Below please find a collection of important resources related to the recent and ongoing Hurricanes Helene and Milton disasters.
Many of you work with state and local networks; we hope you will forward this information to advocates in affected states, with our strong hopes they can get the ongoing help they need now and will continue to need. But the first resource is an action everyone can take to urge Congress to pass a disaster relief package on its return in November.
Archives: Voices
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Vote for Human Needs, October 21, 2024
The Vote for Human Needs edition. Democracy is under attack and CHN is fighting back. New, restrictive voter ID laws have been enacted in state after state. Many states are shortening the time we have to vote, or making it more difficult to have our votes counted. Often, the brunt of this oppression falls on people of color, students, the elderly, or first-time voters.
VoteRiders to the rescue
Seiyanna had a voter ID problem. The first-time voter wanted to register, but a new law in her home state of Nebraska required her to use her driver’s license to vote – but it was expired and she could not afford to renew it. But one afternoon, Seiyanna stumbled across VoteRiders’ Nebraska Voter ID Information Cards at a Juneteenth Celebration in Omaha.
Census Bureau updates on disability community stakeholders
We reported to you earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau met with disability community stakeholders September 30 in the D.C. metro area to better understand challenges in data availability and access for their community. The meeting brought together federal agency staff, disability stakeholders and community representatives, data users, and disability advocates.
24 states with 30 million taxpayers to join IRS Direct File next year
Earlier this month, the IRS and the Department of Treasury announced that Direct File will be expanded so more than 30 million taxpayers in 24 states will be eligible in the 2025 tax season. The announcement comes after Direct File launched earlier this year with a pilot program that began with 12 states and more than 140,000 taxpayers successfully completing their taxes.
Democracy at Stake: Dispatch from the Nuns on the Bus and Friends
On Monday evening hundreds of people gathered at the Detroit Gesu Catholic Church for a Town Hall with the Nuns on the Bus and Friends – a cross-country bus tour on the theme “Vote Our Future.” They were asked to name out issues most important to them in the upcoming election. I’m one of the Friends riding the bus – not a nun, but honored to be invited because of the close cooperation of the Coalition on Human Needs, which I direct, and NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice, the sponsor of the bus tour and a member of CHN.
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, September 30, 2024
The Census edition. There’s a lot to report with the Census Bureau in recent weeks and we want to walk you quickly through the numbers. The brief glimpse: bad news on poverty, good news on health care, good news on income.
Amid questions, Census Bureau, advocates for disability community to meet
Census Bureau analysts, policy experts, and disability rights advocates will convene next week to discuss whether or how Bureau officials should change the way disabled Americans are counted. At issue is a change in the methodology used in the way people with disabilities are tallied in the American Community Survey (ACS) – one that advocates fear could result in a severe undercount.
Advocates speak out with tax fight to come in 2025
Diane and Michael Killen are small business owners who live in western Colorado and have operated a small video production company for 20 years. Together they hire local people, serve local clients, and help fuel the local economy. In retrospect, they are not fond of the 2017 Trump tax cut.
CHN unveils new voter guides for activists’ use
The Coalition on Human Needs is happy to announce the release of CHN’s Vote for Human Needs Voter Issue Guides! These guides are crafted to help you navigate the critical conversations surrounding human needs issues as we approach the election.
Whether you print them as flyers, handouts, or use the content in other creative ways, these resources are designed to fit the needs of your organization.
A wealth of data
It’s unusual for us at CHN to write about a wealth of anything, but we are delighted to offer you a wealth of American Community Survey data on how people are faring in your state, congressional district, or major metropolitan area.
Census Bureau releases American Community Survey (ACS)
Today the Census Bureau released new American Community Survey (ACS), 1-year estimates. This includes data for states, communities, and congressional districts on a wealth of topics, including income, poverty, health insurance, housing, education, disability and much more for the most recent year available (2023).