Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

• Andrea Castaneda is one of several mothers participating in a Head Start program that seeks to help impoverished families replace unnecessary trips to the emergency room with home care, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

• Deborah Stiell, a 55-year-old low-income grandmother, has cared for her three grandchildren their entire lives. She tells the Detroit News that, like many grandparents in her situation, she struggles to pay the bills.

• The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that thanks to increased state funding, a clinic run by the University of Tennessee College of Medicine’s obstetrics-gynecology department has been able to reach out to more low-income patients, resulting in a 20 to 35 percent increase in patient visits.

• The Boston Globe celebrates the achievements of Elisabetta Mitrano, who lifted her family from poverty by opening a salon that would allow her children a better upbringing than she had.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org  

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here. 

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

A report released by CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development) today provides more evidence that the economic security and mobility of a growing number of District residents is suffering in the absence of policies that help them to build and protect assets.

Having a college degree, a home, and savings for retirement and other long-term goals are the building blocks of financial security for all Americans.

That’s why CAAB is joining CFED and 14 states in a policy initiative aimed at expanding wealth-building opportunities for those at the lower end of the income scale.

The Assets & Opportunity Campaign has two goals:

1) Making the case for policies that encourage our most financially vulnerable residents to prioritize saving and investment in assets.

2) Building a strong and diverse network of allies that view these policy proposals as essential to strengthening our local economy and
communities.

This press release provides more information on the state of asset ownership in the District of Columbia and opportunities to expand
savings and ownership and close the racial wealth gap that divides our prosperous city.

For more information on the Assets and Opportunities Scorecard or Campaign, visit scorecard.cfed.org.

Colleen Dailey is Executive Director of Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB), a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

Today is Car Free Day, an international event celebrated every September 22nd that encourages people to leave their car at home.  Our region signed on last year and is participating again this year.

Car Free Day is intended to highlight transit, bicycling, walking and all alternative modes of transportation and take cars off the road so people can think about what their region, city or neighborhood might be like with fewer cars.

I want to propose a different type of car day: Cars for People Who Need Them but Can’t Afford to Buy, Insure or Maintain Them Day.

I know, I know – it’s not as catchy.

It’s not that I’m opposed to Car Free Day. 

I celebrate it nearly every day because I don’t own a car.  I am a big fan of public transportation (I commute by bus) and walking.  But I live and work in parts of town with rich public transportation options.

The frustrating truth is that many low-income residents in our region – especially low-income, women-headed families East of the River and in Prince George’s County – actually need more access to private transportation to be able to work and take care of their families.

According to Census data, nearly half (48%) of all non-elderly poor in the District lived in households without a car.  They participate in Car Free Day every day but not all willingly.

Car ownership programs for low-income families and individuals have demonstrated their effectiveness by producing significant income and asset gains for participants. Programs in our region, like Vehicles for Change, and national programs like Ways to Work and its local partners Northern Virginia Family Service (a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation) and Family Matters of Greater Washington need and deserve support.

I hope we can all agree that our region’s transportation challenges call for multifaceted solutions beyond just “more people should take public transportation.”

Gwen Rubinstein is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation.

The DC Women’s Agenda has completed an analysis of the funding levels of particular programs in the FY 2010 DC budget and their impact on women in D.C.

The report concludes, "Women in DC are in trouble. They disproportionately live in poverty and struggle to live within their incomes without adequate public supports. This analysis demonstrates that important social programs and offices – the Local Rent Supplement Program, Childcare and Education programs, TANF, Domestic Violence programs, and the OWPI – do not receive sufficient funds to support women in DC."

View the full report.

Debbie Billet-Roumell is the coordinator of the DC Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation that is a coalition of advocacy organizations, service providers, and individuals working to promote the advancement of equality, safety and well-being for women and girls in the District.  It is chaired by the DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women.  For more information, please contact Debbie Billet-Roumell, Coordinator, DC Women’s Agenda at DBRoumell@wowonline.org or 202-464-1596.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

• The Chicago Tribune relates the story of Stacey Wolf, who met math standards needed to pursue a nursing career at community college, a rarity among low-income women.

• In an opinion article published in the Huffington Post, the President of Washington Area Women’s Foundation, Phyllis Caldwell, states that recent Census numbers indicating a rise in poverty failed to communicate that women and girls make up the majority of America’s impoverished.

• The Chicago Tribune reports the findings of a study in which Duke University researchers found that low-income mothers are more likely to abuse their children.

• Despite being sixty-one and homeless, Terri Mace is determined to earn her GED by taking classes in a local shelter, as told in the Des Moines Register.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to record a commentary for NPR regarding the release of new census data showing that 2.6 million more Americans fell into poverty last year.

While the official press release stated that there was no statistical change in the poverty rate for female-headed families, the reality is that 4.2 million such families are impoverished. 

That means that nearly a third of all female-headed households live in poverty—a number that shoots up to 40 percent for black and Hispanic families headed by single mothers.

The statistics are staggering when you consider that:

• A fifth of all girls are poor;
• 13 percent of adult women live in poverty;
• Almost twice as many elderly women as elderly men are impoverished;
• Real earnings for women dropped 2 percent to $35,745, compared with a 1 percent decline for men to $46,367;
• The unemployment rate for female-headed families is 12.2 percent, compared to 7.1 percent for married men; and,
• 43.5 percent of children living in female-headed households are poor, compared to 9.9 percent of children living in married couple households.

Despite what should be jaw-dropping statistics, few in the mainstream media have talked about the female face of poverty today.

There is an untold story not only in the numbers themselves, but also in what’s behind the numbers.

It is the story of the millions of women who face insurmountable odds and yet every day, bit-by-bit, they are working to beat those odds and create a better life for themselves and their children.

They are women like Lee, a single mother who fled domestic violence and entered a shelter program with her 5-year-old son. She secured a job with a local retail store and through the shelter received financial education to develop a budget and begin restoring her credit. She worked to relieve medical debt totaling $2,211.  As a result of free tax preparation services, she received a $3,640 refund that was used to further pay down debt and deposit more than $2,000 in her savings account. She is now taking placement tests toward pursuing a degree in emergency medical services.

While Washington Area Women’s Foundation is very proud of the work we’re doing to improve the lives of women like Lee through our Stepping Stones initiative, we know that it’s not enough.

In his final letter to President Obama, the late Senator Edward Kennedy referred to health care reform as “above all a moral issue.”

I would argue that reducing poverty among women and their children is also a moral issue and that everyone needs to be part of the solution.

What will you do?

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is The Women’s Foundation’s Vice President of Programs.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.”  It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit www.TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

• The Times-Picayune features an article about how the young people in the Little Zion Baptist Church service group volunteer in women’s shelters and help to organize poor neighborhoods in New Orleans.

• The Chicago Tribune reported that the St. Paul Diaper Bank Partnership will soon be distributing diapers to low-income single mothers and families in McHenry County.

• In the wake of the President’s healthcare speech last week, the issue of the public option funding abortions, especially for low-income and uninsured women, seems to have been resolved, according to the New York Times.

• Homeless women moved out of a Salvation Army emergency winter shelter to provide room for the men who occupy it during the colder months, as told by the Charlotte Observer.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

Personal reflections from women founders of the early giving circles are included in a new booklet just released by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Among the 18 interviews in Women’s Giving Circles: Reflections from the Founders is Lynn McNair’s story of her involvement with the African American Women’s Giving Circle at Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Check out all the stories and learn more about Lynn’s personal experiences with the giving circle here.  These stories complement existing information about giving circles and add a personal connection to this vibrant form of giving.

Andrea Pactor is Associate Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.  She has worked with the Women’s Philanthropy Institute for four years and helps to further understanding of women’s philanthropy through research, education, and knowledge dissemination.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

•  The New York Times profiles nine-year old Charity Crowell, one of more than one million students whose family is homeless as a result of eviction and foreclosure.

•  The Times-Picayune reports that Mark and Brenda Gebhardt are opening up the Danielle Inn, a home for unwed, expectant mothers. The Gebhardts hope to provide help and education for homeless pregnant women, especially those who are in desperate situations.

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlights the accomplishments of Zicuria Ussery, a low-income student who has started her own smoothie business and was selected as a finalist in the 2009 OppenheimerFunds/National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.

•  Planned Parenthood of Indiana announced that it will close a clinic in Indianapolis along with four others due to loss of funding, as reported in the Indianapolis Star.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.