This long-awaited move by North Carolina will provide welcome relief to many low-wage earners who often are not offered health insurance through their employers. Considering the struggles of working families here in Mecklenburg County, there are certainly thousands who will benefit from Medicaid expansion in our own community. Based on evidence from other states, it’s likely all of us will reap the benefits of improved community health, lower eviction rates, and a stronger safety net for our neighbors.
Hear Pulitzer Prize-winning Matthew Desmond
We are proud to partner with Davidson College to co-host Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond on their campus. Desmond’s thought-provoking message will help us understand the systemic issues contributing to poverty and inspire us to be part of the solution here in our own community.
“Poverty, By America”: New Book Asks the Hard Questions
Does poverty exist because we want it to? In his new book, “POVERTY, BY AMERICA,” Matthew Desmond asks this and other provocative questions about persistent poverty in our land of plenty.
On Juneteenth, Equity, Equality, and Freedom
Juneteenth marks a celebration of freedom—at least in the legal sense of the word. But it also evokes several bitter truths surrounding emancipation and its legacy. We see the ripples of that legacy here every day as we work to help our neighbors whose struggles are made more difficult by the social and systemic legacies of chattel slavery in the United States.
As we reflect on a historic moment in time, we can’t overlook the centuries of disenfranchisement that have followed legal emancipation and consider whether true freedom, equity, and equality have yet to arrive for many of our fellow citizens.
Should NC Implement Child Tax Credits?
Back in March of 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan, Congress expanded an important tax benefit: The Federal Child Tax Credit. The credit, originally enacted as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, was increased from $2,000 to $3,000 per child ages 6-17, and to $3,600 per child below the age of 6. The bill also made an important change to the credit: making it fully refundable. Even if parents owed less in taxes than the credit covered, they could still receive the full refund.
The effects were remarkable.
As SNAP’s Emergency Allotments Expire Who Will Suffer?
The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most important social service programs in the United States, keeping millions of lower-income families above the poverty line while reducing levels of food insecurity. The program was expanded in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
Now that those additional benefits ended, hunger-fighting groups expect a surge in demand at food banks and warn SNAP recipients may fall back into poverty.
International Women’s Day 2023: Embrace Equity
Observed worldwide on March 8 as a celebration of “the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women,” International Women’s Day is also a global call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
The theme for this year’s observance is “Embrace Equity.”
Put Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes
With two kids to care for, aged 7 and 9, there is a zero percent chance my family can pay these bills on time. Should I fall behind on rent payments and risk eviction? Should I ignore the electric bill and risk the power being cut off? How will I be able to afford groceries for the coming week? All of these questions spiraled through my mind as I came to a harrowing conclusion: my family and I could likely end up homeless very soon.
Suddenly, I heard a whistle blow, and a hush fell over the room. It was over.