U.S. Poverty Weekly Update September 5, 2017

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | September 5, 2017

“Bipartisan work on tax issues could support the greater good for America’s citizens.”

– RESULTS Olympia (WA) volunteer and Ann Rockway in a September 1 letter to the editor in The Olympian

Quick Action: Tell Congress to Prioritize Working Families in Tax Legislation​

Got Two Minutes? Join Next Week’s Webinar to Learn the Newest Poverty Data

Next Tuesday, September 12, is the next RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar. It is also the day that the U.S. Census will release the 2016 national data on poverty in the U.S. To say this information is important is an understatement. Each year, this data serves as the basis for much of our advocacy work. The statistics we cite about SNAP or Medicaid or the Earned Income Tax Credit is by and large based on Census data.  We are therefore happy that the calendars aligned for us to use the National Webinar to overview the data with all of you on the same day it is released.

Because the Census data is used so heavily in our work, this is an important webinar to attend. We of course welcome our regular attendees and greatly appreciate the time you give to us each second Tuesday of the month. But if you are someone new to RESULTS or perhaps not a regular webinar attendee, this will be a good one for you to join. We’ll not only talk about what the data says, but also how to use it to generate your own media and empower others to do the same. And if that is not enticement enough, we are thrilled to announce that famed civil right activist and grassroots organizer Heather Booth will be on the webinar. Based on her decades of organizing experience, she will share about the importance of grassroots activism for the budget and tax fights ahead. Please join us.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to block out your calendar –Tuesday, September 12 at 8:00 pm ET – for the U.S. Poverty National Webinar with Heather Booth. Whether you’re a regular webinar attendee or someone new (or returning), join us to learn about the 2016 U.S. Census poverty data and how to use it to protect anti-poverty programs in America. To join online, login at http://fuze.me/32255914 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

Got Ten Minutes? Invite Someone New to Join Next Week’s Webinar to Hear about the Poverty Data

This month, RESULTS will focus on generating media around the annual Census poverty data release (September 12). RESULTS volunteers are already having a record-breaking media year, with over 300 U.S. poverty media pieces published in 2017 to date. You will no doubt add to that total when the Census data comes out next week. Our September Action (available soon) will have a sample letter to the editor you can use to generate media in your local papers.

But this year, we’re taking it one step further. We want you to use the Census data release to also empower others to take action. 2017 has proven to be a busy year for anti-poverty advocates, with numerous attacks on Medicaid dominating the landscape. But these kind of attacks are likely to heat up this fall, with Congress also taking aim at nutrition and tax programs that benefit low-income Americans. We must be ready. In the coming days, we’ll highlight strategies you can use to train others to take action. By empowering others, you will make sure we are better prepared for the challenges ahead. The September Action will have tips and resources to help you use the Census data to do an advocacy training in your community. But you can get started now even before the Census data or the Action is released.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to think about who you want to engage in advocacy around the new Census poverty data.  Make a list of their names and invite them to join our September 12 (8:00 pm ET) U.S. Poverty National Webinar with Heather Booth. The webinar will provide the basics of the new poverty data, which you can build on in a local advocacy presentation later this month. RESULTS will have more about the advocacy training in our monthly Action and on the webinar, but for now invite people to join us next week as a first step. To join the webinar, login at http://fuze.me/32255914 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

Got Twenty Minutes? Follow Up from Recent Lobby Meetings

Congress is back in Washington this week after a month in their home districts. They return to a full plate. Voting on a new budget, passing a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, increasing the debt ceiling, providing relief for areas devastated by Hurricane Harvey, and starting work on tax legislation are just a few of the agenda items. Poverty will definitely be in the mix as Congress works on the budget and taxes.

Many of you met with members of Congress and their staff at the RESULTS International Conference and in meetings during the August recess. Now that they are back in DC, this is a good time to follow up with aides on the status of your requests, before they get busy with other things.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to follow up on advocacy requests you made in recent lobby meetings with members of Congress or their staff. Contact the key aides you met with (or who handle a particular issue), remind them of your recent meeting, and ask if they or their boss have taken action on your requests (to find aide names, enter your address on our new Elected Officials page , then click on your senators’ or representative’s name to scroll down to “Staff Members”). If you have already followed up, plan to contact the aide(s) next week to summarize the new poverty data. Each contact you make is another step up in building the relationships you want and need to influence policy.

Also, remember that the House and Senate will be on recess in September and October (House: September 18-22 and October 16-20; Senate: September 21-22 and October 9-13). If you have not met with your representatives or senators recently, request a face-to-face meeting for this fall and please contact Meredith Dodson to get individualized coaching when you get one.

Quick News

New Food Insecurity Data to be Released. Tomorrow, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release new food insecurity data for the U.S. This information will be useful in anticipation of next week’s Census poverty data release and a good resource to build on your story ideas that we highlighted in last week’s Update. Keep working on your stories – they will come in handy in both your media and training work in September.

Join CHN Poverty Data Webinar on September 7. Remember that this Thursday at 3:00 pm ET, our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs will host a webinar with economist Jared Bernstein to talk about what we might see from the new poverty data and how to use it to effectively advocate for anti-poverty programs. Register for webinar on the CHN website.

Join Prosperity Now Webinar on Homeownership for Households of Color. On September 25 at 2:00 pm ET, Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) will host a webinar highlighting the discrepancy in homeownership rates between white households and households of color, and policies to help remedy the gap. Register to participate in this interesting webinar today.

Save September 28 for Next Anti-Oppression Webinar. In August, RESULTS held a discussion on race and “intersectionality” as part of our continued effort to raise awareness of oppression. It was a great discussion. Mark your calendars for our next Anti-Oppression webinar on September 28. We’ll have details on the topic in the coming weeks.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Upcoming Congressional Recesses: House: September 18-22, October 16-20; Senate: September 21-22, October 9-13.

2017 U.S. Census Poverty Data Release, Tuesday, September 12, 2017.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, September 12 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Wednesday, September 13 at 9:00pm ET. Register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, September 19 at 1:00pm and 8:00 pm ET. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.

RESULTS Anti-Oppression Group Discussion Webinar, Thursday, September 28 at 8:30 pm ET. More details soon.

If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Vanessa Garcia at [email protected]. You can view the most recently published minutes from Board meetings on the RESULTS website, as well as download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.