The Diversity Projekt
Empowerment for All People of Color
-
“New Beginnings” at Risk
As many of you know, I have been attending The Well in Feasterville, PA, since January of this year. While my transition from the Orthodox Church to an evangelical Protestant church has been challenging at times, I have begin to make some connections that are important to me. The people at The Well are what have made my transition a little less painful.
Patti is one of those people.
Recently, Patti shared with me that her program at Bensalem High School that provides vital support to teen parents who struggle with staying in school while raising children was in danger of being cut due to the economic budget crisis. This past Sunday she informed us that the program’s closing was eminent unless the School Board was convinced otherwise. I do not live in Bucks Co., PA, so I cannot address the School Boad directly. But I do have this blog and people who continually return to learn about the issues that I care deeply about.I have asked Patti to share with us a little bit about her job at “New Beginnings”, and why cancelling this program will have a detrimental impact on the young parents that have come to reply on their services.
I encourage you to attend the School Board meeting on Wednesday May 27 at 7pm at 3000 Donallen Drive, Bensalem, PA 19020, and if you are a Bucks Co. resident, please consider speaking in support of the continued operation of this program!
TDP: Tell me about your job and how you were lead to your work?
Patti: 16 years ago, when I was ready to re-enter the work force I was looking for a job that would allow me to make a difference in my community while working with the youth population. As a mother of young children, I also wanted a work schedule compatible with my children’s schedules. The pregnant and parenting teen coordinator position at Bensalem High School was the perfect combination of all those requirements.
In my 16 years as coordinator/counselor, the program has expanded to include a fatherhood component that provides support and information for teen dads. We also developed a summer camp program with an emphasis on parenting skills while simultaneously helping students address issues (day care, homelessness, etc.) that may interfere with a return to school in September (camp was always funded by an external grant and has never been paid for with school district monies). Bensalem Township has partnered with the other Lower Bucks County School districts to apply for State grant funds that offset a portion of the cost of the New Beginnings program.
In my part-time position as coordinator/counselor, I provide direct services, access to community services, educational and group support, and advocacy support within the school system and the community for student participants. The number of students varies from year to year, but has been gradually increasing for the past four years and has peaked at 27 students at this point in time. Eleven of those students are due to graduate, which means that there will be at least 16 pregnant or parenting students expected back in the fall.
New Beginnings has maintained a graduation rate of over 90% throughout the 16 years I have been here. That is an excellent standard that will be impossible to maintain without specialized support.
TDP: What is the recent school board decision?
Patti: The school board voted in the proposed budget to completely cut the New Beginnings Program, along with 4 teachers, a secretary, and a non-teaching assistant (a discipline position). All of these positions are at the high school, so the general cuts will create a higher student/staff ratio, meaning there is less all around support for the high school population within our district, not to mention the complete loss of specialized support for pregnant and parenting teens.
TDP: How does it impact the students in your program?
Patti: The students in my program will be left with no specialized support to assist them in the process of accomplishing graduation from high school. As these students navigate the maze of pre-natal care, day care and day care subsidy, health insurance, health complications (for themselves & their children), three-generational living, financial stressors, educational pressures, and the list goes on; there will be no one within the school district to be sure that these kids get access to the supports that they need in order to succeed. Inevitably some of this population will fall through the cracks, drop out, and struggle to find a way to support themselves and their families.
TDP: What do you think are the long-term repercussions if the school board’s decision stands?
Patti: Long term, the consequences of a higher drop out rate will inevitably lead to a higher rate of welfare dependence for a longer period of time. Today’s teen parents will struggle to help their children succeed educationally because they’ve been left without adequate support to accomplish the goal themselves. There will also be a toll of a higher incidence of crime, drug & alcohol abuse, and other less appealing alternatives because good choices may seem out of reach for these kids.
TDP: How can people help? What are some action items?
Patti: Let the decision-makers know that you believe in paying a small amount of tax money now to prevent the large financial, personal, and societal cost that will ensue if we don’t. Voice your support at school board meetings ~ the next school board meeting will be held at 3000 Donallen Drive, Bensalem PA 19020 on May 27th, 2009. The final budget will be voted in at the board meeting on June 10th, 2009.
You can also express your support for the New Beginnings Program (the support program for pregnant and parenting teens at Bensalem High School) by emailing the school board members as follows:
Harry R. Kramer, President - hkramer@bensalemsd.org
Eugene A. Rothenberg, Vice President – erothenbe@bensalemsd.org
James A. Bodnar – jbodnar@bensalemsd.org
Dr. Lewis J. Brandt – lbrandt@bensalemsd.org
Rose Jacobs – rjacobs@bensalemsd.org
Carol T. Jones – cjones@bensalemsd.org
Carol L. McGuire – cmcguire@bensalemsd.org
Heather D. Nicholas – hnicholas@bensalemsd.org
Dr. Stephen C. Nowmos – snowmos@bensalemsd.org
And, you can contact the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent and Acting Director of Pupil Personnel as follows:
Dr. James D. Lombardo, District Superintendent – 215-750-2800Ext. 4100 email: jlombardo@bensalemsd.org
Dr. William J. Gretzula, Assistant Superintendent – 215-750-2800 Ext. 4103 email: wgretzula@bensalemsd.org
Ms. Tammy Wood, Acting Director of Pupil Personnel – 215-750-2800 Ext. 4108 email: twood@bensalemsd.org
Mobilize Your Network to Pay it Forward
Not a day goes by without reports of some company (or companies) laying off employees, cutting services or closing down completely. We all know far too many people who are desperately seeking a job or on terrified of being next on the chopping block.
Looking at this morning’s job loss report, there doesn’t seem to be a single industry that has been spared. While some industries are experiencing gentle nudges (nursing/medical, pharma), others are feeling the recession like a ton of bricks.
Financial analysts seem to agree that we haven’t hit bottom. In fact, we still have quite a ways to go. The new Obama Administration and other government officials are trying to put systems in to place to halt the hemorrhage. Yet, the kicks keep on coming!
As a development professional at a public charity, I am concerned. Yet, many direct service agencies are holding steady, while foundations and other non profits are starting to seriously feel the crunch. I feel increasingly helpless, particularly as more friends take their place in the unemployment line.
While I don’t have any concrete solutions to the present, disastrous job market, I know that there is one thing that we can all do…..
….watch out for each other. As the economic forecast worsens, we need to pull together, as a community, to support each other. We should be doing this anyway, but it is particularly vital in this environment.
Some suggestions:
If your company is still hiring, pass along the information. Post it in your blog, on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., and send an email to your network. We spend so much time building our social networking capacity. Let’s put it to work.
If you have experience in resume and cover letter writing, offer your assistance. A second set of eyes can make a world of difference. I often miss small errors, especially after working on several drafts.
Offer to serve as a reference. You don’t have to have been someones superior in order to provide an effective reference. Collaborations, whether professional or on a volunteer basis, provide you as much insight into an individuals’ work habits, as supervising the individual does.
If you are in a position that allows you to make vendor decisions at your current position – web design, printing, professional development, temporary staffing – make sure to keep people in your network in mind. Pass on the love!
If you are fortunate enough to have a job, consider giving to local direct service agencies – soup kitchens, food banks, homeless shelters, animal rescues, senior centers, etc. If we learned anything from the recent election, it’s that every little bit counts. Your $5 donation can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life.
If your birthday is coming up, encourage your friends to donate to your favorite local charity (fellow blogger, Rosetta Thurman led the pack recently on this brilliant idea).
….and lastly, make sure to take care of yourself – physically, emotionally, spiritually AND financially.
Top Down Problems With Top Down Solutions – Do We Ever Learn?
I am not an economist. I don’t even claim to be particularly good at crunching numbers. In fact, statistics was the only subject where I consistently earned abysmal grades. Nevertheless, I am astute enough to recognize that throwing money at poverty, particularly in a top down scheme, does not solve this problem. Remember Reagan-era TRICKLE DOWN economics? It’s like deja vu! The various bail-out strategies essentially award those individuals responsible for the financial meltdown we find ourselves in. This yet again leaves those of us who live paycheck to paycheck to either sink or swim.
While the media has focused on the scores of Americans who have or are on the verge of losing their jobs, pension plans, life’s savings and homes, there is an even bigger storm on the horizon. This financial crisis is transforming the scope and character of poverty in ways many Americans have not seen in their lifetime, certainly not those of my generation. For the most part, Millenials have lived in an environment of economic prosperity. Most of us were too young to comprehend the the economic pumps of the mid/late 1990s.
Nevertheless, recent graduated are faced with mounds of school debt and few, adequate job prospects,
The average debt of students graduating with loans in 2007 jumped to $20,098 – up from $18,976 for those graduating in the previous year, according to the Project on Student Debt, a Berkeley, Calif., advocacy group that tracks student loans.
This year’s graduating class might owe even more as they and their parents borrow more to supplement falling values in their savings plans.
Meanwhile, starting salaries for last year’s graduates haven’t kept pace, growing only 3 percent over the previous year.
While the Federal Government has attempted to reassure students and parents of the availability of credit to pay for school tuition, little effort is put forth to establish fair and reasonable repayment schemes, particularly considering the current job market.
Faces of Poverty
Poverty is an ongoing epidemic plaguing millions of Americans in rural, suburban and urban communities even prior to this economic crisis. Yet, now that an increasing number of middle class Americans are joining the roll call of homeless and welfare seekers, it is worthy of front page news.
“Why is no one helping our struggling middle class?” I have CNN running most days- background noise if you will, and this question has been posed a total of five times today alone.
Does poverty and financial strife among our mostly suburban, middle class hold more currency than the lack of housing, adequate food and nutrition, access to health care, mental health counseling, clean clothing, etc., experienced by millions of Americans prior to the present financial meltdown?
Millions of children across this country live without health care, quality education opportunities, and are forced to live in conditions comparable to those in the third world. Yet, it has taken the deterioration of the quality of life for the American middle class for the country to truly wake up.
Local and state governments have failed for decades in adequately addressing issues of adequate housing and health care services, as well as quality education for much of the nation’s working and non-working poor. These existing conditions are exacerbated by the credit and mortgage crisis, as well as an annual job loss that has far exceeded the 1 million mark. Over 4 million homeowners are behind in their mortgage payments. If conditions continue to deteriorate, over 5 million may lose their homes between 2008 an 2010. The current procedures and processes of loan modifications are fundamentally useless for those who lose jobs or have mortgages that are under water.
Rescue missions and soup kitchens across the country are bursting at their seams. Food banks are seeing record crowds and are unable to service all those coming to them for help. They are finding it more difficult to find donors due to the financial crunch. Shelters are unable to house the many families who lose their homes due to foreclosure or job loss. Families are separated as shelters dedicated to maintaining family units reach and exceed capacity.
Leslie Kaufman recently reported on the plan to reduce New York shelter capacities in all of its burroughs:
The city has a massive municipal shelter system that houses roughly 6,500 homeless individuals every night. But it also has a much more ad-hoc system for street homeless who are highly resistant to institutionalized settings.
That alternative system is composed of eight drop-in centers, which have showers and seats but no beds. From there, homeless men can find one-night beds in churches and synagogues – or, if they can show they’ve been on the street for more than nine months, they can use city-run safe-haven beds. But each night, more than 500 hundred people, on average, end up sleeping in the chairs at the drop-in centers – some by choice and some because there are not enough beds in the faith-based centers.
While we are all feeling the crunch, those of us who are employed can help in several ways that are not overly burdensome to our own wallets.
- donate unused canned goods from your cupboard to a local soup kitchen
- donate your time to a local food bank of soup kitchen. This is also a great family building activity.
- set out non-perishable food donation box at your place of employment or church (Our office allowed everyone who donated a canned good to wear jeans to work the following Friday.)
Advertisers Run Amuck!
Have you seen the new Obama Victory Plate commercial? Particularly amusing is the image of the white family sitting in the living room. The husband exclaims “We never thought this day would come,” to which the wife retorts, “and now we own a piece of history.” As if this isn’t ridiculous enough , following them are the token black folks who say “Our generation has truly spoken”.
This is the dumbest commercial I have seen in quite some time. Following close behind is the in-color Obama gold coin commercial. I love the “you have x amount of days to get your plate and then the ink will be destroyed!” It strikes me as a bit odd that Obama’s profile is in color. As if we may forget that Obama is a black man?!
WHAT?
The DOW is taking a nose dive. Millions of people are without work and on the verge of losing their homes. The financial world as we know it is crashing down around us. And these advertisers are threatening people with ink being destroyed?
Perhaps the problem rests with me. Perhaps my priorities are out of line. My friend Jennifer pointed out (quite sarcastically) that the DOW will eventually rise again. People will eventually find work (or migrate to Canada). But I will never forgive myself if I do not jump at the opportunity to purchase “my own piece of history.!”
These are the last things people need to be purchasing right now. While consumer confidence needs to be rebuilt, this is also a time in which people need to be focused on saving. There is no time left to prepare, as the rainy days are here.
Putting a plan into motion….
Now that comps are behind me and I have my Master’s degree, it is time to re-energize the job search. I have applied to a whole host of positions since August, yet have only received one interview So, I am tapping into my network here.
What I am looking for – a position in fundraising and development. While I love crafting and implementing programs, I am most passionate about helping organizations obtain the funds necessary to effectively implement programs that allow them to maximize impact within their particular target communities. Too often, lack of funding limits the extent to which organizations can fulfill their mission.
Please take a look at my resume. Ideally I would like to remain in Philadelphia (to minimize my commute), however, I am open to positions between New York City and Wilmington, Delaware. I would appreciate any referrals or recommendations.
Also, I am stepping up my networking and professional development strategies. I am making a commitment to attend three networking and two professional development events a month. I am also applying to two long(er) term professional development fellowship programs.
In the meantime, I am also looking to expand my consulting practice.
I have a more detailed professional development strategy, but I want to put the fundamentals of it out there so that I am accountable to more than just myself.
Best wishes to anyone else who is on the job hunt. Speak up and let me know if there are any job postings I should send your way.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License
Recent Comments