U.S. Poverty Weekly Update April 23, 2019
Quote of the Week
“Can we call ourselves a successful civilization if so many of our neighbors have nowhere to rest their heads?”
– RESULTS Albuquerque volunteer Sandy Duckert in an April 14 letter to the editor in the Albuquerque Journal
Got Two Minutes? Make the Most of this Last Week of Recess (April Action)
This is the final week of the April recess and the final days of our Set the Agenda campaign. Thank you to everyone who has met with the congressional offices so far in 2019. Those meetings have been essential in keeping lawmakers focused on helping Americans struggling to find afford housing. But there are still lawmakers out there we need to get to. If there are members of Congress whom you work and have not seen face-to-face (or met with their staff), check for events or meetings you can attend to speak with them.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to contact your House and Senate offices to ask about last-minute, sit-down meetings or public events you can attend this week (see our online or Word doc sample requests and visit www.townhallproject.com to find events). The April Action is a guide to getting meetings and our lobbying page has additional resources to help you. Once you find an event to attend, contact Meredith Dodson for coaching. And after any meeting you have, please fill out our Lobby Report Form.
Got Ten Minutes? Make Your Housing Request to DC Aides
Can’t get a meeting this week with your members of Congress? Your lawmakers are not doing any town halls near you? Turn your frustration into action by leveraging your influence elsewhere.
Getting to know your congressional aides in DC is just as important getting to know your members of Congress. As an advocate, you deal with aides much more frequently than anyone else. They collect information from constituents like you and then pass on what they deem necessary to their bosses. They are the gatekeepers, so it’s smart to build a rapport with them. Do they know how federal housing programs impact your state? Have they spoken to their bosses about raising the budget spending caps? Does their boss support $5 billion in new money for Housing Choice Vouchers in a new budget deal? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, contact your housing aides to find out.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to call your House and Senate housing aides in Washington, DC to talk about housing. Look up the aide’s name with our legislator lookup tool or call your congressional offices and ask for the lead person who works on housing. Use our updated housing leave behind and laser talks to push for budget deal that increases the spending caps and sets aside $5 billion in new funding for the Housing Choice Voucher program. Remember, the point person for each member of Congress should make the call; each aide does not need to hear from everyone in your group. If you need help with getting in touch with the aide or what to say, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.
Got Twenty Minutes? Read about Solutions to the Racial Wealth Divide
Earlier this month, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State, Institute for Policy Studies, and Inequality.org published a new report, Ten Solutions to Bridge the Racial Wealth Divide. The authors propose several policy changes to close the racial wealth divide centered around three major themes: Programs, Power, and Process. These include improving home buyer support, creating child savings programs, administering racial wealth audits for legislative proposals, and implementing taxes on the ultra-wealth. Take time this week to look over their ideas.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to review Ten Solutions to Bridge the Racial Wealth Divide as background for your advocacy work (see the executive summary here). If you have an additional twenty minutes, watch Segregated by Design, which overviews discrimination in U.S. housing policy, which is another aspect of the racial wealth divide.
Quick News
Start Your Next Round of Group Planning. With the of May comes the next round of planning for the year. Targeted planning for shorter amounts of time allows you to be focused and flexible in your advocacy work. Schedule time with your group in early May to plan for the next four months using our May-August Group Plan Form .
Enlist Your Community to Help You Get to the Conference. Start saving and raising travel funds to attend this year’s RESULTS International Conference (IC). In addition to the benefits you get from attending the Conference, your IC experience is also a great way to give back to your community. By sharing what you’ve learned, you widen the impact of the IC and inspire others into action. Go to our Conference Resources page for a sample letter to send to local organizations (United Way, local foundations, partner organizations, etc.) who may be willing to help you travel to DC.
Join the RESULTS Spring Fundraising Campaign. Creating the political will to end poverty requires resources to be successful. RESULTS volunteers are not only adept at advocacy, but also in helping us raise the money needed to finance our work. During May, volunteers will reach out to friends and family for donations during our online Spring Fundraising Campaign. We could use your help. Will you join the campaign today!
Tax Media. Use our online media action to keep up the excellent momentum on tax media (10 letters published since April 15)!
Plan to Participate in Housing Week of Action. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s “Our Homes, Our Voices” week of action is May 30-June 5. This is a great way to raise awareness of housing issues in your community, build ties with ally organizations, and expose new people to your local RESULTS work. Make plans to participate. Look for more info in the May Action and on the May 7 U.S. Poverty National Webinar with NLIHC’s Joey Lindstrom.
Read the 2018 Annual Report. Our new digital 2018 Annual Report is now available. See what you made possible last year!
Nominate New Board Nominees. Do you know someone who you think would be a strong voice for guiding RESULTS? Nominate them as a Grassroots Board Member. Read more on the RESULTS Blog. Nominations are due May 12.
Bob Dickerson Award Nominations. Nominate a fellow advocate for this year’s Bob Dickerson Grassroots Leadership Award. The deadline is June 22.
Upcoming Events
Monday, April 15-Friday, April 26: Congressional Recess. Submit your meeting requests today.
May 1-May 31: RESULTS Spring Fundraising Campaign. Sign up to participate today.
RESULTS New Advocate Orientation, Thursday, May 2, 8:30 pm ET. Get started at: https://results.salsalabs.org/volunteer/index.html.
Tuesday, May 7: RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Guest: Joey Lindstrom of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.
Tuesday, May 21, U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/324294681 or dial by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 324 294 681.
Tuesday, June 4: RESULTS National Webinar with Hahrie Han, 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.
Saturday, July 13-Tuesday, July 16, 2019: RESULTS International Conference. Register today at www.resultsconference.org!
Find other events on the RESULTS Events Calendar.
Other Resources
Learn more about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
Do you have a new person in your RESULTS group or info to update? Use our Volunteer Information Form to add them.
Report lobby meetings in our Lobby Report Form and report any published media in our Grassroots Media Form.
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Steven McGee at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.
RESULTS Staff directory.