Bread for the City

>Wow!

Last week, we put the word out that our food pantry had gone over budget for the month of May by $10,360. In the time since then — through this blog, our twitter feed, and email newsletter (to which you can subscribe by emailing us) — we raised $11,500!

Awesome. And we’re thrilled to announce that we’ll soon have an opportunity to celebrate with you.

On July 16th at 6:30pm, at our Northwest Center (1525 7th Street), we’re hosting our Second Annual Parking Lot Picnic.

Bread for the City staff, clients, volunteers, donors, and neighbors will join together for an evening of food and conversation. Food Pantry Director Ted Pringle will be working the grill, and Executive Director George Jones will share some highlights from this year and our big plans for next year.

Please join us. And please think for a moment about your friends and loved ones who would also like to learn about the work we do – invite them too!

You can RSVP for this event by email, or on Facebook.

As a fantastic final note of thanks for your outpouring of support, my staff has encouraged me to close this fundraising campaign off with some music that befits the triumphant occasion.

http://media.imeem.com/m/Hvpil0GqWv/aus=false/

Fanfare – Final Fantasy III

>Just three months ago, I reported on this blog the troubling news that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseloads were declining in states across the country “despite a great rise in need.” (Reasons for that included an array of barriers that prevent needy families from accessing the program.) Well, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that this trend is at least partially reversing: the TANF program has increased enrollment in 23 of the 30 most populous states.

Here in DC, I can report that we’ve seen a 9% increase in TANF cases, from 14,665 in April 2008 to 16,017 in April 2009. So, more people are getting help through the welfare program. Unfortunately, it’s too soon to congratulate ourselves on a strong safety net, for two reasons.

First, these new numbers do not tell us whether the gap between need and enrollment is shrinking. A new study by Legal Momentum raises serious concerns about the failure of TANF to reach millions of families struggling with poverty. On the Huffington Post, Legal Momentum President Irasema Garza shares this telling fact:

“At its inception in 1996, TANF served 84 percent of eligible families; now, the program only reaches 40 percent of these very vulnerable women, children and families.”

This chart from their study (PDF here) illustrates the gap:

The second concern is unemployment. New estimates predict double-digit unemployment going into next year and in her Op-Ed in the NY Times, Barbara Ehrenreich pointed out the disproportionate loss of jobs for blue collar workers. Most states are faced with the perfect storm of rising caseloads and unemployment, coupled with decreased state spending (i.e. fewer staff).

It is more important than ever to make sure TANF recipients are engaged with efficient, effective programs with proven long-term impacts. As I pointed out here, more recipients should be connected to hard-skills training, subsidized employment, and education opportunities to help them get a good job (when the time comes when good jobs are plentifully available again).

>~The rate of unemployment in DC has officially entered the double digits at 10.7 percent, putting it above the national average of 9.4 percent, regardless of the District’s steady supply of federal government jobs. While Washington is one of the cities in the US that is actually creating jobs during the Recession, the jobs that are created usually cater towards those more affluent with higher education residing in Virginia and Maryland. Unemployment is also grossly disproportionate in DC: Ward 3 had an unemployment rate of 2.5 percent in April while Ward 8, which encompasses Anacostia (where Bread for the City has its SE location) experienced a 23.3 percent unemployment rate.

~The Department of Housing and Community Development has received $33.7 million in stimulus funds from the Department of the Treasury’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to “spur the continued development of affordable housing units.” Considering that, according to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the DHCD has over eighty housing projects that are stuck due to lack of funding, this grant may help to slightly alleviate the rising housing and foreclosure crises in DC as well as the negative effects these problems pose (pdf) to individuals, families and communities.

~We recently posted on our blog as well as on Twitter our need to fill the gap in our food budget for this past May. Thanks to many donors as well as the coverage of our financial situation on the Bloomingdale, DCBlogs, and Dining in DC blogs, we have been able to raise about $5,000 (!!) over the last three days, leaving us $5,360 away from reaching our goal. Thanks to all those who have helped, and please continue to donate to help us meet this challenge!

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>A report released last Thursday (pdf), and picked up by the Chicago Sun-Times, reveals the health ramifications of living in a food desert. The report analyzed specific neighborhoods in Chicago with only costly and unhealthy corner stores (or no stores at all), and concluded that the addition of one full-service supermarket would significantly lower the rates of chronic diseases in this community. The Sun-Times quotes some remarkable numbers for the projected positive effects on this neighborhoods’ collective life expectancy:

gain about 15 years of life back from diabetes, 112 years of life from cardiovascual diseases, 13 years from liver disease and 58 years of life back from diet-related cancers.

Also of note:

The biggest gains from access to a supermarket would come in 181.8 years given back from cardiovascular disease in the food desert at 4700 S. State, according to the report.

Mari Gallagher came to these conclusions by combing through neighborhood census data, comparing life expectancy, median income, and a number of other factors, matching it with public health data, and then calculating it against the distance to the nearest grocery store. The calculation itself is pretty interesting. We’d also note that those years in the balance aren’t just numbers; they’re filled with the affliction of debilitating and costly health problems.

And so we take food deserts very seriously at Bread for the City–in fact some of our first posts on Beyond Bread were about the lack of grocery stores in River East, a known food desert. (And our Northwest location in Shaw is facing its own food desert problem, though only temporarily, with the prospect of our nearby Giant closing down for redevelopment.) Our food pantry is one way to combat the effect of that food desert, since the food we distribute is nutritious and free. Beyond that, we’ve also advocated for affordable food access points for years, and helped build the DC Food Finder to better address food access issues. But there’s still a great deal more work to be done.

Does anyone know of a similar study going on in DC?

>I don’t usually start this news roundup with an opinion piece; in fact, I generally try to steer clear of pure opinion pieces when writing this roundup. But this op-ed by a community development worker in Minneapolis caught my eye because of his diagnosis of the problem of persistent poverty: “we have in our country a belief system that justifies inequality in America,” he argues, since our dominant storyline for making sense of people’s successes and failures is largely wrapped up with individual choices and individual responsibility. This individualist focus has all kinds of cultural and ideological sources, and it’s not always a bad thing — it would, for example, be a serious mistake to discount individual drive and determination in the story of Khadijah Williams, homeless for years and now heading to Harvard on an academic scholarship. Inspiring though Ms. Williams’ story is, we should not allow ourselves the luxury of attributing poverty or homelessness in general to other people’s failure to emulate her example.

Being able to afford housing at the 30-percent-of-income standard depends critically on having full-time, well-paying work. Earnings from full-time minimum wage jobs are simply not enough. Indeed, no American household earning the equivalent of the full-time minimum wage ($11,500) can afford a modest two bedroom apartment at the federal fair market rent.

Housing links to employment, which links to education, which links to transportation so that people can get education and get to potential jobs, and so on and so on. This kind of relational interconnectedness is precisely what the dominant storyline about individual choices has a difficult time coping with; it’s hard to get a holistic view if one begins and ends with an individual-level perspective. Fortunately, some government agencies and programs are beginning to appreciate the multi-faceted nature of these social problems, and taking steps to improve coordination and collaboration. Inter-agency cooperation may just be the hidden “united” in President Obama’s “United We Serve” initiative.

>Today we have an urgent request. We just ‘closed the books’ on the month of May, and the books tell us that we spent $10,360 more than we’d budgeted on food for that month.

We don’t regret spending whatever it takes to feed the hungry in our community. But that money must come from somewhere, and we can’t balance last month’s budget deficit against the hungry families who come to us this month.

Will you help us fill the gap in our food budget? Please consider donating to our food pantry today.

The cost of food has been rising for years; so, too, the need for food assistance in our community.

Fortunately, Bread for the City’s Food Director Ted Pringle is a seasoned pro at finding inexpensive supplies of healthy bulk food. However, Ted recently had surgery, which kept him out of work for most of the month of May. This meant he wasn’t able to take the time he normally does to find the best deals.

“Every day I search through inventory sheets to find what’s healthy and cheap,” Ted says. “For instance, there’s this brand of good, unprocessed canned chicken. If I have the time, I can find it for 99 cents a can. But in May, I had to place an advance order for $3 a can.”

Ted has since come back to Bread for the City fully recovered, but in low spirits for having gone over budget by more than ten thousand dollars. He’s working hard to catch up, but he can’t do it alone.

Nobody can do this alone. But working together we can make up the difference.

You can help us. $30 will feed a hungry family of four. Please give today.

You can also help by spreading the word. Share our message above, and use this link:
www.breadforthecity.org/fillthefoodgap

Between now and the end of the month, we’ll post occasional updates on this blog, and more regular updates on Twitter. So follow us on Twitter, and help get the word out by tweeting @breadforthecity and #fillthefoodgap.

Thank you for your support in this time of great need!

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>Bread for the City clients and staff came together this morning for a brief but emotional ceremony, in which we honored members of our community who have made great progress.

As Southeast Center director Lynda Brown (pictured below) told the crowd, “It wasn’t easy along the way: you’ve had difficulties. But you haven’t let it stop you. And it was a privilege for us to see all that you’ve achieved.”

After passing out Certificates of Achievement to each client, Deputy Director Jeannine Sanford (not pictured) encouraged people to share a bit about themselves and the work they’ve done. “We feel it’s so important to recognize all that our clients have accomplished. Your stories are heartbreaking and heartwarming, tragic sometimes, but also triumphant. In sharing these kinds of stories, and hearing about your triumphs, we find the strength to carry on.”

Many clients were acknowledged today, and here we share some of their stories with you.

Sheila Bryant was our keynote speaker:

I thank Bread for the City and Deanna [Drake] for giving me the strength to stand. When you think you’re lost and you have nowhere to go, you can come here. They listen to you, and they don’t judge you. They are kind. They give you back your strength.

Sheila then read us a poem, which she says she composed while studying for the GED. She graciously gave us permission to reprint it here, and you can also find it here.

Who Am I?
I am a creation of God from high above,
I am a creation of God given so much Love.
I am a creation of God born into the world of sin.
I am a creation of God taught never to quit within.
Who Am I?
I am a creation of God with strength to stand strong,
I am a creation of God though I may do wrong.
I am a creation of God kneeling down to pray,
I am a creation of God thanking God for another day.
Who Am I?
I am a creation of God learning the ways of life,
I am a creation of God trying to do right.
I am a creation of God giving all I can give,
I am a creation of God just wanting to live.
Who Am I?
A creation of God that’s who I am!

Sheila has worked with Deanna Drake for just over six months. (Read Deanna’s column about volunteering at Bread for the City here.) In that time, Sheila has had her social security disability benefits approved, purchased prescription glasses, enrolled in Medicaid, and applied for affordable housing.

There’s a lot of work left to do: Sheila is planning to go to school in accounting, and she wants to purchase a computer so that she can work at home, because her disability makes it difficult to stand very long. But she’s on her way – having never received mental health counseling before, Sheila has now enrolled in counseling at the Women’s Center.

Jusu Koker (pictured here with Social Services senior Case manager Stacey Johnson)

When I came to Bread for the City,” said Jusu Koker, “I’d just gone through a divorce. I had nothing. I was sick, and had needed ten surgeries. Stacey saw how I looked and how I felt and said ‘we can help you.’ And through her I met all these people who helped along the way.”

Jusu, age 50, is well on his way to achieving his goals.

When he first started working with Bread for the City, he had some knowledge of computer technology–but he described these skills as “archaic.” So he took months of higher education classes. When the certification exams came around, he experienced serious test anxiety. Jusu failed his first test, and he was devastated. However, with Stacey’s encouragement, Jusu eventually went on to pass the exams necessary to become A+ Technician Certified.

At the age of 50, Jusu has enrolled in Strayer University, where he will study Computer Information Systems. In order for his dream of continued education to become a reality, He hopes to finish school and would like to teach before taking on the corporate world or a Master’s degree. “I’d like to give back some of what I’ve been given,” Jusu says.

“Without Bread for the City and Stacey, I don’t know where I would have been.”

Yenusa Eke (pictured here on the right, with Deanna Drake and his minister, Deon)

I came to Bread for the City when my friend told me about them. I was sick, but I didn’t think I could afford a doctor. I didn’t think I could afford to get into school either. I was just shutting down. But Deanna showed me ways to look at life differently. She hooked me up with the medical clinic, and helped me find education programs. Now I don’t think that giving up is an option.

Tomorrow I’m heading up to New York City to be ordained as a minister. I’ll be the co-pastor of the Praise Life Ministry here in DC.

Robert Callahan

Mr. Callahan has been coming to Bread for the City for nearly 5 years now. Friends of his from the MLK homeless shelter originally recommended Bread for the City to him. The first time he came, he met Stacey Smith, who gave advice on where to find affordable housing. But Robert never followed up on it. Soon enough, though, Robert decided it was time to make a change. He went to meet with Stacey Smith again, and this time he was successful in obtaining a place to live.

Mr. Callahan is also a victim of a stroke. As he recovered, Bread for the City’s lawyers helped him get disability benefits. He is very happy to not only have a place of his own to live, but monthly income to support himself as well.

“We need to have more Bread for the City’s,” he said excitedly, “then more people can get some good help like me.”

>Tis the season, apparently, to wax poetic about the power of online social networking tools to promote social change. While it probably a good idea to curb our enthusiasm a bit, since the global coverage of social media is somewhat spotty at best, it remains the case that activists in well-connected regions can certainly take advantage of tools like Facebook and Twitter to get the word out. The U.S. government certainly thinks so; among the results of this increased emphasis on transparency and openness, both by government and civic watchdog groups, are two new Facebook apps that you can use to keep tabs on your elected representatives.