Last month, I had the privilege of meeting with the members of the youth group from St. Henry's parish in Averill Park who were completing a Journey to Justice weekend.
They spent their time together dining on the typical meals served in a soup kitchen, sleeping on the type of cardboard boxes often employed by the homeless, and learning from various presenters about a variety of pressing issues confronting us as a society: poverty, homelessness, welfare and criminal justice reform, the plight of migrant workers, and the challenges of globalization.
Taking action
Not only were the youth exposed to these harsh realities, but they also developed a concrete action plan to address some of these critical concerns.
Some are volunteering to serve at Joseph's House in Troy, Conserns-U in Rensselaer and the Homeless Action Center in Albany. Some plan to participate in scheduled lobbying days to advocate for changes in the so-called Rockefeller Drug Laws and for reform of the 1996 Immigration Laws. Still others will be working within the parish to collect food, clothing and furniture for needy families.
I was truly uplifted and inspired by the level of investment these young people had, the scope of their concerns and the depth of their commitment. After listening to their experience, I was invited to celebrate the 11 a.m. Mass in the church and to invite the entire parish to make issues of social justice a priority concern for the St. Henry's faith community.
Social justice
I share this experience because, I believe, these young people and their mentors were reminding me and all of us that a commitment to social justice is an integral part of the Christian life, as much a part of walking the path of discipleship as the proclamation of God's word and the celebration of the sacraments.
And how timely is their witness, given the fact that there are more than 32 million Americans who are living in poverty in our United States.
In January, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) launched a poverty awareness crusade focusing on "poverty USA" as America's "second largest state." Indeed, if America's poor had their own state, its population would be greater than Texas, Florida or New York. The ads point out that 1 in 11 families and 1 in 6 children currently live below the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty threshold of $17,184 for a family of four.
Hidden problem
Father Robert Vitello, executive director of CCHD, notes that "low unemployment rates and the creation of new wealth have conspired to make many Americans believe that poverty and homelessness in the United States have disappeared."
In fact, a recent survey conducted by CCHD indicated that only three percent of Americans consider poverty to be an issue of concern to our society. In other words, our strong economy has simply pushed poverty into the background, which enables otherwise caring people to forget about the poor and ignore the evidence of poverty they see in their communities.
Thus Father Vitello says, "It is shameful that a nation which controls 29 percent of the world's wealth has so many people living in poverty."
Widening gap
Equally scandalous is the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor has grown wider than at anytime in our nation's history. In the 1960s, for example, the average income of the richest U.S. residents was six times more than that of low-income families. Now that income gap has nearly doubled, so that the wealthiest Americans report 11.7 times more income than those who are poor.
The perception that poverty has been eliminated is further reinforced by the results of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. Welfare rolls have plummeted nationally from 4.4 million families in 1996 to 2.2 million last year and over 50 percent in New York State, with more than 916,000 women and children dropped from the caseloads.
While these statistics are impressive on the surface, they belie the reality that continues to plague many former recipients of public assistance. For example, a study by the University of Wisconsin's Institute for Research on Poverty on the effects of that state's much heralded Welfare to Work program reveals that the total income of former welfare recipients who are currently working is slightly lower now than when they were still receiving cash assistance.
Working poor
We are in a strange time when the words "working" and "poor" are used side by side in common parlance, as if this is normal or the way things have always been. But to be "working and poor" is neither normal nor historical in this country, where work has traditionally been the remedy for poverty.
The main goal of welfare reform is to get people working. This is supposed to be the way for people to leave the ranks of the poor. Yet today, one out of every four working New Yorkers is earning poverty-level wages, a statistic that hasn't significantly changed, even during a decade-long economic boom.
The results of this sad reality are seen by the staffs in our Catholic Charities agencies and parishes across our Empire State. In 1999, Catholic Charities agencies in New York State provided emergency assistance -- including food, clothing, shelter and cash -- to more then 855,000 New Yorkers, and our parish food pantries and soup kitchens are reporting increased demands of 30 to 40 percent.
These statistics suggest that the decline in government spending for public assistance recipients has been offset by an increased demand for charitable assistance.
Reforming reform
Hence, when the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 comes up for reauthorization next year, the question which our elected representatives and policy makers must face is what has happened to those families and children who have been pared from the public assistance rolls, in order to determine whether they have met the goal of moving them out of poverty.
Welfare reform, in other words, cannot only address closing cases, but also must be focused on reducing poverty. We must offer people the training and education programs that provide the skills necessary for employment in a rapidly changing economy.
Further, the jobs available for those leaving welfare must pay a living wage and include benefits or subsidies that enable the worker to have access to affordable, quality daycare, health insurance and transportation.
Also, it must be recognized that those still on the welfare rolls often have multiple problems, such as substance abuse and mental illness combined with poor educational and employment histories. Realistically, some individuals will always require government assistance, and others will need intensive case management services in order to assess their needs and to ensure the delivery of the supportive services necessary to transition into jobs that provide a living wage.
Study needed
Consequently, our State Catholic Conference is urging the formation of a state-wide task force to do an intensive evaluation of the realities facing those who have left the welfare rolls.
In the interim, the state should invest the so-called "TANF surplus," created by reductions resulting from the Welfare Reform Act, to increase the basic public assistance grant. It hasn't been increased in more than a decade nor adjusted for inflation since 1975. The state must also provide safe, affordable housing to individuals and families below 200 percent of the poverty level.
We are also advocating that we build upon the state's successful Child Health Plus program by developing and funding a subsidized insurance program targeting working families with incomes less then 250 percent of the federal poverty level and for expanding childcare subsidies on a sliding fee scale to families in work, school or training with incomes under 85 percent of the state's medium income (which is $43,000 for a family of four).
Ending poverty
With the initiative of President Bush's Administration in promoting faith-based organizing and programming, more and more the Church and its members will be asked to become involved in responding to the issues affecting the most needy among us.
Hopefully, following the example of the young people from St. Henry's, we will be prepared to respond. We can end poverty, but only if we face it together.
Let me share a few of the practical suggestions which the CCHD's Poverty Awareness Crusade offers to individuals:
* make a commitment to work with local self-help projects;
* let elected officials know that the poor really matter to voters;
* donate time, talents, money and other resources to organizations that help poor people become independent, successful members of society;
* offer business expertise to someone starting his or her own business;
* pay a living wage to someone working in traditional low paying jobs;
* sponsor the education of a poor child; and
* mentor a needy individual.
Collectively, we can also work with our diocesan Public Policy Committee in New York State and U.S. Bishops' Conferences in supporting various advocacy initiatives that will address constructively the systemic causes of poverty and rectify social inequity.
As we walk the road of Lent with Jesus, who came "to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, and to announce a year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19), let us as His followers and witnesses make the elimination of poverty a priority for our Church.