By joining your
voice with poor and low-income Americans, and using that unified voice
with elected officials, policy makers and the media, you can help
increase awareness of the dimensions of poverty in America and in
your local community - and become part of the growing chorus that
is calling for its end - forever.
Here are some simple steps you can take to join with the nearly 36
million Americans still living in poverty in advocacy for change.
SPREAD THE
WORD
Begin
by talking directly with poor and low-income people, especially
those involved in self-help, community-based organizations (learn
about groups in your local region by visiting www.usccb.org/cchd/02fund.htm).
Learning about their lives, the challenges they wrestle with, and
the solutions they are working toward will strengthen any other
advocacy you participate in. Share what you discover with those
you know - and consider what more you can do to work with them.
Write a letter
to your local newspaper, alerting the editors to the information
you've learned about poverty in America, and what is being done
to eliminate it. Refer to a related issue currently being discussed
in your local newspaper or media, and include poverty statistics
pertaining to your region or state. Visit www.census.gov to select
a state and get facts on poverty from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ask local reporters to cover the state of poverty in your community
and the positive steps being taken to help those in need. Point
them to the facts and figures contained
in this Web site for background information.
Submit an article to the newsletter published by your church, synagogue,
mosque or house of worship about poverty in your community, and
about successful initiatives that are bringing long-term results.
Learn more by reading about successful local
efforts.
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PROMOTE JUSTICE-BASED SOCIAL POLICIES
Follow local politics, and tell your local elected officials that
you support policies aimed at permanent solutions to poverty in
your community and your nation. Time and again, letter-writing campaigns
have demonstrated that, when people combine their energies in a
single purpose, the results are magnified.
Organize a letter writing campaign through your local faith community
about an issue of local concern. If you volunteer or work with a
charitable service organization, suggest that others who participate
in that work get involved in advocacy on the issues that keep people
trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Question candidates on their plans to address poverty in your state
and nation, vote your conscience -- and hold politicians to their
promises if elected.
Attend or help organize neighborhood meetings and public hearings
and give testimony on programs and policies affecting low-income
families in your community, sharing information you've learned about
solutions for poverty in America.
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TALK WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OTHER POLICY MAKERS
Join a local advocacy group that urges elected officials to enact
just social policies. Lend your support to organizations that work
with people in poverty to bring about positive changes at the state
and federal level. One such group is the Center for Community Change
(www.communitychange.org), which helps low income people build effective
organizations that can change their communities and public policies.
Organize site
visits for local leaders and the media to witness first-hand those
programs in your community that are successfully addressing the
problems of poverty.
Stay informed
about what Congress is doing to address poverty on a national level.
Write or call your senators or representatives, asking what their
stance is on pending legislation affecting low-income Americans.
The more elected officials hear from voters about a particular issue,
the more they take notice.
You can call anyone in Congress by phoning the Capitol Switchboard
at (202) 224-3121. You can send a letter to any senator by addressing
your envelope to The Honorable (Senator's name), United States Senate,
Washington, DC 20510, or to any representative by writing to The
Honorable (Representative's name), U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC 20515.
You can send e-mail to your Representative by visiting www.house.gov/writerep/;
e-mails to your Senators can be sent by visiting www.senate.gov/.
Visit www.usccb.org/sdwp
to find current information about issues pending in Congress that
have an impact on the lives of poor and low income people .
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PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING
Become a personal advocate for and with those living in poverty
by developing more compassion in the way you talk to others about
the reality of poverty in America. Such small changes, when multiplied,
can lead to larger changes in the way society sees and treats people
experiencing poverty.
Help those directly
affected by proposed legislation to get involved. Through your local
coalition, mobilize the very people experiencing poverty to contact
officials at all levels of government. Volunteer to help with a
registration drive in your local community. Most especially, encourage
low-income families and the working poor to register and to vote.
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For
more information about the state of poverty in America or its residents,
or to help support CCHD, send us an email
or write to us at:
Catholic
Campaign for Human Development
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20017-1194
To
find out about or get involved with CCHD projects in your community,
contact the CCHD
director in your local Catholic diocese.
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