With poverty more of a problem than it has been in decades, The Women’s Foundation’s Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat says now is the time to step up and take action. She calls on individuals, politicians and organizations to come together to defeat poverty. Read on to find out what you can do.
Sometimes problems appear to be so big that they seem insurmountable and we become paralyzed just thinking about what it would take to overcome them. We forget that the problem didn’t simply happen overnight. Generally, there were a series of events, words and/or actions that, when left unresolved over time, culminated into a much larger problem. And of course we want there to be a quick, easy fix because anything else is just too hard, too daunting to contemplate.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s the case when it comes to the “problem” of poverty in the nation’s capital. Do we think it’s insurmountable? Are we so daunted by the stats that we are paralyzed? Do we think it’s really someone else’s problem?
Regardless of the answers, at what point do we decide to turn a challenge into an opportunity? My response: Now! And here’s why.
Successes and Setbacks
Seven years ago, Washington Area Women’s Foundation released A Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area, which found that single, female-headed families suffered disproportionately from the region’s poverty. In the District of Columbia, 30 percent of women-headed families lived in poverty. These stark findings have guided our grantmaking over the past six years with a laser-like focus on improving the economic security of low-income, women-headed families. This approach has helped 6,000 women increase their incomes and assets by $22 million. Last year alone – in the midst of the recession – we helped 66 women become homeowners, 1,000 women increase their assets by $2.2 million, and 70 women increase their incomes by more than $600,000 due to job placements.
But even as we celebrate the achievements of thousands of women, we’re seeing frustrating setbacks across the community. Today, 37 percent of women-headed families in DC are living in poverty—the highest poverty rate among all family types. Some may look at the increase and throw up their hands in defeat and stumble off the field in dismay (apologies for the soccer analogy, World Cup fever).
I think that’s the wrong reaction. At The Women’s Foundation, the startling statistics are pushing us to think creatively about our work and our investments, forcing us to re-examine our assumptions and open our minds to new possibilities, and most importantly, reinforcing the importance and necessity of collective action. No one individual, nonprofit, business, government agency, or funder can do it alone, but collectively we might have a fighting chance.
Be Part of the Solution
That’s why Washington Are Women’s Foundation is supporting Defeat Poverty DC, a coalition of organizations and residents in the District working to bring greater focus during the 2010 election season and beyond to the damaging effects of poverty on our entire city. As the mayoral and City Council races kick into high gear in their run-up to the primary on September 14th, there is no better opportunity to highlight the critical need to address poverty in DC.
Tired of feeling paralyzed? Want to do something? Visit Defeat Poverty DC’s website and take action:
- Join the Campaign and receive email alerts and updates about the campaign, as well as actions you can take to make a difference.
- Email Local Officials about this effort using a template email, which you can personalize or send as is.
- Spread the Word about Defeat Poverty DC through Facebook and Twitter accounts and by talking about the campaign on your community listserv.
- Download a Notice to Candidates and post it on your window or door to let candidates know that when they come knocking you expect to hear their plan for defeating poverty in DC.
- Attend a Volunteer Training on June 30th to learn about the best ways to get candidates to support real solutions to poverty.
With the poverty rate increasing to 19 percent last year (the largest increase since 1995), now is the time to come together and insist that our political leaders actively work to defeat poverty in DC by advancing policies that:
- Make Work Possible through job placement, increased literacy, and access to quality child care and reliable transportation.
- Make Work Pay by improving job training, ensuring access to better wages and benefits, and lessening the tax burden on low-income families.
- Make Basic Needs Affordable by bridging the gap between the high costs of living in DC and the incomes of working poor residents, including increased availability of nutritious food, health care and affordable housing.
If not now, then when?
Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is vice president of programs at Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
