Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) went to the well of the House of Representatives today and asked colleagues to join him. His impassioned message: “What will finally make Congress do what is right” to reduce gun violence? “We can no longer be patient,” he said. And so he and many other…
Archives: Voices
Announcing: The CHN Human Needs Heroes of the Year
On Tuesday, July 19, the Coalition on Human Needs will host our Human Needs Hero reception. This is our only fundraiser of the year and your support enables CHN to provide resources such as the Voices for Human Needs blog you are reading right now. Voices for Human Needs features…
LaJuana Clark’s Story: ‘It’s not how I start. It’s how I finish.’
Editor’s note: Last week, we discussed CHN’s June 16 event, What Works – And What Doesn’t – To Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity. As part of that event, we heard the story of LaJuana Clark, who has struggled with homelessness and under-employment. This is LaJuana’s story. We encourage you to…
What We Could Do With $13 Billion
Congratulations, Rep. Gwen Moore, for Shining a Light on Efforts to Stigmatize the Poor
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) wants government to be even-handed. Her own state’s Governor Scott Walker would like to expand mandatory drug testing to participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and to some applicants for unemployment benefits. Wisconsin already requires drug testing for poor parents seeking cash assistance (Temporary…
What works to fight poverty?
Poverty has been in the news a lot lately. Two years ago we marked the 50th anniversary of LBJ’s famous War on Poverty. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which supplanted Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). And a GOP…
What Works – and What Doesn’t – to Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity
UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who watched and attended our event on Thursday, June 16. The recording will be available here shortly. Until then, feel free to check out the many resources we’ve compiled at the bottom of that page. At CHN, we’re busy getting ready for a big event this Thursday (hopefully you’ve…
Human Needs Report: Appropriations, Child Nutrition, Zika Funding and More
CHN just released our latest edition of the Human Needs Report, our regular newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable populations. This edition includes articles on appropriations, the GOP poverty plan, child nutrition reauthorization, funding to fight Zika, and more. See below for the full analysis and links to each piece in the report….
Five Things You Need to Know About Payday Lending
Editor’s Note: This piece was originally posted on Medium on June 7, 2016 by Stop Payday Predators, a project of the Stop the Payday Loan Debt Trap Coalition, a national coalition of hundreds of groups and consumers seeking to stop the debt trap caused by payday, car title, and installment loans. CHN…
Rhetoric Versus Real Impact of Proposals to Reduce Poverty
Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on RESULTS’ blog on Tuesday, June 7. RESULTS is a co-sponsor of an event CHN is hosting on Thursday, June 16 at 1:00pm ET entitled, “What Works – and What Doesn’t – to Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity.” The event will be an evidence-based discussion…
Vague Pronouncements Do Not Reduce Poverty
Editor’s Note: In addition to the following piece from CHN’s Executive Director Deborah Weinstein, please see CHN’s resource page on what works – and what doesn’t – to reduce poverty and expand opportunity. The page contains information about CHN’s upcoming event on this topic, as well as CHN’s statement and statements and…
Head Smacker: Rental Assistance to Families with Children Falls as Need Rises
Earlier this week, we discussed a new report showing that affordable housing is out of reach for millions of renters across the US. And higher rents, especially when combined with flat wages and an economic recovery that hasn’t reached low-income families, means an increased need for rental assistance. Unfortunately, however,…