Advocate

The participants have started an e-mail chain and I’ve been reading it with fascination and humor. I grew up on food stamps and hunger was a thing we rarely dealt with in part because food was the option often selected over heat, rent, and entertainment. Another option we had which is available to the crew is going to food banks and churches which is what many food stamp recipients do - there you can find basics such as proteins (beans) and unfortunately poor carbs (white rice) and mac and cheese. I believe as simulated food stamp recipients we have that option.

It was not so much the poor food options and choices and the ego-deflating look received when using a food stamp but the harsh realty of being a second class person, a labeled person, a hopeless person that wore away much at my parents.  read more »

Ok, here is my attempt to spend only $21 on groceries for the week -- the average benefit amount for individuals on Food Stamps in Massachusetts. Given the rising costs of food and basic needs, a number of us (18 participants right now) decided to try to participate in a Food Stamp Challenge. For more information on the challenge and why we're doing this now, see Paola's previous post. For coverage of my first day on the challenge, read on...  read more »

A few weeks ago as the stock market went through yet another round of dives, a friend of mine got an email from his financial advisor that read, in jest, “I hope you’re not standing near any windows.” He told me about it with a shrug and I agreed, it’s getting pretty scary out there. The issue has continued to inhabit the uneasy consciousness of people of every age group from any social and economic background throughout the nation. It has replaced "weather" as the primary discussion topic among strangers. It has dominated nearly every section of every paper or media outlet, so much so that the recent presidential debate which was intended to focus on national security, returned again and again to one looming question: What do we do about the economy?  read more »

As government purse-strings are tightening in the midst of economic uncertainty, the Partnership for America's Economic Success recently gathered to propose focusing our national and local investments in children.

As Weekend America Public Radio reports: "Hedge fund managers, CEOs and chamber of commerce presidents may not seem like obvious advocates for the expansion of social programs, but they've become perhaps the most enthusiastic and effective supporters of preschool.  read more »

I wanted to share a synopsis of a very interesting experience I was part of this week. On September 9, 2008 United Way offered an experience to its Board members that was incredibly rewarding. We utilized the Missouri Community Action Poverty Simulation Program   to deepen our Board's understanding and empathy for the low-income families we aim to serve each and every day. As co-facilitator I had a bird's eye view on the experience that day.  read more »