Calvary Women’s Services was notified Monday, September 28, by The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP) that contract funding for Calvary would be cut by nearly $75,000 beginning October 1st.  These funds support safe housing and other services for 150 homeless women each year.  TCP is an independent, non-profit corporation that coordinates DC’s Continuum of Care homeless services.

Calvary is one of many social service providers notified of cuts to their existing contracts. Emergency, transitional and supported permanent housing programs were all targeted as the city attempted to close an ever-widening budget gap.  The impact of these cuts on the overall homeless services system is going to be severe, with some housing programs reducing their services and others likely closing programs. 

Although these cuts may provide some immediate relief to the city’s budget problems, the real impact of the cuts will be felt by those in need of safe housing and support services.  Women who have already lost their jobs in this economic crisis will have fewer services and housing options available to them. These cuts will make women who are already at-risk much more likely to end up living on the streets or in unsafe situations.

The women who come to programs like Calvary are survivors of violence, women struggling with mental illness, and women working to overcome addictions.  At Calvary we make sure they have access to all of the services they need to address these challenges – in addition to providing a safe place to live.

We know that programs like ours work.  Every five days a woman moves out of Calvary and into her own home.

We have always relied on the support of both public funding and private donations to make our programs possible.  In the past, supporters have helped us close gaps like this one, and I am hopeful that the community will step up once again.  But I am also concerned that this gap may be too wide for our generous donors to close.

The coming months will be challenging ones for organizations like Calvary, as we try to find ways to continue to provide women in this community with critical, life changing services.  More so, they will be challenging months for women who need services like ours, as they face closed doors and reduced services at programs across the city.

 You can make a difference.  Support Calvary – or another agency facing these cuts – today. 

 Volunteer, donate or learn more at www.calvaryservices.org.

Kris Thompson is the Executive Director of Calvary Women’s Services, recognized as a 2009 Leadership Awardee by The Women’s Foundation.  Learn more about them on their Web site or on Facebook.

Tags: calvary women's services, homeless, women, budget, cuts

The following are excerpts of the research update.  For the full update, including summarized key findings, click here.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News
The median household income in the District of Columbia rose from $56,400 in 2007 to $57,900 in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey; however, DC residents with the lowest levels of education saw their incomes fall significantly from 2007 to 2008. (Full text)

Jobs and Business Ownership News
One fifth of all families with children are headed by working single mothers. The families of single mothers have a high poverty rate – 28.3 percent. The persistent gender wage gap continues: in 2007, women who worked full-time, year-round earned only 78 cents for every dollar earned by full-time, year-round male workers. These findings suggest that a number of changes in policy and practice are needed to improve women’s earnings. You can read the details about these findings by clicking here.

Child Care and Early Education News
A new Child Trends research brief explores the issues that judges consider when making decisions about termination of parental rights (TPR) and adoption of foster children. Several judges reported that the absence of TPR limits the adoption recruitment efforts of the child welfare agency. Some judges report a need for more discussions with older children to explore and address their concerns about adoption. (Full text)

Health and Safety News
Today, there are about 1.1 million people with HIV/AIDS living in the U.S., including nearly 280,000 women. Women of color, particularly black women, are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The impact of HIV on younger women is particularly notable – more than 6 in 10 new HIV infections among women were among those ages 13-39 in 2006. 76% of women with HIV/AIDS who were receiving medical care had children under 18 in their homes, which may complicate their ability to manage their illness. (Full text)

Other News and Research
The Urban Institute surveyed District permanent supportive housing (PSH) agencies and specific PSH projects. The research includes a look at how the District might move forward toward fulfilling its commitment to create 2,500 new units of PSH and eliminate chronic homelessness. (Full text)

Tags: Stepping Stones, Urban Institute

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.

Tags: CAAB, Capital Area Asset Builders, Colleen Dailey, CFED, Opportunities and Assets Campaign, Opportunities and Assets Scorecard, economic security, Washington,D.C.

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 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.

Tags: women and poverty, D.C. budget, Washington,D.C., Debbie Billet-Roumell, DC Women's Agenda

Alone, scared and with very little means, I made the decision to have my baby; no one could have prepared me more for the journey than my son himself.  He taught me love, patience and strength.  How not to give up, and even how to say I’m sorry when I’m wrong.

Most of our earlier years together were merely trial and error.  We struggled daily and I was constantly worried about food and shelter.  However, through the grace of God, many people were placed in our lives and from these special relationships came a whirlwind of opportunities. 

Fortunately, I took advantage of those opportunities and have broken a cycle that has haunted so many before us.

This week, I am driving to North Carolina Central University, where my son will begin his freshman year.

Not only is this a huge feat for our family (both close and extended), but this marks a milestone in both of our lives: my son’s transition from adolescents to adulthood, as well as my pre-mature transition as a 34-year-old, divorced mom to empty-nester.

My thoughts exactly: I’m way too young to be an empty-nester!

Although the past several weeks have been stressful (good stress, if there is such a thing) with all the planning, purging and packing for college, it’s actually times like this when the impact of being a single parent are most strongly felt. 

However, I am grateful to be “here” in spite of the circumstance.

To my son, I gave every fiber of me and now to the world I give my “love deposit”: a handsome, intelligent, respectful, well-mannered, self-sufficient, self-assured young man. And together we have beaten the odds.

It’s amazing how things come full circle. Years ago, I found it hard to see the end of the week. Today, I can see his future.

I love you son!

Latricia Allen is The Women’s Foundation’s Grants Manager.

Tags: teenage pregnancy, single mom, Latricia Allen

This means continued down times for many D.C. families, particularly low-income, women-headed families.

To make matters worse, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is proposing cuts to key social welfare programs that more and more residents are turning to in their time of increasing need.  Specifically:

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Proposed cut: $6.2 million. According to Stepping Stones Grantee Partner, DC Women’s Agenda (DCWA), about 50,000 low-income parents and children in DC receive TANF, and 90% of the adults in these families are women. The current TANF benefit for a family of three is the same as it was in 1991 – and provides families with only 29% of the poverty line;
• Workforce Development. Proposed cut: $5.4 million. According to U.S. Department of Labor (based on data reported by the city), more than half of the adults in the publicly funded workforce development system in the city are women;
• Adult Literacy. Proposed cut: $2 million. According to the DC government, a majority (55.1%) of those served in publicly funded adult literacy programs in the city in 2007 were women; and,
• Local Rent Supplement Program. Proposed cut: $2 million. Originally an addition to the budget by the City Council, this funding would have extended housing assistance to an additional 180 families, mostly headed by women, according to DCWA. Now it is in serious jeopardy, as are the additional families that could have benefited.

Local groups (including many Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation), under the umbrella of the Coalition for Community Investment, have organized the Save our Safety Net Coalition to help prevent these cuts from being realized.

I urge you to join them in the fight against these damaging cuts.

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

Tags: Gwen Rubinstein, Save Our Safety Net, Mayor Fenty, D.C. budget cuts

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News

The Urban Institute provides statistics on the work effort, earnings, health care access and other characteristics of low-income families. (Abstract) (Full Text)

 Jobs and Business Ownership News

The Brookings Institution investigates the accessibility of middle-wage jobs — good paying jobs for the less-educated workers — for those without bachelor’s degrees in 204 metropolitan areas. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Child Care and Early Education

The National Institute for Early Education Research examines the journeys of six states — Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, New York, and West Virginia — in achieving a plan for preschool for all. (Intro) (Full Text)

Health and Safety News

The Urban Institute explores the unique experiences of women exiting prison, focusing on a representative sample of 142 women who were released from Texas prisons and state jails in 2005 and returned to Houston communities. (Intro) (Full Text)

Other News and Research

The Urban Institute provides comprehensive data indicators and analysis on the state of older youth (age 12-24) in the District and examines  the role of area nonprofits that work with young people, their families, and neighborhoods. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Tags: Stepping Stones, Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC, Women, Washington D.C., The Brookings Institution, National Institute for Early Education Research,

This research is summarized and complied for The Women’s Foundation by Liza Getsinger of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News
The Urban Institute looks at the likelihood that nonelderly individuals in families with children experience substantial drops in family income and recoveries from such drops. (Intro) (Full Text)

Jobs and Business Ownership News
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research looks at wage differences between men and women across several different occupations. (Full Text)

Child Care and Early Education News
ChildTrends shows research findings on the link between program quality and children’s outcomes among state and federal government invested programs in early care and education. (Intro) (Full Text)

Health and Safety News
The Kaiser Family Foundation explores how problems obtaining oral health and dental care disproportionately affect low-income and minority children. (Intro) (Full Text)

Other News and Research
The Urban Institute documents the extent to which foreclosures in Washington D.C. have occurred in renter-occupied homes and apartments, and outlines several policy options for helping renters during this difficult period. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Tags: Washington Area Womens Foundation, Washington DC, Women, Stepping Stones Research, Urban Institute, Liza Getsinger, NeighborhoodInfo DC, women and poverty

Here at The Women’s Foundation, we’re celebrating meeting an ambitious goal: maintaining our grantmaking as we close out the fiscal year!  With our most recent approval of grants, we hit our goal of granting $1.1 million to nonprofits working to improve the lives of women and girls in our region.

Our Stepping Stones grants support critical work in the areas of financial education, job training and early care and education, all of which provide the essential tools and support needed to assist low-income women and their families during these tough economic times.

Organizations like Community Tax Aid, Doorways for Women and Families, and Manna, Inc. will continue their work with low-income, women-headed families by providing them with the financial education and tax prep assistance needed to start them on a path of economic success.

SOME and Year Up are providing the job training that is essential to putting women on a career pathway.

Food stamps are an important work support and play a critical role in moving a women and her family out of poverty.  DC Hunger Solutions will continue its advocacy work to ensure that eligible women and their children are receiving food stamps.

Another key work support is access to quality child care. Montgomery College Foundation, Prince George’s Child Resource Center and WETA will work to improve the quality of early care and education.

Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations face a myriad of challenges and navigating complex systems can be overwhelming. The Human Services Coalition of Prince George’s County will work to improve public policies so they enhance, rather than hinder, the effectiveness of the work nonprofits do on behalf of low-income, women-headed families in Prince George’s County.

Through our Open Door Capacity Fund, we’re funding capacity building work that aims to shore up the long-term sustainability of organizations. This work is essential to ensuring that these organizations have the necessary resources to address key organizational and operational improvements, while maintaining the much-needed services they provide to our region’s at-risk women and girls.

Please take a moment to review our most recent grants and take pride knowing that together we’re making a difference in the lives of women and girls in our community.

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is the Vice President, Programs at The Women’s Foundation.

Tags: grantmaking, Open Door Capacity Fund, Technical assistance, Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat