46.5 million Americans, 15% of the population, live at or below the poverty line according to the recently released United States Census Population Survey.
Author: Lisa Gieskes
Cost of Living is Higher for the Poor
There is a common misperception that people experiencing poverty do not have enough discipline to save and pull themselves out of poverty. The truth is that it is expensive to be poor.
Ending Veteran Homelessness by 2015
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to ending Veteran homelessness by the end of 2015 through their Homeless Veterans Outreach Initiative. The VA wants to partner with organizations and individuals in communities across the country to end and prevent homelessness among Veterans.
“The single best way to help Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless is to connect them with VA. Each VA medical center has a homeless coordinator on staff and specific programs that provide Veterans the support they need to establish or maintain safe, stable housing. VA has also established the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (877-4AID-VET, or 877-424-3838), a toll-free hotline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trained responders—many of them Veterans themselves—are available to provide support to Veterans and their loved ones who lack safe, secure housing. These services are also available on an online chat at va.gov/homeless. ”
Libraries transforming communities
“I think we’ve paved the way,” said Leah Esguerra, the SFPL’s social worker, who is in demand as a speaker at library and social worker conferences. She estimates that the library has helped more than 60 patrons find permanent housing and hundreds of others find social services.
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Free webinar to highlight ways to build meaningful library experiences for those experiencing poverty and homelessness
CHICAGO – The ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) and the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) will host a webinar expanding on the tips and tools in “Extending our Reach: Reducing Homelessness Through Library Engagement,” the latest outreach toolkit from OLOS and SRRT. This webinar will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Central time on Thursday, March 21 and is free and open to all who are interested in transforming libraries by building meaningful library experiences for all, especially poor and homeless patrons.
This free webinar will feature Lisa Gieskes, coordinator of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Hunger, Homelessness, and Poverty Task Force, and Julie Winkelstein, Ph.D., University of Tennessee – Knoxville, who will explore resources, best practices and model programs geared towards creating positive library experiences for those experiencing poverty and homelessness.
Information on accessing the webinar can be found on OLOS’ Online Learning page.
The ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) is a unit within the American Library Association. It works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy. SRRT’s main website is hosted at http://libr.org/SRRT.
The mission of OLOS is to identify and promote library services that support equitable access to the knowledge and information stored in libraries. OLOS focuses attention on services that are inclusive of traditionally underserved populations and people generally discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, language and social class. The Office ensures that training, information resources and technical assistance are available to help libraries and librarians develop effective strategies to grow programs and services for library users.
What is the state of hunger in your community?
Share your story.
Sharing your story helps Feeding America understand more about hunger in America. This information is used to educate policymakers, the media, and the public. When you submit your story, you agree that Feeding America may use, share, and make public your story, using only your first name, city and state. Feeding America will not share or make public your last name, address, phone number, or email address unless they contact you and gain your permission to do so.
“We’re not mental health professionals”
“Is Fletcher Free Library becoming Burlington’s most popular homeless hangout? At least one librarian has observed that more and more itinerant people are using it as a de facto day station — a warm, safe place to pass the time.”
Santa Cruz library board delays suspension policy changes
The Santa Cruz library board is considering changes to their patron suspension policy, allowing suspension for up to one year after a series of conduct violation warnings. Conduct violations include sleeping, unattended items, and unstated animal provisions.
Johns Creek student builds library for homeless families in Roswell
Brandon Motter, a homeless teen, built a new library to help needy mothers and children at the Roswell-based Drake House.
Homeless at the library get their own program
“An early goal is to see at least 10 percent of the homeless participants find jobs in the first six months.”