPL does not take into consideration housing, transportation, taxes, childcare, or family type nor does it account for regional cost variations.

A more realistic measure of a family’s ability to provide basic goods necessary for survival is the Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency (FESS) Standard which does take into account family type and geographic location. According to FESS, an adult with a preschool and a school aged child living in Boston actually needs to earn $58,133 a year to be self-sufficient with NO GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS. $58,000 a year! This is nearly 3 times the FPL and does not include “luxuries” such as clothing, school supplies, entertainment, etc.

The difference between the FPL and FESS shows us that a larger proportion of women and families than poverty figures indicate are living in poverty. To combat this we must continue to advocate for the continuation and expansion of education and workforce training programs so we can prepare women for careers that pay a self-sufficient wage which will lead them to a life of economic independence.

Kelsey McCoy
Public Policy Coordinator
Crittenton Women's Union

Stop the cycle of violence

The following appeared in the Boston Sunday Globe on August 5, 2007:

Crime consumed a family, and an 8-year-old is lost

"Liquarry A. Jefferson probably didn't have a chance. His father was in prison the day the boy was born, emerging long enough from his manslaughter sentence to commit a string of armed robberies. His four half siblings were born of three different fathers, all gang members, and, currently, all inmates."
[Click here to read the full story.]

This front-page article in the Boston Sunday Globe was both depressing and thought-provoking. It focused on the recent accidental shooting of an 8-year-old boy by his 7-year-old cousin. How much sadder can it get?

The quote below from the story kind of sums it all up:

"Crime in many neighborhoods runs in families, where elders bequeath gang membership, drug abuse, joblessness, and brutality to their offspring like a toxic inheritance." 

What can be done to interrupt this vicious cycle?  Is there any hope?

Whose Responsibility is the Income Gap?

I saw an interesting story in the Boston Metro last week, a national survey about the income gap between the richest and the poorest in the US and how the gap has gotten bigger over the last 25 years. Read the story here.

The part that I find really interesting is that 2/3 of the survey responses said that "the government should make sure there are jobs for everyone," but at the same time, almost 2/3 (the same people?) also said that it is not the government's responsibility to ease income differences. How can you believe one and not the other? I personally believe that it is the government's responsibility to protect the well-being of all of its citizens, which cannot happen while a growing percentage of those citizens cannot make ends meet.

I guess it is a question of how the government can deal with this problem. Maybe the people in the survey think the government should create jobs, but should not take money away from rich people in order to do so. Or, maybe they think job creation is okay so people can work themselves out of poverty, but direct services and grants for poor people are not. While you are working your way up the income ladder, how do you think the government should be helping? Is "more jobs" really the answer?

Also, if not the government, who else holds responsibility to equalize the well-being of U.S. citizens? Can we expect wealthy people to voluntarily give their money away? Most big corporations give some of their profits to charity, but it is usually a tiny percentage, and not always to programs like Crittenton Women's Union. Who else could help bridge that gap between the super-rich and the families at the bottom of the income charts?

Affordable housing has reached crisis stage in Massachusetts

Affordable housing opportunites have become a crisis in Massachusetts. News media reports document the exodus of families and college students from Massachusetts to other more affordable states as a result. I personally see the devastating impact of this crisis on a daily basis when I come to work at the Crittenton Women's Union.

Currently, I am coordinator of one of the housing programs that houses homeless families in scattered sites across the city. We provide families with shelter every night and with services to help them on their path to self-sufficiency. Our shelters are always full to capacity. When one family moves out, another moves in the very next day and sometimes the same day.

I have also worked up close and personal with families on a one-to-one basis for five out of the eight years I have worked in the organization in the capacity of senior case manager. I learned first hand how devastating it is for families to be homeless. Oftentimes these families are depressed and suffer from feelings of low self-esteem. They live in challenging conditions for up to two years while they wait for permanent subsidized housing. These challenges include trying to continue their education under these circumstances, obtaining affordable daycare or child care vouchers that include transporation for their children, coping with sleeping in one room with their children, and managing to comply with shelter rules and regulations as well as Department of Transitional Assistance (or other funder) rules and regulations. These families find it hard to raise their children in "public" not to mention feeling as though they have little control over their lives and are being told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it by service delivery personnel whom they encounter while navigating through the shelter system.

Every citizen of the Commonwealth is deserving of affordable housing but I believe it is, and should be, a priority for the homeless. Not only should there be subsidy programs in greater abundance, but also first time home buyer programs targeted for them as well.

I implore all who are reading this blog to unify to find creative ways to advocate with the legislature for these families to ensure they receive the assistance and support they need which are: grants (not loans) for post-secondary education, child care assistance for work as well as for education and training, more training programs for jobs that pay well, transportation, and add on lots of encouragement to them to be assertive and do not quit until they have achieved their stabilization goals.

What are your priorities? Click here to take the survey.

RECLAIM THE DAY! A Call to Action by Anita Hill

Fifteen years ago, in a book defending Clarence Thomas’s selection for the Supreme Court, author David Brock described me as “nutty” and “slutty.” After making millions in book sales, Brock recanted and confessed that he was “blinded” by his own financial and political ambitions. Last month Don Imus described the members of the Rutgers Basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” A week of protests resulted in Imus losing his lucrative television and radio contracts with MSNBC and CBS respectively. Yet, Imus is reported to be suing CBS for the $40 million remaining on his contract claiming the network encouraged him to be “confrontational and irreverent.”

Because the debasement of women continues to sell and derogatory terms for women have become part of popular discourse, I’m convinced that we need more than Brock recanting or Imus being fired. We need a movement to counter the verbal assaults on women that flow freely in modern media outlets and that have now crept into our workplaces and are increasing in our schools. In addition to our efforts to “Take Back the Night,” we need to “Reclaim the Day!”

I’m not talking about censoring artists or comics.  What I want is positive entertainment and educational programming that replaces or, at the very least, balances the negative.   

It is true that many women struggle financially and continue to suffer abuse and discrimination. Yet, today, women as a group are more economically self-sufficient and better educated than ever.  We can use our brains and our spending power to develop and support programming that portrays women (and men) realistically. 

Please share with me your ideas about how this can happen. (E-mail: Anita@womensmediacenter.com) If you do, I promise to use all of the resources available to me to see that you are heard by those who can make them a reality.

--Anita F. Hill

Original article posted here, and reprinted with permission of the author.

A message from Councilor Sam Yoon

It never ceases to impress me when I meet a working, single-mom who, in the midst of struggling to make ends meet, is still actively involved in the community…attending crime watch meetings, volunteering at local events or holding campaign signs. With so much on their plate, it is amazing to see these women persevere through adversity, challenge difficult odds and survive among turmoil.

Recently, my wife and I invited a classmate of our son, Nathan, to our home for a Saturday play-date. The mother of Nathan’s classmate, whom I'll call "Mary", is a single-parent, raising three young sons whose fathers are incarcerated. As our children have gotten friendly (Nathan has become like a big brother to her son), I have been able to see Mary deal with various struggles. What is most impressive is her ever-present sense of confidence and unwavering cheerful spirit. Despite her difficulties, Mary smiles with such ease. My appreciation for women who endure under strenuous circumstances has been further reinforced after knowing her.

While my wife and I babysat for the afternoon, Mary was busy finalizing her move to a new residence. The moving process for her was quite challenging, especially with no transportation and living on moderate income. My role as a city legislator has made me even more mindful of the policies created that impact the people who live in the city, especially individuals like Mary.

As I have learned more about state and city housing programs, I am distressed to find that the system is quite convoluted and not very user friendly. I have come to realize that people, like Mary (and others posted on this blog), who have legitimate needs for resources related to finance or housing, become lost and frustrated in a maze of bureaucracy. Although the state and city programs are valuable and do important work, the people who need the programs most are often discouraged or lose motivation as the process to assistance proves to be lengthy and/or scattered.

As an elected official and Chairman of the City Council Housing Committee, I hope to develop ways to detangle the web of housing resources, making it easier for individuals to navigate the system. I want to ensure that those with the most urgent needs are attended to as timely and effectively as possible.

--Sam Yoon, Boston City Councilor At-Large

Welcome!

As a leading organization in Massachusetts dedicated to transforming the lives of low-income women, the Crittenton Women’s Union wishes to guide social change so that all women of the Commonwealth can discover opportunity and prosperity. We understand that in order to meet this goal, we must foster a conversation on this issue that is compelling, innovative, and provocative.

The purpose of the Crittenton Women’s Union Weblog is to allow direct communication between low-income women, policy makers, educators, researchers, and supporters on the issue of economic self-sufficiency. We know that the diversity of voices surrounding this issue is a valuable resource that must be tapped if we are to find powerful and effective public policy solutions.

We currently feature four categories:

Personal Journeys: The journey to economic self-sufficiency is sensitive and complex. In this area, you will find women’s stories that are invaluable to the conversation and central to changing public policy and opinions in Massachusetts.

The Political Arena: In this category, you can make democracy work for you by directly connecting with your public policy and government leaders!

Insights: In this category, you will find thought-provoking statements, compelling research, and up-to-the-minute information on self-sufficiency from a diverse group of educators, philanthropists, researchers, and opinion leaders.

Advocacy Alerts: In this area, you can stay informed on the state of the Commonwealth by checking in with the CWU's Advocacy Department.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Kirsten Blocker, Web Content Manager
E-mail: kblocker@liveworkthrive.org