Last week, I was one of the lucky people who participated in the “Conversation on Poverty in Montgomery County” that Rebecca Wagner, Executive Director of Interfaith Works, blogged about last week.

The session that I attended was wonderful.

In a new report released last week by the D.C. Women’s Agenda, ninth grade girls residing in Hillcrest, Naylor Gardens and Woodland Terrace challenged DC Council candidates for Wards 7 and 8 and At-Large positions to answer questions about daily hardships they must confront.

In an election guide released this week by the DC Women’s Agenda, DC Council candidates were challenged to find solutions to staggering issues confronting women and girls in DC, including the facts that 12% of DC women lack health insurance; 25,000 individuals, primarily women, are on the DC Housing Authority wait list for affordable housing; and, 9% of babies born with HIV/AIDS nationwide come from DC.

I hope you all have had a chance to read Phyllis’ commentary in the Spotlight on Poverty.

I am one of the staff here at The Women’s Foundation working on the Women’s Economic Security Collaborative (WESC) and I think it is a very exciting project.  We have the opportunity to really help low-income women and their families throughout the country by bringing greater attention to the issue and the policies that affect it.

The Women’s Foundation congratulates Casa de Maryland on its victory Tuesday before the Montgomery County Council, when the Council unanimously approved a bill that will provide new legal protections for domestic workers.

This bill is believed to be the first legislation nationally of its kind.