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War on poverty: Who's winning? |
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By Julie Carroll
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Wednesday, 22 April 2009 |
Catholic Charities USA president pushes forward bold plan to cut poverty in half by 2020
Father Larry Snyder - Photo by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
Father Larry Snyder admits it’s a daunting challenge: start work to cut
the U.S. poverty rate in half by 2020 at a time when thousands of
Americans are drowning in debt and organizations that serve the poor
are straining to meet their clients’ needs.
But not only is Catholic Charities USA, which Father Snyder heads,
committed to the goal, he and the organization are convinced that it’s
vital for the country.
On Monday, Catholic Charities hosted the first of 10 summits to be held
at sites across the nation in 2009 and 2010 to give social service
providers, health care providers, educational leaders and others an
opportunity to discuss the needs of the poor in their communities.
Catholic Charities plans to use the information to craft anti-poverty legislation that it will propose to Congress next year.
“Our plan is simple,” Father Snyder told more than 100 people gathered at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.
“Earlier in our history,” he said, “Msgr. [John] O’Grady joined with
the Roosevelt administration in crafting the New Deal and the largest
anti-poverty program in our nation’s history: Social Security.
“It is time for the New Deal of our time,” Father Snyder declared.
Catholic Charities launched the anti-poverty campaign in 2006 after
publishing a policy paper titled “Poverty in America: A Threat to the
Common Good,” which called for the creation of more livable-wage jobs
and a greater investment in social policies that support the poor.
In 2007, according to the most current data available, more than 37
million Americans were living below the official federal poverty level,
which was $22,050 for a family of four. Some have predicted that by the
end of this year, that number will climb to more than 50 million.
Feeling the pinch
Catholic Charities and other organizations that serve the poor also have been bruised by the troubled economy.
In a 2009 survey conducted by Catholic Charities USA, Catholic
Charities agencies around the country reported an increase in demand
for nutrition, housing and direct assistance services coupled with a
decrease in donations.
“The statistics coming back to us are disturbing,” Father Snyder said at the St. Paul summit.
Eighty-two percent of the 50 agencies that responded to the survey
reported an increase in requests for food services in 2008, he said.
Eighty-six percent experienced an increase in requests for rent or
mortgage assistance, and 90 percent reported an increase in requests
for financial assistance.
“The demographics of people seeking help have also changed and are now
including people who consider themselves middle class as well as senior
citizens,” Father Snyder added.
Anecdotes from the front lines are even more revealing.
Father Ragan Schriver, executive director of Catholic Charities of East
Tennessee, reported to Catholic Charities USA: “Through October,
November and December all family shelter beds were full. We had to ask
our United Way to allow us to spend some of their money on lower-end
hotel rooms to put families who were homeless into a place until
something opened up.”
Laura Opelt, executive director of Catholic Charities of Rochester,
N.Y., said: “We are seeing more working poor who have never accessed
services before and are not eligible for traditional programs. They are
in need of food and emergency assistance.”
At the same time that demand for services is increasing, Catholic
Charities agencies are experiencing a sharp decline in philanthropic
giving and government funding, according to the survey.
As a result, 20 percent of agencies reported making reductions in
programs that provide basic needs. Sixteen percent made reductions in
housing assistance programs. Of the agencies reporting program
reductions, 56 percent cut staff and 44 percent made service delivery
cuts.
In 2006, Father Snyder said, “we never imagined that we would be facing
in 2008 and 2009 a housing crisis, a financial crisis, a nation in
crisis.
“But this crisis presents us with the opportunity to change a nation,”
he added, “to not look around for signs of hope, but to determine to be
signs of hope.
“When history is written about our time,” Father Snyder said, “our goal
is to have this chapter read as follows: ‘Challenged by unprecedented
human needs and continued escalation of those suffering from inadequate
food, housing, health care, education and training, a social movement
swept the country that demanded that Congress and the administration
lay aside their political differences, face the reality that poverty is
a moral issue, and create programs and provide services that move
people to independence.
“‘And they responded.’”
‘Landmark legislation’
In an interview, Father Snyder said Catholic Charities will propose
“landmark legislation . . . that we hope to call the Corporal Works of
Mercy Legislation.”
The legislation will focus on five “pillars” outlined in “Poverty in
America”: hunger, health care, economic security, housing, and
education and workforce development.
What can you do?
• Endorse. Make a public statement that you agree with Catholic Charities USA’s goals and will work to reduce poverty.
• Advocate. Respond to Catholic Charities USA’s action alerts on the organization’s Web site, www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org, and help shape policies that help individuals and families.
• Learn and educate others. Learn about poverty in your community and share what you learn with others.
• Volunteer. Give your time and talent to a Catholic Charities agency.
• Pray. Pray for God’s assistance in alleviating the pain and needless struggles of our brothers and sisters in need.
• Donate. Make a donation to support Catholic Charities USA.
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To eradicate poverty, Father Snyder said, nonprofit organizations and government must work together.
“In Catholic social teaching, we would define the role of government as
providing for the common good,” Father Snyder said. “A lot of people on
Capitol Hill would not agree with that. They would say government’s
business is to maintain the security of our borders and maintain law
and order. . . .
“Those are important things,” he said, “but they’re pieces of the
common good. We would say the other pieces are if there are people who
are not able to live independently, then somehow the government has a
responsibility to be a part of the solution.”
Father Snyder became president of Catholic Charities USA in 2005 after
serving as executive director of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and
Minneapolis for more than five years.
In February, President Barack Obama appointed him to the newly created
President’s Council of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The
council advises the new office and offers advice on policy issues to
the president.
In a short speech at the beginning of the summit, St. Paul Mayor Chris
Coleman commended Catholic Charities USA for being at the forefront of
efforts to end long-term homelessness.
The organization includes more than 1,700 local Catholic Charities
agencies and institutions nationwide that serve nearly 8 million people
annually. It is one of the largest networks of social service providers
in the nation.
The problem, the mayor said, is “not a lack of commitment; it’s a lack of resources.
“As Jesus said, the poor are always with you. But the fact of the
matter is we have to deal with this,” Coleman said. “We can no longer
continue to build the kind of community that we want unless we address
these issues — and not just address them, not just deal with a piece of
them, but solve them.”
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