Bread for the City

On April 1, thousands of DC families will wake up to a 20% reduction in their cash assistance. Benefits will be cut for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients that have been in the program more than five years and do not meet one of three very narrow exemptions. For a parent and two children, monthly benefits will be reduced from $428 to $342.

Regardless of their different timelines, needs, and goals, families need enough cash assistance to stay stable. Despite moves from the TANF agency to reform the program, DC still lacks strong support services and job training. These shortfalls combined with the lack of jobs due to the recession make this a terrible time to further cut life-saving assistance.

As these harsh cuts go into affect, we wanted to take an opportunity to share a story about the daily realities of TANF recipients.

Bread client Patty Anne has worked to overcome homelessness, health issues, an abusive partner, and lots of housing drama, all while trying to find a job and navigate the system to get help for her and her daughter. She shared her story on Beyond Bread and with the Mayor when the decision to reduce TANF benefits was made as part of the budget gap-closing last December. Her words are worth repeating:

It’s hard to make ends meet on a fixed income, even though I’m careful with my budget. My daughter hasn’t had a new coat for three years, and right now we’re wearing our coats in the house because I can’t turn the heat on. I don’t want to run the bills up and then have my utilities cut off. That’s grounds to lose my housing voucher, and I can’t take that chance.

It’s clear that they give you the help that they want to give you, not what you need to pick yourself up. It’s not like I’ve been asking for a million dollars, or for people to move mountains or part seas. I just want a stable home for me and my daughter. I want somebody to step up and help me do better for myself, so I can do better for her. I don’t want her to live in a constant state of trial and tribulation. If I had the tools that I needed, I would be able to make it.

Read Patty Anne’s complete post now or watch her speak advocate directly with the Mayor in this video from Empower DC:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73EQmwNrpE]

Several years ago, a multi-part Washington Post investigation looked at the conditions of DC’s housing stock and discovered a set of “serious breakdowns” in the enforcement of housing codes by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). The series quoted Bread for the City’s Housing Practice Supervisor, Rebecca Lindhurst, among other affordable housing advocates, in explaining the negative ramifications of lapses in oversight activities. For instance, without enough inspectors to actively assess the state of rental properties, the city was allowing many landlords to neglect the maintenance of their buildings. In the wake of the Post investigation, the DCRA made considerable progress towards more robust oversight. But in recent months, momentum has stalled in the face of staffing cutbacks and hiring freezes, which have once again left the city’s housing inspection program with minimal capacity.

Join us for next week for a discussion and author event at Bread for the City’s Northwest Center on the topic of Food Justice – featuring Food Justice co-author Robert Gottlieb, local food justice advocate Louise Thundercloud, and many others involved in food, nutrition, and justice in the District.

Wednesday, April 6th 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Bread for the City 1525 7th Street Northwest

We’ll be talking a bit about issues and inequities in today’s food system – from the farm workers’ hazardous conditions, to the fact that low-income neighborhoods lack supermarkets, to the emphasis on convenience rather than quality and nutrition in food marketing today. Robert Gottlieb will share perspectives on a nation-wide movement that seeks to transform this food system into one that is more just. Then we’ll look more locally – what does food justice mean for D.C. residents? What opportunities and challenges exist in our city? How does Bread for the City’s programs and our rooftop garden fit into all this? What can you do to help?

Join us! Event is free but space is limited. Please RSVP to aburket@breadforthecity.org. This event is co-hosted by D.C. Farm to School Network, Slow Food D.C., Centro Ashé, and the National Family Farm Coalition.

You should check out the newest edition of Architecture DC magazine, because Bread for the City is totally in it! (It’s only available in PDF format, so you’ll have to go to page 32 of this file.)

The double-height atrium houses the main front and rear entrances, reception, and vertical circulation (an elevator and open stair), with direct entrances to the medical/dental clinic, the legal clinic, the food bank, board room, social services, and administration…. [T]he interiors are in a “loft” style, in which the necessities of structure, ducts, piping, cable conduits, and the like are exposed and painted white. They become the “ornament” of the space. The entire former exterior brick wall ofthe lumber warehouse building is exposed as the north wall of the atrium. Its solidity is offset by the glassiness of the end walls of the atrium, and balanced by the exposed concrete block elevator tower….

Color is important throughout the project, but used sparingly both for reasons of economy and effect. This starts with the streetfront windows, which have alternating green and blue tints. It continues with the surprisingly bold green linoleum flooring and carpet tiles, and accent walls painted green, blue, or gold, including one wall of each medical exam room. Doors and simple pieces of custom millwork, such as bookshelves, are natural, warm wood tones. Because most of the interiors are white, the colors add “pop” and distinction to the spaces.

Photos courtesy of John Cole.

Wow. This year we hosted our 21st Art with a Heart fundraising gala – and it was, quite literally, the best one ever. Indeed, Art with a Heart 2011 didn’t just surpass all of our goals for its silent and live auctions – it raised $326,440 in total, our all-time record!!

For me, the most touching moment of the evening was the outpouring of donations we received for “All in a Day’s Work” – in which we raise funds to cover the daily operating costs of our centers (totaling $25,157 for each day). Our goal was to raise $50,000, but the generosity of our guests surpassed our wildest expectations and we reached over $66,000!!

We also took time during the auction to pay special tribute to some of our longstanding supporters. Three of our board members retired this year, and we wanted to honor them on this occasion. A special thank you to Board members Mark Aron, Roz Cohen, and Laura Parcher for the years of support you’ve given us! Even though you’re retiring from the board, we know we’ll still be able to count on your continued collaboration and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of you in the years to come.

See this slideshow of selected photos from the event — and click here to see the whole set. Thanks to Jessica Del Vecchio for such great photos!

A big thanks to our AWH Committee, including event chair Cynthia Krus. You all sure know how to plan a party. Thank you also to the many sponsors, volunteers, staff, clients, and supporters for all that you’ve done for us and for the amazing success of our 21st Annual Art with a Heart. See you all again next year!

Today’s post is brought to us by my new executive assistant, Christina Queen. Thanks, Christina!

This is so exciting: in just about a week, Bread for the City will open up our food pantries to Northeast DC residents for the first time ever!

I worked as Bread for the City’s Southeast Center front desk coordinator for more than five years. During that time, I welcomed a lot of people who were so downtrodden that they could barely find the words to ask for help. I loved my job because I was able to connect these men and women to so many resources. I could show them that there are still good people in this world. I could help them feel human again.

As much as I loved my job at the front desk, I’m pleased to say that I’ve recently moved on to be George Jones’ executive assistant. Where I used to be seeing one individual after another, now i see the big picture of all the people Bread for the City helps, and all the people who help us. It is so inspiring to know how each individual donation makes a difference — to a person in need and to our whole community at the same time.

We expect to see at least 500 new families from Northeast turn to us in just the first few months — and our pantry’s provisions cost about $10 per person per month. If you haven’t yet stepped up to rally support for our big step forward into Northeast, please make a donation today. And if you have already donated, then spread the word to your friends and family! That’s how we’ll keep growing into a truly city-wide community.

So please join us by making a gift today.

Bread for the City is seeking a full-time attorney with 0-3 years’ experience for our Family Law practice. Specifically, we seek an attorney to work in our Child Support Community Legal Services Project — a new, innovative joint endeavor of Bread for the City and the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.

Approximately one or two days per week, the attorney will staff a community legal services office based at the Paternity and Support Branch of D.C. Superior Court, providing immediate, same-day representation to custodial and noncustodial parents in child support cases. The attorney will then retain many of those child support cases for continued representation and will be based the rest of the work week at our Northwest Center. The attorney may also handle a small caseload of other family law cases. In addition, the attorney will conduct advocacy, education and other outreach activities.

Background: The Legal Clinic is one of five programs of Bread for the City, a non-profit organization providing free services to vulnerable residents of Washington, D.C. Bread for the City takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of low-income individuals and families, providing a range of services including supplemental food, clothing, medical care, legal assistance, and social services. The Bread for the City Legal Clinic seeks to ensure better access to justice for low-income individuals in our nation’s capital. The Legal Clinic provides front-line civil legal services primarily in three areas of law: housing, family, and public benefits. Our Family Law practice includes representation in divorce, custody and child support cases, as well as assistance to survivors of domestic violence in obtaining civil protection orders.

Qualifications:

· Member of the D.C. Bar or eligible to waive in;

· Strong organizational, research, and oral and written communication skills;

· Ability to work collaboratively with other staff and interact with a wide variety of people;

· Comfortable working in an open work environment, with no private offices for staff;

· High degree of flexibility;

· Sense of humor;

· Demonstrated commitment to social and economic justice;

· Prior experience in a legal services or other public interest setting highly desirable;

· Some knowledge or experience in child support law a plus;

· Bilingual (Spanish/English) skills preferred but not required.

Compensation: Bread for the City offers competitive non-profit salaries based on experience and a generous benefits package.

To Apply: Bread for the City encourages all interested persons regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability to apply. Please submit a letter of interest and resume to familyattorneysearch@breadforthecity.org.

Interested persons are encouraged to apply immediately. Job available as of May 1, 2011. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. The position remains open until filled. No telephone inquiries please.

We’ve written before about the District’s Interim Disability Assistance (IDA) program. IDA gives $270 per month to low-income District residents who have severe medical conditions and are waiting for a decision on their application for Social Security disability benefits. The District then gets the money back from the federal government if the Social Security Administration approves the disability benefits application.

The program has already undergone cuts in the number of people it serves, and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute fears it will be slashed further in the Mayor’s proposed 2012 budget, which will be released on April 1. They’ve produced a video with So Others Might Eat that explains the program and shares some stories:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmSekCCS4To&w=480&h=390]

Indeed, we encourage you to contact Mayor Gray and express your support for IDA. And I’d like to share another story of a Bread for the City client who’s been critically helped by this program.

I represent a client named Ms. B, who has several severe mental illnesses and faces physical challenges as well. Ms. B first applied for Supplemental Security Income in September 2008, and her application has been pending for over two years. Her hearing was in January 2011. While we are still waiting for a decision, we are very optimistic that she will be found disabled, and the District will recover all the IDA Ms. B received.

In the meantime, IDA is Ms. B’s lifeline. She did not qualify for any cash assistance program but IDA. She has used her IDA benefits to attend meetings with and make phone calls to her social worker and me. $270 a month doesn’t go far, and Ms. B lives in a homeless shelter, but it covers her toiletries and other important items. Among the most vital are transportation to doctors’ appointments and her pharmacy, since Ms. B takes over 10 different prescription medications, and they frequently change as her doctors attempt to control her symptoms while minimizing side effects.

IDA is just about the most effective $270 per person that the District can spend. It can keep some recipients in their homes or with relatives instead of in homeless shelters. It gives people easier access to their doctors and medications, so they need fewer emergency services. It enables recipients to keep in touch with attorneys who can provide a better chance of winning their Social Security cases, in which case the District recovers the IDA it paid out. And when disabled people get Social Security benefits, the District wins too: recipients spend their federal benefits in our local economy, and they become eligible for federally-funded Medicare.

So what can you do? Contact by email or phone the folks in charge of the Mayor’s budget (as soon as possible — the budget will be released on April 1). Mayor Vincent Gray’s email address is eom@dc.gov, and his telephone number is (202) 727-6300. The budget director, Eric Goulet, can be contacted at eric.goulet@dc.gov or at (202) 727-3380. Kenneth Evans, the budget office official responsible for the IDA budget, can be reached at kenneth.evans@dc.gov or (202) 727-5282. And read our most recent post to learn more about the budget cycle and what else we can do.

IDA makes a difference in Ms. B’s life, and in the lives of more than 1,400 other disabled, low-income District residents. Let’s make sure Mayor Gray knows that.

Budget season is well underway, and in the run-up to the April 1st release of the Mayor’s proposed FY2012 budget, there are plenty of opportunities this week to get involved.

But what is the budget anyway and why should we care about it? The budget itself is a massive document that lays out in detail the amount of money required to implement all DC government policies, programs, and strategies over the course of the next fiscal year. (A fiscal year for DC government, by the way, is Oct 1st – Sept 30th.) It outlines how DC government plans on getting the money to pay for those programs (eg. income, sales, or property taxes, as well as federal funds) and determines funding levels accordingly.

As budget blogger extraordinaire Susie Cambria puts it, the budget is arguably “the most important of all legislation considered by the City Council and mayor each year.” It determines funding levels for all DC-government activities, shaping everything from school food to TANF to legal services to public works, and everything in between. (See past testimonies from Bread for the City staff and clients about the importance of programs funded by the city budget.)

Currently, the Mayor’s office is working on its proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year (and is seeking input on their website – check it out). Starting in April, City Council works within agency committees to make additions, subtractions, and revisions to the budget before they vote on it in May. During this time, the different committees host a series of budget hearings – the public’s chance to give input directly to the council. The schedule of budget hearings is available online in PDF form and anyone can testify. See this how-to guide from So Others Might Eat for more, or call Kristi Matthews at the Fair Budget Coalition (202-328-1262) for help preparing your testimony.

Another round of projected shortfalls in revenue means that more than ever, all of our voices are needed to protect the programs that serve our city’s families. Thankfully many of Bread for the City’s allies have useful guides and resources that make it easier for all of us to get involved. Here are a few that I’ve found helpful:

• Susie Cambria’s has some basic resources: What the Budget Is and Isn’t (PDF) and DC Budget Process Explained (PDF) Her blog, Susie’s Budget and Policy Corner is a top spot for up-to-date info on the budget.
• Fair Budget Coalition recently released its annual budget report, in which it outlines the Coalition’s analysis of what programs make up the bare minimum safety net to meet most basic needs of District residents and help them to move towards providing for their own basic needs.
• DC Fiscal Policy Institute’s research and analysis highlights how DC budget impacts low-income residents. Their most-recent report focuses on last fall’s gap-closing measures. Look for an updated budget toolkit soon!

Ready to start taking action today? Here are three ways:

• The Mayor’s office is seeking input on their website – fill out their survey today.
• Save Our Safety Net can also help you send a message to the mayor – click here!
• Take your lunch to the Mayor’s office anytime this week with the Save Our Safety Net Campaign!

Contact Joni Podschun (jpodschun@breadforthecity.org), Bread for the City’s advocacy coordinator, for more information about what Bread for the City is doing and how you can get involved in the future!