Community Voices Heard

"Target of Opportunities" - City Limits Investigates

This is selected pages from the Spring issue of City Limits Investigates. The full issue can be purchased from City Limits here. City Limits is a non-profit magazine that focuses on policy. This issue is about poverty policies and Community Voices Heard and its members are quoted throughout the issue.

"As the Economy Worsens: Helping People Find Jobs" - Gotham Gazette

This is an article that appeared into today's Gotham Gazette. The article is about how the economic slump has affected the workforce. The article speaks about welfare programs and whether or not they are effective at helping to move people into the workforce. Community Voices Heard board member and leader in the Welfare/Workforce Campaign Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted in this article. The article is attached below or can be found on the Gotham Gazette's website.

$2.5M in TANF for Career Pathways in final State Budget!

Community Voices Heard leaders Michelle Cannady and Mia Bell along with other members on the Building the Workforce Campaign are pleased that Commissioner David Hansell of the Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance in New York State included 2.5 million dollars of the State TANF budget in his final executive budget for Career Pathways for Education and Training programs.

"Exit Stage Left" - New York Metro

This is an article in today's New York Metro about Republican Presidential Candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and how he lost the Florida primary last night. As a result of his loss in Florida, he will be most likely quitting the race for the White House. The article focuses on all of the negative things Giuliani did while he was Mayor of New York including a quote about the WEP program from Community Voices Heard Board Member, Yvonne Shields.

"Help the poor, not only the pols" - Daily News

This article is an editorial by Errol Louis regarding New York State Governor Spitzer considering to raise the pay of the state Legislature, which is currently $79,500 a year. The article quotes CVH Members Ann Michelle Valdez, a Brooklyn Public Housing Resident, and Harold Gardner, a CVH member from our Poughkeepsie chapter. Our members helped to point out that those receiving public assistance have not seen an increase in the welfare cash grant since 1990 and if the Governor is considering giving an increase for the pols he should also consider giving an increase in benefits for the poor.

Anita Graham on BBC News

Recently reporters from the BBC came to New York to find out about WEP and how it works here. They were interested in WEP because there is talks of instituting a similar system in Britain and they wanted to find out what people here thought about the program. They interviewed Anita Graham, the Welfare / Workforce Organizer at Community Voices Heard you can check out this link for the video.

Legal Aid Society Holds WeCARE Workshop for HRA Clients

The Legal Aid Society will be hosting a workshop for clients in the HRA We Care program on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 111 Livingston Street, 7th Floor, Brooklyn NY.

(The workshop is in the same building as the welfare fair hearings at 14 Boerum Place)

Community Voices Heard members & staff will be in attendance. If you would like to confirm your attendance please email anita@cvhaction.org or alexa@cvhaction.org.

(see flyer attached)

CVH Members are Campaigning to Win More Paid Transitional Jobs!!!

WHEN: TUESDAY, DEC. 18TH
WHERE: CVH OFFICE 170 E. 116th St
TIME: 9:00 AM

COME OUT & DEMAND A MEETING WITH THE COMMISSIONERS!
WE WANT REAL JOBS!!

Transitional Jobs are better than unpaid WEP assignments because you earn a real wage, can put the job on your resume, receive 1 day paid job search, and have power to make decisions over your life and have money to spend on bills, clothing, household responsibilities & activities for yourself & your family!!

Transitional jobs can last from 6 months to 1 year!!

"NYC to Lead Country in Remaking Poverty Gauge" - City Limits

This article is from City Limits and is about the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) changing the poverty line for NYC. New York is an expensive city and the poverty lines that make sense for other parts of the country may not make sense for people in our city. Community Voices Heard Leader Marilyn Bezear and Community Voices Heard Board Member Sandra Killet are both quoted in this article.

"Welfare Groups Chided -- And Rehired by City" City Limits Weekly Article

This article appeared on http://www.citylimits.org. It is about the WeCARE program and talks about the report put out by Community Voices Heard. You can read the article by downloading the PDF below and you can read the CVH report on our website at this link.