U.S. Poverty Weekly Update May 28, 2019
Quote of the Week
“Any policy that makes it harder for public housing authorities to serve their communities is antithetical to the mission of the federal public housing program.”
– Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) Executive Director Sunia Zaterman in a statement opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed HUD rule on mixed-status families
Got Two Minutes? Attend an Event during the Housing Week of Action (May Action)
The Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action begins this Thursday. Advocates and groups will be holding events around the country May 30 – June 5 to raise awareness of America’s housing crisis. The hope is that the attention generated from these events will spur elected officials into action. The Week of Action is a also a great way to connect with other advocates who care about housing in your community. The Week of Action website now has more than 70 events listed and more will be added this week. Find one in your area and plan to participate.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes find an Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action event in your area. Go to the OHOV Events page and plan to attend an event in your area. If you don’t find one, keep checking as more events will be added, or plan to host one yourself (see more below). The RESULTS May Action also has resources to help with connecting with housing allies in your community. If you need help, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.
Got Ten Minutes? Get Your Community to Take Action during Our Homes, Our Voices Week
Last Thursday, the House Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) Appropriations Subcommittee approved their proposed funding bill for FY2020. It includes $1.2 billion increase for Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), which includes the needed funding to maintain existing HCVs along with funding for 9,000 new vouchers for low-income families. This is far short of our goal of securing a substantial boost in housing assistance of $5 billion over the next two years to help 340,000 new vouchers, which we knew was going to be tough to get. But in this political environment, a proposed $1.2 billion increase is noteworthy in and of itself (the Senate may propose lower numbers).
While we had hoped for a more substantial increase, this is a reminder of just how important your advocacy is – and that Congress must be more ambitious. Use the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action to help mobilize others to build support for bold solutions to the affordable housing crisis. One way to do so is to get others to take action (perhaps in conjunction with the national webinar – see below) in support of shifting tax policies to more effectively address the housing crisis via a renters’ tax credit. Right now, homeowners get a significant tax credit for the interest they pay on their mortgages. Yet, renters get nothing. A tax credit for low-income renters – many who cannot afford even a modest apartment – would make a dent in America’s housing problems. We’ll have more about this in the coming weeks but for now, use the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action to introduce this idea to your members of Congress.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to urge your community to contact your members of Congress by to remind them that America is in a housing crisis and renters need a break. Use the message below and our updated housing action alert to urge your local action networks to take action this week. Plan to send your message between May 30 and June 5. If you have questions, please contact Jos Linn.
A worker earning the prevailing minimum wage cannot afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment anywhere in America. And Congress is not doing enough to help families struggling to find a home. From May 30-June 5, RESULTS and advocates around the country are participating in the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action, raising awareness about the America’s housing crisis. Lend your voice to this effort by urging your members of Congress to act on housing now!
Got Twenty Minutes? Use the June 4 Webinar on Organizing as a Housing Week of Action Event (May Action)
Next Tuesday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET, RESULTS will host its monthly U.S. Poverty National Webinar. We are thrilled to have guest speaker, Hahrie Han, join us for this special webinar. Ms. Han is a political scientist, author, and speaker who has written extensively about how volunteer organizations successfully engage in civic action. Her book, How Organizations Develop Activists: Civic Associations and Leadership in the 21st Century, which includes many practices RESULTLS already uses, is a great resource for understanding how to organize people into action. She will share her insights with us on Tuesday. In addition, the webinar will include updates on our housing work and actions people can take to make it a priority. In other words, next Tuesday’s webinar is a great opportunity to host a local event during the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action and invite new people to attend.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to plan how you can use the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar as an event during the ”Our Homes, Our Voices” Week of Action. Make a list of people you’ve met in the last few months (perhaps in your outreach this month, at a recent event, or during a recent lobby meeting) and invite them to join, ideally in-person with you and your local RESULTS group. If you do host a viewing of the webinar in your community, be sure to add your event to the OHOV Events page (if you need help with wording, use the RESULTS entry under “Nationwide” events).Please keep track of the people you invite and plan to follow up with them afterward to see what they thought of the webinar.
The RESULTS Conference is the Experience You’re Waiting to Have
Are you tired of constant plugs for the RESULTS International Conference? Well, I’m afraid you’re going to keep seeing them over the next few weeks. But when we inundate you with Conference reminders, it’s for your gain, not ours. For anyone who has attended our Conferences in the past, you know that it can be a life-changing experience. Take, for example, Keerthi Samanthapudi. Keerthi is a current REAL Change Fellow with RESULTS. She grew up thinking that poverty was something you just had to accept, but her experience in RESULTS has shown her that she can think otherwise. She is now teaching others about the importance of anti-poverty advocacy in her community. And her journey started at the RESULTS International Conference. That’s what we want for you. There’s a reason people come back year after year – because the experience is worth it. So yes, we will repeatedly remind you over the next month and half about all the exciting things you’ll see at this year’s Conference. But it’s the reason we can’t tell you – the experience you will take from it – that is why you should come. Register today!
Quick News
Complete May-August Planning. Please do your May-August group planning this month using our updated online Group Summary Form to set your goals. Please submit your form by May 31.
Find Town Halls During this Week’s Recess. Congress is on recess all week. If you haven’t met with your members of Congress recently, contact them about any public events you can attend and ask a question. Let us know if you find one and we’ll get you ready.
Apply for Conference Gap Funding. If you are a current, active RESULTS volunteer and need assistance with travel costs to the RESULTS International Conference, apply for Gap Funding today.
Oppose HUD Rule Taking Housing from Immigrant Families. HUD has proposed a new rule that would prohibit “mixed immigration status” households from participating in housing assistance programs. Stand for keeping families together by submitting your comment opposing the rule today.
Nominate a Journalist for the Cameron Duncan Award. RESULTS is now accepting 2019 Cameron Duncan Media Award nominations for outstanding work on issues related to poverty by a journalist or editor. Nominate a journalist today (due Friday, June 7).
Nominate Someone for the Bob Dickerson Award. For more than 15 years, Bob Dickerson of Seattle was an inspiring RESULTS grassroots volunteer leader. At the Conference, we seek to honor his spirit by recognizing volunteers who are following in his footsteps. Nominate a fellow advocate for the Bob Dickerson Grassroots Leadership Award today (due Friday, June 22).
Upcoming Events
May 1-May 31: RESULTS Spring Fundraising Campaign. Sign up to participate today.
Monday, May 27-Friday, May 31: Congressional Recess. Submit your meeting requests today.
Thursday, May 30 – Wednesday, June 5: Our Homes, Our Voices Housing Week of Action. Learn more at: www.ourhomes-ourvoices.org.
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.
Tuesday, June 11 (12:00pm ET) and Wednesday, June 19 (8:30pm ET), RESULTS New Advocate Orientation. Get started at: https://results.salsalabs.org/volunteer/index.html.
Tuesday, June 18, 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.
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 (our new digital 2018 Annual Report is now available).
RESULTS Staff directory.