Tag: poverty

American farmworker advocates file human rights complaint with the United Nations

December 14, 2012 at 10:50 amCategory:Uncategorized

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You know things are pretty darned bad when Americans are forced to turn to the United Nations in a search for justice for an abused group of people. The following is from a statement released to the media yesterday by a coalition of 28 organizations including groups in North Carolina:

First-ever Joint Legal Aid Complaint Submitted to UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights:
Complaint argues that denying social service providers access to migrant farmworker labor camps is a violation of human rights law

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2012—A coalition of 28 non-profit legal and social services organizations submitted a complaint today to the U.N. arguing that the practice of denying farmworkers the right to have visitors and social services providers the right to meaningful access to migrant farmworker labor camps is a violation of human rights law. Read More…

New report: Low-income people must be included in mass transit plans

December 13, 2012 at 10:21 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Just out from the NC Budget and Tax Center:

MEDIA RELEASE: Low-income North Carolinians’ needs must be at forefront of public transit plans
Plans should evaluate where low-income individuals – transit’s most reliable customers – live and work

RALEIGH (December 12, 2012) – The success of new and expanded transit in North Carolina will be largely dependent on how well the transit system retains and reaches its most reliable customers – low-income North Carolinians – according to a new report. Read More…

Taking stock and giving thanks (video)

November 21, 2012 at 11:07 amCategory:Uncategorized

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At some point over the Thanksgiving holiday, most of us will take a moment to take stock of the many blessings in our lives. Countless residents in the Triangle will likely give thanks to the fine folks at Urban Ministries of Wake County.

The non-profit provides food, transitional housing, medical care, prescription medications, financial assistance and other support services for close to 20,000 families and individuals in Wake County every year.

Anne Burke, the long-time executive director, will be retiring at the end of this month after 26 years at the helm.

Burke joined us last weekend on News & Views to reflect on the growing demands on her organization and the continued need for a strong, social safety net for North Carolina families.

And for those politicians who think of those receiving benefits as “takers” she offers this blunt assessment:

“Have you ever been hungry? Have you ever faced your children across the table, and realized there’s nothing to put on the table to eat? And these are families that live in our community.  They live in every community across this country,” said Burke.” And food stamps have become a life line for them, especially in this time of unemployment. And how in the world do expect for someone to live without some protection of unemployment insurance?”

As she prepares to turn over the reins, Burke adds that this holiday she especially thankful for Urban Ministries’ volunteers and the clients she has come to know.

To hear an excerpt of  Anne Burke’s interview with Chris Fitzsimon, click below. To hear the full interview or download a podcast, visit the Radio Interview section of the NC Policy Watch website:

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A ‘stony silence’ from the campaign trail about efforts to combat poverty

November 1, 2012 at 7:28 amCategory:Uncategorized

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With less than a week remaining in the election season, the director of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity notes that what’s missing from the political discourse is an honest discussion about North Carolina’s growing poverty rate.

Gene Nichol writes in an op-ed in Thursday’s News & Observer:

‘Walter Dalton and Pat McCrory have proposed much, discussed much, fought much – but not about plans to lift Tar Heels out of poverty.

Melinda Lawrence of the N.C. Justice Center, Dr. William Barber of the N.C.-NAACP and I have written to the candidates, invited them to meetings with folks struggling under economic duress, asked them to attend summits exploring the challenges of poverty and even implored debate moderators to press the issue. No dice.

Let me give just a couple of examples of what this stony silence means:

•  Eleven years ago, North Carolina had the 26th-highest poverty rate in the U.S. Last year, we were 13th. We are frantic about our competitive posture in relation to other states on an endless array of fronts. Why are we seemingly unconcerned that we rapidly and dramatically lose ground, compared to our colleagues, in effective efforts to fight poverty?

•  Forty percent of our children of color – African-American, Latino and Native American – now live in wrenching poverty. Think that over for a second. No other advanced, economically powerful, Western democracy would put up with anything like that. Why do we? And, regardless of what one thinks the best solution to this crushing challenge may be, what explains the failure to even name it as a problem? Read More…

Social Security: Keeping a half-million elderly North Carolinians out of poverty

October 16, 2012 at 3:36 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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New (2011) Census data reveal that almost a half-million North Carolinians are kept from living in poverty by Social Security. This is from a new report by the numbers experts at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

“Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty.  Without Social Security, 21.4 million more Americans would be poor, according to the latest available Census data (for 2011).  Although most of those whom Social Security keeps out of poverty are elderly, nearly a third are under age 65, including 1.1 million children.  Depending on their design, reductions in Social Security benefits could significantly increase poverty, particularly among the elderly.”

 Here are the numbers for North Carolina: Read More…