Look who started a blog!

Bread for the City is happy to welcome another one of our partner organizations to the blogosphere! We just got word yesterday that the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, a watchdog organization with an emphasis on issues that affect low- and moderate-income residents, launched a blog that will post weekly analysis of the budget. DCFPI has worked with Bread for the City on countless occasions, and this blog will allow DC residents to get the same briefings we do. DCFPI are experts on how budgets are constructed and executed, and they end up knowing before anyone else where money is going.  They are tireless and true advocates for our community; finding places where there is inefficient or wasteful spending and working to make sure those funds are redirected to more worthy projects.

Just in case you missed it before, another close partner of ours also started a blog recently--Martha’s Table! Running a host of different programs (from food delivery to clothing to children’s programs), Martha’s Table has an awful lot to report about. Tidbits from the Table is a place for you to see the good work this non-profit does firsthand since they have tons of videos and slideshows from inside the services they offer.

The Capital Area Food Bank put together a social media workshop for direct-service non-profits about a month ago.  One of the things I mentioned during my presentation was the need for more direct-service non-profits to break out into the blogosphere.  There is tremendous interest in the work that we're doing, equaled by a number of misconceptions about how that work is executed.  Especially in this economy, all of us are going to have to think creatively about how to show people the things that we're doing and why that work is important.  We can speak to the need in our community with a great deal more success if we work together.  

Expanding food stamps

Well something's about to go right: Councilmember Michael A. Brown has introduced legislation that will expand eligibility for food stamps for DC residents. All Councilmembers have signed on as co-sponsors, and several are pushing hard for it - we are told this bill is a "shoo-in."

DC Hunger Solutions has the details. Essentially the legislation does two separate things. One, it expands eligibility for the food stamps program from 130% of the Federal Poverty line to 200%. The other action taken by the legislation is fairly technical: it links food stamp eligibility to TANF funding, so that anyone participating in a TANF-funded program will themselves also be eligible for food stamps.

The legislation will bring an estimated 4600 to 4800 new families into the program within the first year, for a benefit of about $30-60 per household per month.

At the same time, President Obama’s stimulus plan will increase the SNAP food stamp benefit up to 18%, further leveraging the impact of Councilmember Brown's bill. As a result, his office estimates that an additional $15 to 20 million of federal funding will flow into the District in the form of food stamps. In stimulus terms, this is all gravy: food stamps are reportedly the most effective form of economic stimulus, generating $1.73 of economic activity for every $1 of food stamp. That's about $25 to $30 million of additional economic activity for DC.

This was low-hanging fruit, a no-brainer way to help those who need it the most while stimulating the city's economy all at little or no cost to the city itself. Here at Bread for the City, we thank Councilmember Michael Brown for his initiative, and applaud DC Hunger Solutions for their leading role as well. Now here's the tough question: what's next?

More Budget Bull Sessions

Following up on what has proven to be a popular post, here are some more opportunities for you to learn about the DC budget at sessions, put on in part by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.

Department of Disability Services
March 30, 2009
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library: 901 G Street, NW, Room A-5
RSVP to advocacy@arcdc.net

Department of Healthcare Finance
April 1, 2009
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
825 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 500

Child and Family Services Administration
April 1, 2009
2:30-4:30 PM
441-4th Street, NW, Room 1114
Register here.

Department of Housing and Community Development
April 2
2:00-4:30 PM
True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street NW
RSVP to Bettina Myers at bmyers@cnhed.org

Department of Health
April 6, 2009
10:00 AM-12:00 PM
825 North Capitol Street, NE
(Dr. Pierre Vigilance, DOH Director, to speak and facilitate.)
RSVP to reed@dcfpi.org by April 1st

Beyond Bread: the Groundbreaking Roundup

~Bread for the City had a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday!!! All of the specifics of the new, bigger facility are on this old internet here along with some of the remarks from our friends. DCist was kind enough to cover the event, as well as the Washington Post. Thank you to all of our readers who moseyed over, and especially those who flagged me down to say hello. It was nice to see so many people come out to support us. Michael Blue, a long-time patient of Dr. Randi, gave a speech about the need for a bigger clinic that is now up on this blog.

~Kathy Kretman, Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership, praised our Executive Director George Jones in the Washington Post this week. Kathy says that, “George Jones and the Bread for the City staff set an example of how to handle this economic crisis with grace and dignity. They are true leaders.” Thank you, Kathy. That’s a really nice thing to say.

~MPNnow, the leading news source for suburban Rochester and the Finger Lakes, picked up a story about one of our volunteer groups!! The group, which was down from Rochester on a mission trip, came through the Youth Service Opportunities Project, a non-profit organization that warms my heart by linking us over 200 volunteers per year. Thank you to our friends in Rochester—you’re welcome back anytime!

~The number of homeless residents in DC jumped by 3 percent this past year to 6,228 residents. Of that, 2,294 people are in homeless families—a sharp 25% increase over last year.

Taking on TANF

Yesterday was the annual budget hearing for the Department of Human Services (DHS), the agency that administers the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides cash assistance, job training, and other critical services for vulnerable families facing a period of unemployment. The hearing is one of the few opportunities each year for the public to engage in discourse about how the city administers TANF.

So the advocates were out in force -- SOME advocate (and friend of Bread) Joni Podschun delivered testimony along with DC Fiscal Policy Institute, DC Women's Agenda, and Legal Aid. I'm told that things got lively -- and for those of us who hope to see the TANF program revisited and improved, the transcript is indeed encouraging.

Last week, Joni wrote a post on this very blog about TANF. DC receives $88 million worth of TANF funding from the federal government. But it's in the form of a block grant, which means that the city has discretion as to how the funding will be used. The core of the program is cash assistance ($427/month for a family of three) and employment services, but the $88 million is also directed towards anything from teen pregnancy prevention to college tuition, from foster care to ESL classes. Joni explained in her post that DC's TANF program is actually "stable and robust" when compared with many other states; and yet, she concluded, "as the economic downturn threatens to push more D.C. residents into poverty, the TANF program needs to be revisited and strengthened."

With the budget process under way, now is the time that the City can act to improve the system.

All of the advocates who testified yesterday called for the same action: increase the cash assistance by $19 a month, as a cost of living adjustment (known as a COLA). (This action is also recommended by the Fair Budget Coalition, which Bread for the City supports, and which has its recommendations in PDF form here.)

Now one might think that the level of cash assistance from TANF would be set to rise regularly in order to track with inflation -- but this practice ended in 1991. Since then, the benefit has lost 34% of its value.

The COLA that the advocates called for would represent a 4.4% increase. Though that's still a long ways from what it was decades ago, to TANF families this $19 represents a new pair of shoes for their kids, bus passes, school supplies, etc. It would cost the city a total of $2.7 million. Unfortunately, the Mayor's proposed budget does not include such a COLA.

Toward the end of the hearing, there was an exchange between Clarence Carter, the Director of DHS, and Councilmember Tommy Wells that is worth reading to get insight into why the TANF cash benefit hasn't increased in the face of a rising cost of living.

Wells: We proposed last year to hold off on the [TANF cash assistance] increase. For two years straight now we have had the same benefit amount. Why have you not proposed a cost of living increase?

Carter: Instead of an approach which provides a meager amount of dollars for a family, we believe that to work more intensively to grow their capacity beyond their need is a better use of the dollars. ...This is opposed to taking a relatively small amount of money to increase their benefits.

Wells: …I realize that we certainly don’t want to pull back from growing people’s earning capacity. How long should we leave it at this amount? What is the decision making process or the principle for ever increasing the TANF benefit rate?

Carter: The question should be how long will we focus on insuring the family doesn’t have to exist at that capacity. …

Wells: As you know we are approaching the 10% unemployment rate. As you and I both know the number is likely larger than that. The job opportunities seem to be diminishing. It is not a job rich time to say that we’re not going to increase the TANF benefits. Everyone knows that in Maryland they have a larger benefit and the cost of living is smaller there. Here our TANF benefits are lower and we have a higher cost of living. At some point we are going to need to increase it. Would you ever—10, 20, 30 years from now—increase the benefits?

Carter: I would hope that by then we would have developed a robust mechanism that would aggressively move them beyond their current capacity so the focus would not be on the benefit amount.

[UPDATE: Joni points us here, where the conversation can be seen on video, starting at 2hrs:51minutes. Thx Joni!]

Now, Carter's initial point is well-taken: TANF is supposed to function as a channel that will bring people into the workforce, and ultimately lead to self-sufficiency. Few would disagree with him that these are in fact important.

But people need to be healthy and safe today in order to get a job tomorrow. And to maintain that health and stability, people need a sufficient income. And as Councilmember Wells notes, we're at a moment in which job opportunities aren't really there to be had even for those who have gone through job training and are model candidates for employment. If there was ever a time to increase the level of cash assistance to families who need to survive in the face of unemployment, it's now.

And in any case, it seems like Carter is presenting the Council with a false choice. It should be possible to increase the cash benefit of assistance and simultaneously work to improve the programs that will expand people's capacity for work. SOME will soon release a report, along with DCFPI, that will have more detailed recommendations on how DHS could improve the efficiency of workforce programs -- but in the meantime, our city leaders need to take a hard look at how the numbers add up between what it costs to live in DC and what assistance is available to families who don't yet have a source of income.

During the hearing, Councilmember Wells (as well as Councilmember Michael Brown) pointedly considered the negative impact that an insufficient income has on a family, and even a community. By keeping the TANF benefit flat, the city would save $2.7 million, and thousands of DC families will face that much more instability and stress, which affects their children's education, their physical and mental health, and their future earning potential. Penny-wise and pound foolish, indeed.

So please express your sentiment to Councilmember Wells, who showed real leadership in asking these questions. You can send him your thanks by email, or call (202) 724-8072.

Grok the Budget: Attend a Community Forum to discuss

Earlier this week, in "Grokking the Budget," we mentioned a couple of ways that laypeople can go about wrapping their head around the DC budget. With hearings underway, now is the time to get your learn on!

Here are a couple of events with particular focus on disability services and housing, respectively:

What’s in the Proposed 2010 Budget for the DC Department on Disability Services?

WHEN: Monday, March 30, 2009, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

WHERE: Room A-5, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW. By Metro, between Gallery Place and Metro Center

RSVP / QUESTIONS: RSVP preferred, but not required. Please RSVP and send any advance questions for Director Heumann to advocacy@arcdc.net or 202-636-2963 by 12 noon on Monday, March 30th.

This is a chance to learn more about how Mayor Fenty’s proposed FY 2010 budget affects the Department on Disability Services (DDS). Because time is limited, please send in questions in advance if at all possible by 12 noon on Monday, March 30th to advocacy@arcdc.net or 202-636-2963.


Also, next week:


What’s in it for Kids: A Community Briefing on the Proposed FY2010 CFSA Budget

WHEN: Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 2:30pm - 4:30pm
WHERE: 441-4th Street, NW, Room 1114, Washington, DC

Registration will begin at 2:15pm

Presentation by Dr. Roque Gerald, Interim Director, Child and Family Services Agency

This is your opportunity to ask questions about how the Mayor’s budget is going to affect CFSA programs and services. Please forward questions for Dr. Gerald to abonder@dckids.org by COB, Friday, March 27th.

Sponsored and Facilitated by DC Action for Children. Location information will be sent as soon as confirmed. Please register here.




Educational budget briefing sponsored by the Affordable Housing Alliance and the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development

WHEN: April 2nd, from 2-430pm

WHERE: True Reformer Building at 1200 U Street

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute will be in the house, giving an overview of the entire budget, and representatives from DC's housing agencies will be on hand to discuss the budget's housing-specific aspects. If you would like to attend please RSVP to Bettina Myers.




Any others? Put 'em on our radar, please!

Another installment of Helping other people help people

Former BFC staffer and community member Jessie Posilkin continues our weekly series:

Welcome to our second installment of “Helping other people help people.” Our request this week comes from Greater DC Cares.

Greater DC Cares’ major event, the Servathon, recruits up to 3500 people to volunteer over a two day period (May 1st and 2nd this year). These volunteers go to a variety of direct-service non-profit organizations and public schools across the metro DC area. In the past volunteers have done anything from repainting classrooms to repairing playgrounds to re-landscaping worn down areas. Schools that typically could not do these sort of large-scale projects depend on the thousands of hands provided during Servathon, so this is certainly a good cause.

According to helpful DC blog WeLoveDC:

They’re looking for power tools, ladders, paint brushes, paper towels & drop cloths, gardening gloves and Home Depot Gift Cards.

Stop by the Greater DC Cares office from April 1st through the 3rd to make your donation to their tool box (here). Or, take them to the Community Tool Chest on Saturday April 4th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and tour the Community Tool Chest (located here).

So you could let those things collect dust in your garage, or you could help multiple organizations at once. Tough call!

Speech from Michael Blue, Bread for the City patient

We invited one of our patients, Michael Blue, to share his experience with Bread for the City today at our Groundbreaking ceremony. He did a fantastic job speaking after Delegate Norton, Councilmember Catania, et al, but by that point we were running late and I know he cut his speech short out of consideration. However, I liked his prepared remarks enough to want to share them here. Many thanks to Michael for joining us!

I'm a lifelong Washingtonian. Good gosh there aren't many things I haven’t done. I worked in the automotive field for a while, I had great health insurance there, but I left because you really have to cheat people to get by. So I went into bike messaging for 17 years, where the money was good but there were no real benefits.

And that’s how I first came here – as a courier, to pick up the DC [HealthCare] Alliance applications, which I’d then take to the Alliance. Bread for the City was one of the only stops that would have the package ready for me when I got there—and time is money for a courier, so I appreciated that. And I also came to like the feel of the place. I asked some questions and ended up as a medical patient here, then a legal client, and a food client. Now I’ve started training for my CDL (Commercial Drivers License), but in the meantime I still come here while the money isn’t flowing.

At the medical clinic I can get treatment for bike injuries, and other medical attention, but also I find here a wealth of knowledge. There’s information everywhere. From just the stuff on the walls, I learned how to read food labels. I’ve learned what it means to have high blood pressure, hypertension, high cholesterol.

And that Dr Randi: She’s woken me up. She’ll say ‘hey guy, you gotta take care of yourself.’ Pardon my French, but she’s one hell of a good doctor. Not just for her knowledge, but for her way of getting to you. She gives you one of these looks, that just gets right in to you.

My wife was sick, and we didn’t know what was wrong. She weighed just 98 pounds, and GW had her on all kinds of medications. When Dr. Randi worked with her, she focused on her diet, on her mental state. took her off of all that medication, and gave her hope instead. That did more good than all the prescriptions. Now she’s 175 pounds – a new woman! And I’m loving every inch.

At one point I’d fallen behind on rent, and my landlord was threatening to lock me out without going through due process. Dr. Randi noticed that something was wrong, that my blood pressure was high, and she asked about what was happening. I told her about my problems with the landlord, and she referred me to the legal department and they wrote a letter the next day to him, and that was that. Problem solved, and I was able to catch up on my rent. When I was having employment problems, they don’t do that work but they sure would put me in touch with someone who would, and I wouldn’t have to wait a year for it.

How you guys work in this sardine can so efficiently, I don’t know. I can get medical, legal, counseling, food, and it doesn’t take forever. It’s standing room only but the bathrooms are always spotless. And it can be a difficult clientele – people are sick, and they’re frustrated.

But the people working here aren’t just there for a job. They’re here to help. And you’re not just a problem to be solved, or put aside somehow. You’re a human being and they’re here for you.

As part of the community, this is an oasis. And word is spreading rapidly. My job keeps me in the streets, I know all kinds of people – and the need for these services is growing rapidly. People don’t have cell phones but the word gets out. There’s a lot of people who really need help, and they depend on Bread for the City. And now that it's expanding - you ain't seen nothing yet!

Groundbreaking roundup: special guests

Thanks to everyone who came out to our Northwest Center groundbreaking ceremony this morning! It was great to see such a large group of friends, colleagues, donors, clients, and community leaders gathered in support of our expansion project. We'll have pictures and more to share here soon, but first I wanted to relay some of the highlights from the speakers we had:


Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
No matter what happens in the economy, Bread for the City’s doors will be open for people. Long before you have to go to the emergency room, you’ve got a place here. Bread for the City does it all for those for whom there is a constant recession. Thank you for the work that you do, and thank you for expanding.

City Councilmember David Catania, Chair of the Committee on Health
[Speaking of the Tobacco Trust Fund, from which the initial funding for our expansion was procured]: Other states never did anything with that money, but the District is different. We securitized $250 million and every nickel has been reinvested in health care infrastructure. I am proud to be part of a city that even in these times refuses to be knocked down. We’re not just going to have a good health care safety net in DC, not just a great one – we’re going to have the best in the country. The money is there, the projects have been promised, and the projects will be delivered.

Sharon Baskerville, CEO of the DC Primary Care Association
Health care is a right, not a privilege. And in these times, which are so tough that Bread for the City’s staff are even taking salary cuts, this project is a leap of faith. It represents a major step toward the elimination of the huge disparity of health access in the city. If you’ve seen where we’ve come from in the last 30 years, you know what a momentous day this is.



Michael Blue, Bread for the City patient
When we first started coming here, my wife was sick, and we didn’t know what was wrong. She weighed just 98 pounds, going to the hospital almost every week, and GW had her on all kinds of medications. Then we met Dr. Randi--who is an incredible woman. She worked with her, focused on her diet, on her mental state. Took her off of all that medication, and gave her hope instead. That did more good than all the prescriptions. Now she’s back to her normal weight (laughs) – she's a new woman! And I’m loving every inch.

Grokking the Budget: help for non-wonks

Yesterday, we posted the Coalition for Community Investment's statement on the Mayor's budget proposal for FY2010, and the reaction was tentatively positive--especially to the level of descriptive detail, which the Coalition called "a step forward in budget transparency [that] will help the DC Council and residents understand the proposed changes."

But a step forward still stops far out of reach of non-wonky laypeople who are affected by these matters but to whom the budget remains an impenetrable document and an obscure process. As Kathryn Baer describes the budget proposal document on her Poverty and Policy blog, "It’s entitled “Meeting the Challenge.” And, indeed, you’ll meet a challenge if you try to read it--unless, of course, you’re an expert in the D.C. budget and have insider information about what lies behind the figures."

Well put! Fortunately, for those of us who are really interested in the budget but can't wrap their heads around these source documents, there are options. (These options, unfortunately, are not all that easily findable online.)

First example: The Arc of DC released its annual budget guide, which you can download here as a PDF. This document -- which is also quite long, but reader friendly -- is geared primarily towards matters relating to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Nevertheless, it contains handy general information on the budget process and schedule, instructions on how to be involved in the hearings, and a good amount of departmental information and contextualization. It's really an impressive breakdown, especially if you're interested in the topical matter of mental health care in the District, which we've covered at length here.

For more information about The Arc of DC’s budget guide, or to request a printed copy, contact T.J. Sutcliffe, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, at 202-636-2963 or tjsutcliffe[AT]arcdc[DOT]net.

Also of interest to concerned citizens: on April 2nd, from 2-430pm at the True Reformer Building at 1200 U Street, there will be an educational budget-briefing sponsored by the Affordable Housing Alliance and the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development. The DC Fiscal Policy Institute will be in the house, giving an overview of the entire budget, and representatives from DC's housing agencies will be on hand to discuss the budget's housing-specific aspects. If you would like to attend please RSVP to Bettina Myers.

There are probably some other useful opportunities out there for non-wonks to start wrapping their heads around this critical budget process. Care to share?

National Poverty News Roundup for 24 March

As I scan the headlines from the past week, two issues jump out at me: homelessness, and the growing awareness of problems in the global food system.

Homelessness, we learn in a fairly stark report issued by the National Center on Family Homelessness, is on the increase nationwide, especially among families and children. Being homeless has detrimental effects on those whom it effects, especially children: health problems, emotional difficulties, and decreased lifetime incomes are only the tip of the iceberg. Personal stories put a human face on the issue, whether in Binghamton NY or in the tent city near Sacramento CA (which is scheduled to be closed, with some -- but nowhere near all -- of the residents moved to more sanitary facilities). Some money from the federal stimulus package may help to meet the most immediate needs, but the emergency shelter system is clearly under stress.

At the same time, global retail food prices seem to be remaining much higher than the world market prices of the food commodities themselves. This may be just the latest chapter in the problems of a global food system that persistently engages in unsustainable production -- the kind of disfunction that may, just may, be promoting a "food revolution" that leads to more sustainable agricultural practices. Even the White House is getting into the act, with its organic vegetable garden. Will we see the complete re-making of declining cities like Detroit to resemble a concept like "Farmadelphia," with food grown in abandoned lots in the inner city itself?

Economic distress remains widespread: students graduating from college this Spring, people being laid off as their workplaces face budget cuts, or those affected by increasing foreclosure rates or other shifts in employment patterns. What can you do? If you live in DC, you can participate in World Water Week this week and help give children clean water to drink. Or think about the neighborhoods through which you pass on the way to and from work, and consider getting involved there for an hour or two a week. Every little bit helps.

Bread for the City's FY08 Annual Report

We recently posted our Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on our website. You can download the PDF here.

The report really highlights the remarkable growth in all of our programs. Over the last three or four years, our social, legal, and medical programs have each seen increases in service numbers of about 10 to 20% annually. And each department has new projects or expansions: the Attorney of the Day and Community Lawyering projects in Legal, to the TANF Home Visits Program in Social, to a major nutrition initiative in our Food pantry, and of course the planned expansion of our Medical clinic. (Speaking of which: the Groundbreaking is tomorrow at our Northwest Center! 830AM! Join us!)

It's important to note that this growth has increased right along with an increase in demand for our services, demand that was climbing long before the market crash. This coming year -- given the upcoming reductions in our service hours -- will not see that same rate of growth. But we're taking those measures specifically so that growth can resume when the economic crisis subsides. Thank you for standing with us during this time!

Lastly, many thanks go out to Groff Creative, who designed this year (and last year's) Bread for the City annual report, pro bono. They did a great job, too. You should hire them.

Sharon Needs Items For Our Cooking Classes

Good food can make a person happy.

Sharon Gruber, on top of being a regular contributor to this blog, also teaches nutritional cooking classes for the low-income patrons of Bread for the City. This is often a space for people to ask specific questions about how to cook with certain ingredients, and it merges perfectly with the fresh produce we're offering in our food pantry. Given the enormous success of our cooking classes, we're looking to add some basic items to our meager kitchen:

Cookware
Pots/pans/bakeware
One large pot with cover (7 qt.)
One large sauce pan with cover (5 qt.)
One medium sauce pan with cover (3 qt.)
One extra-large rectangular baking dish with cover (Pyrex style works; cover is preferable so we don’t have to keep aluminum foil on hand.)

Preferably all pots/pans would be stainless, so they last longer and it does not matter which utensils are used by the many people in and out of the kitchen. (Currently, the non-stick and enamel surfaces of our pots and pans render most items unusable.)

Utensils
Flatware: spoons, forks (20 of each)
Serving/cooking utensils: 2 large spoons without slots

Additional
1 large mixing bowl
1 medium mixing bowl
10 soup bowls
2 non-plastic cutting boards
1 cookie sheet
Steel wool should be kept on hand, so all items can be cleaned properly.

If you are willing to donate any of the items listed above, please drop them off at our 7th Street location (1525 7th Street NW, in Shaw) between 9am and 5pm Monday through Thursday, or contact me and we'll set up an alternate time. Thank you, friends!

Are birds good food?

On the Mayor's proposed Budget

The Mayor's office has released its FY2010 budget proposal, in a generously detailed, narratively coherent document entitled "Meeting the Challenge." Yes we can!

Indeed, considering the magnitude of said budget challenge, this is a great first step. As part of the Coalition for Community Investment, Bread for the City signs on to the following response.

from: The Coalition for Community Investment
re: FY 2010 Proposed Budget

The Coalition for Community Investment is encouraged to see that Mayor Fenty's proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget broadly adheres to our stated core principles: investment in the local economy, protection of critical safety net services, revenue expansion, transparency and public engagement.

Given the magnitude of the crisis, we know that many difficult choices had to be made. The Mayor’s proposed budget shows commitment to protecting critical public investments that are crucial at this time to ensure the stability and safety of city residents and neighborhoods. The budget proposal makes a strong effort to avoid cuts in service wherever possible. We do note, however, that the size of the proposed reduction in District-funded staff positions is quite large. A more detailed analysis is needed to determine the potential impact on services. The Coalition looks forward to learning more about how services will be sustained.

The Coalition also supports the City's efforts to raise revenue. However, the proposal to eliminate the cost of living adjustments to three tax provisions — the homestead deduction, the standard deduction, and the personal exemption would disproportionately affect low- and middle-income District residents. We encourage the City to consider revenue expansion measures that will not unduly burden the parts of our community that can least afford it.

The FY 2010 budget includes detailed descriptions of the actions taken to use federal stimulus funds, and of other steps taken to balance the budget. This level of detail is a step forward in budget transparency and will help the DC Council and residents understand the proposed changes.

The Coalition looks forward to learning more about how this budget will help stimulate job growth, strengthen local businesses, and support neighborhoods and families during economic downturn. As the Mayor and City Council undertake the difficult task of managing this budget, we encourage them to remain open and engaged with the public to ensure prudence, fairness, and robust recovery.


About the Coalition for Community Investment

Coalition for Community Investment represents over 160 diverse organizations and individuals committed to public investments that expand economic opportunity for our neighborhoods and families, and support a fair and transparent budget process.

ps if you're reading this like right now, you can listen to the Budget hearing, streaming live here.

Join us at our Groundbreaking on Wednesday

Construction is about to begin on Bread for the City's Northwest Center expansion, and we're inviting friends and neighbors to join us to celebrate!

On Wednesday, at 8:30 AM (1525 7th Street NW), we'll break ground. If you'd like to attend, please email us to RSVP.

Bread for the City board members, staff, volunteers and clients will be joined by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and DC Primary Cares Association executive director Sharon Baskerville, who will help us mark the occasion.

After the ceremony (which I'm told will be brief!) interested parties can join us for a tour of our current facility, so you can marvel at how jam-packed our current workspace is, and join us in imaging how much more robust our community center will be when staffers are no longer forced to resort to using windowsills as file shelves.

Without giving too much away, I want to share part of a conversation I had with one of our clients, Michael Blue, who will be joining us at the ceremony to share some words about his experience with Bread for the City. Last week, Michael (pictured below) told me this:

I first found Bread for the City when I was working as a bike courier. I'd come here to pick up the DC [HealthCare] Alliance applications, which I’d then take over to the Alliance. This was one of the few stops that would actually have the packages ready for me when I got there—and time is money for a courier, so I appreciated that. And then I came to like the feel of the place. So I asked some questions and ended up as a medical patient here, then a legal client. Now I’ve started training for my CDL (Commercial Drivers License), but while I'm doing that the money isn’t flowing, so now I'm a food client too.

How you guys work in this sardine can so efficiently, I don’t know. Other organizations don’t have half the services and they have four times the space. It’s standing room only here but the bathrooms are always spotless. And it’s a rough clientele – people are sick, and they’re frustrated. But the people working here aren’t just there for a job. They’re here to help. And you’re not just a problem to be solved, or put aside somehow. You’re a human being and they’re here for you.

Beyond Bread: This Week's News

~The New York Times says that New York City is seeing an influx of volunteers as people who are laid off get out of the house and do something with their free time. Unfortunately, they also write that the increase in volunteers is coming just as donations are going down and programs are being forced to scale back their efforts. An interesting problem to have, and one we are also dealing with here in DC.

~Remember last year when “Forced Out,” a series by Washington Post reporters Debbie Cenziper and Sarah Cohen, brought to light some of the tactics used by DC landlords to evict low-income tenants? We do too, and we’re happy to hear that they recently won the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Journalism! Debbie Cenziper does a great recap of the series that is very insightful.

~One Saturday a month, volunteer lawyers from local firms partner with the DC Bar Pro Bono Program to run advice and referral clinics out of Bread for the City’s two locations. Since I’m always here on those Saturdays with my own volunteers, I see the outstanding work they do. People flood into Bread for the City for all kinds of legal needs. The Pro Bono Program’s website has an incredible story this week about how they helped a teenager who recently lost her mother.

~We have a new friend! Martha’s Table launched their blog, “Tidbits from the Table,” today! They have a really nice-looking site and pictures of adorable kids. Who doesn’t love that stuff?

~Former Majority Leader Tom Daschle wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about how he is not essential to health care reform. His main point is that reform will happen this year no matter who is in the position of HHS Secretary because the climate is right for it. Well, that's certainly good news for the uninsured, but reform takes a number of different forms. Ultimately the type of reform we get will depend a great deal on who has a seat at the drafting table, and that's where I think Mr. Daschle's argument falls apart. For many, many years Mr. Daschle supported plans to expand the community clinic infrastructure--a specific plan that will save money while increasing care in underserved communities. He also called current community health centers a godsend, emphasizing the need to champion primary care. A true "reform" in health care will mean more than getting insurance cards into the hands of citizens. It will mean giving them a place to go once they have it, and that's where I think Mr. Daschle showed his stars. Though not essential, I still maintain he certainly would have been helpful.

Volunteers Needed this Saturday at We Are Family

Mark Anderson is a long-time friend of Bread for the City. He does amazing work for low-income and home-bound senior citizens in our neighborhood, and this Saturday he needs your help.

We Are Family, his organization, has a big North Capitol grocery delivery this Saturday at the Metropolitan Community Church followed by a Columbia Heights delivery next week.

He typically has big student groups help with the deliveries, but he does not have one scheduled this Saturday. If you have transportation and are able to help, please contact Mark at WeAreFamilyDC[at]aol[dot]com.


The timeframe this Saturday is 9:30am–1pm. Please meet at:

Metropolitan Community Church
474 Ridge Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20001


Here are the details about this and future volunteer opportunities:

1. This Saturday, 3/21, 9:30am-1pm, North Capitol/Shaw grocery delivery, meeting at the Metropolitan Community Church, 474 Ridge Street NW, near Convention Center metro and 5th & M Sts. NW.

2. Next Saturday, 3/28, 10am-1pm, Columbia Heights/Park View grocery delivery, meeting at Kelsey Apts., 3322 14th Street NW, 1 1/2 block from Columbia Heights metro stop.

3. Saturday, 4/4, 10am-1pm, senior visits, meeting at the Metropolitan Community Church, 474 Ridge Street NW, near Convention Center metro and 5th and M Sts. NW.

4. Grocery deliveries, 4/18 (North Capitol) and 4/25 (Columbia Heights)

"We also can make visits work ANY TIME you (or a group) would like to come to our seniors, and help out... or we can connect you with an individual senior to visit whenever it is convenient. Just write, or give a call, OK? We'll make it so!" -Mark

Considering TANF

We're happy to have Joni Podschun, Advocacy Associate at So Others Might Eat, once again guest posting on Beyond Bread. Joni's been working hard on a new report, and we asked her to share some of her insight with us. She'll be posting more in the future, so let us know if you have questions for her! And thanks to SOME for lending Joni to our blog.

A recent piece in Mother Jones about TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) continues to attract attention. Deservedly so: the article (“Brave New Welfare,” by Stephanie Mencimer) is revelatory and heartbreaking in its assessment of the state of TANF, the modern welfare program.

Much of the article’s focus is in Georgia, where the number of residents receiving TANF benefits has fallen by 90% since 2004. Georgia is perhaps the most extreme case in the nation, but the article reports that caseloads in all states are falling “even as unemployment has soared and other poverty programs have experienced explosive growth.”

If the number of people who actually need TANF was truly falling, we’d be celebrating. But the truth is that these falling numbers come despite a great rise in need. And the Mother Jones article reveals that the drop in caseloads is in fact a result of a deliberate effort on behalf of the state agencies to push needy families out of the TANF program, so that the funding can be redirected elsewhere.

This is particularly troubling given the fact that TANF is the primary safety net for single mothers who have exhausted all other means of support. It is also, as the article puts it, the “gateway to education, drug rehab or mental health care, child care, even transportation and disability benefits—tools for upward mobility.”

This isn’t mentioned in the MJ article, but caseloads have just started to rise again in DC, along with a dozen other states including Maryland and Virginia. Nationally, TANF enrollment has still not climbed as fast as SNAP/Food Stamps. (The SNAP program is now at record levels, with 31.8 Americans enrolled.) This is due to many factors, including stigma, misinformation, a five year time limit on program eligibility, and other policies that deter enrollment.

Overall, the TANF program in DC is more stable and robust than that portrayed in “Brave New Welfare.” The deterrence and diversion tactics seen in Georgia are unheard of in our city. Around here, anyone who is eligible for the program typically gets enrolled without too much fuss. Sometimes it’s difficult to get an appointment or there may be long lines, but applicants are not turned away or lied to as they are in Georgia. While we’re a long way from perfect implementation, we also have progressive programs and policies, such as home visit programs (like one launched last year at Bread for the City) that reach out to disconnected TANF recipients in order to help them overcome barriers to work like limited education, substance abuse, physical and mental health issues, and domestic violence.

And yet, as the economic downturn threatens to push more D.C. residents into poverty, the TANF program needs to be revisited and strengthened. Over the summer and fall, SOME and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute conducted focus groups with TANF recipients and interviews with frontline workers—including clients at Bread for the City—to learn their experiences with the TANF program. We are writing a report now that includes the information that we collected, as well as recommendations based on what has worked in other states.

Many of the 16,142 D.C. families on TANF—including about 29,000 children—are among the first to be affected by economic crisis. In these difficult economic times, the city must do all in its power to support them as they work toward their goals and make sure they have the tools necessary to weather the economic storm.

Who needs what: helping other people help people

We’re happy to welcome erstwhile Bread for the City staffer Jessie Posilkin back to the fold for some weekly blogging action.

Dearest blog buddies:

As the economy continues to push budgets to the breaking point, the best way to make it through is to work together. So we’re going to try out a new column here at Beyond Bread in which we’ll highlight partners and organizations who need a certain something in particular (other than more sweet cash).

This week, we have a request from So Others Might Eat (SOME), who tell us they are in need of some thermal underwear, socks, washcloths and bars of soap. SOME’s showers and clothing room service more than 40 homeless men and women every day, so these items are in perpetual demand. If you have any of these items and would be willing to donate them, please e-mail Tracy Monson.

If you work with an organization that works against homelessness and poverty, can you think of any needs for tangible items? Contact Matt Siemer.

Bread for the City already posts its wishlist on its website, which you should also check out if you’d like to know of non-monetary ways that you can help people in need. See something you can provide to us? That would be another appropriate reason to contact Matt.

If there’s interest out there, we’d like to make this a weekly feature—so please be in touch!

National Poverty News Roundup for 17 March 2009

The casualties of the present economic downturn continue to mount. Unemployment here in Washington DC, supposedly one of the areas of the country most recession-proof on account of its government jobs, hit 9.3% for January 2009; even lawyers are beginning to feel the pinch. And once we get out of the higher income brackets, things get worse: at least 3% of District residents appear to be infected with HIV, and the mayor's office suggests that the actual number is probably higher. Here as elsewhere in the country, food banks are experiencing record high demand combined with record low levels of supply; in Orlando, Florida, aid workers are comparing the situation to what they traditionally experience following a major hurricane. Even local Humane Society chapters are hard-pressed to provide food for cats and dogs. And once we get outside of the United States, the situation gets perhaps worse: Kenya faces widespread starvation, and you know that the global situation must be dire when Wal-Mart and the AFL-CIO -- usually at loggerheads over labor issues -- join a coalition urging more targeted US aid to address the situation of the developing world.

So it's bad all over. We know this abstractly, but how to get a handle on it? We can look at national statistics for some perspective, such as this revealing graphic detailing the number of "underwater" (negative-equity: the homeowner owes more on the property than the property is worth at current market rates) mortgages; California leads the pack in absolute numbers (1.9 million mortgages), while Nevada leads the relative percentages with a whopping 55% (!) of all mortgages in the state being underwater. Such economic dislocation might exacerbate well-known patterns of residential segregation, driving more low-income working families into the inner cities where the all-too-familiar cycle of increased demand for services combined with a decreased tax base places additional burdens on already-strapped urban service infrastructures. The Obama Adminstration's stimulus package might help address some of the shortfalls; a recent meeting of the "Eight Neighbors" coalition of regional service organizations provides some insight into how the money might be most effectively used (their one-hour mp3 briefing is a useful compendium of information, if you have some time to listen to it).