Overnight Links for December 21st

A team of medical professionals from Kentucky took a missions trip to Haiti to help meet the health needs there. From the North Platte Telegraph writer Malena Ward talked to the people who took the trip.

Al Jazeera has a series of special programs on the upcoming independence referendum vote for Southern Sudan. The "Crossroads Sudan" program concentrates on the challenge of development for the new country.

The cholera death toll continues to rise in Haiti. The AFP story that we found at Google News says that the number of people dead has now surpassed 2500.

Unemployment statistics from Kentucky

A new Brookings Institution study finds that unemployment in the U.S. is becoming more of a suburban problem than an inner city problem.

From Louisville, Kentucky's Courier Journal, reporter Jere Downs gives us some stats on the poor in his local area.

As the recession drags through a second year, the Brookings report found that poverty is weighing on suburban areas, particularly newer, far-flung settlements. Of the largest 100 U.S. metro areas, Louisville is among 75 where the burden is growing faster outside of cities, according to the nonprofit think-tank based in Washington, D.C., which analyzed the growth of the jobless rate, new unemployment claims and applications for federal food stamp assistance in cities versus suburbs over a one-year span.

Researchers considered Jefferson County the region's primary urban area. They compared its economic status with the surrounding Bullitt, Henry, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby and Trimble counties in Kentucky and Indiana's Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Washington counties.

In those suburban counties, the number of jobless rose 88 percent, from 14,492 people in May last year to 27,241 two months ago, said Elizabeth Kneebone, a co-author of the report entitled "The Crabgrass Recession. Suburbs Feeling More Pain than Past Downturn."

In contrast, Jefferson County's jobless rose 72 percent, to 37,193 from 21,580, in the same time period, she said.
...

From May 2008 to May 2009, Jefferson County's jobless rate rose 4.3 percentage points, to 10.3 percent from 6 percent, of those available to work, the report found. In surrounding counties, the rate of unemployed rose 4.7 percentage points, to 10 percent from 5.3 percent.

Applications for federal food stamp assistance, however, climbed at a higher rate in Jefferson County than in surrounding areas from January 2008 to January 2009, Kneebone said. Within Jefferson County, those receiving food stamps rose 10.6 percent, to 101,510 recipients from 91,755. In the surrounding counties, those on food stamp aid rose only 7.7 percent, to 49,109 from 45,591.

Western Kentucky Bus stop for the One Campaign

The One campaign is doing a bus tour during the U.S election. The tour's purpose is to raise awareness of the issues of poverty, and to try to put pressure on the candidates to make poverty issues a priority.

The tour stop was part of a prize from the One organization. The students of WKU won by collecting more signatures than any other in a petition to be given to both the candidates.

Bowling Green Daily News writer Joanie Baker introduces us to one of the bus riders.

from the Bowling Green Daily News

Megan Schweizer took two months off from her job in Louisville to do something for which most people would go to jail.

After learning about the One Campaign organization three years ago at the University of Louisville, Schweizer became an active member in spreading the word to politicians on issues such as extreme poverty and global health.

This year, Schweizer "jumped on the bus," and joined several others across the country in touring the United States in an 18-wheeler to remind future leaders of the country about issues that could impact the world.

After spending the night in Nashville during the presidential debate Tuesday, the giant black bus plastered with One Vote 08's issues arrived on Western Kentucky University's campus.

Students were asked to sign the One Declaration, stating they believe in helping others help themselves and recognize the impact this country can have on global affairs.

As staff members handed out white One bracelets, Schweizer said Western was chosen as a campus stop after the university won the national Campus Challenge last year. Western beat more than 1,500 schools taking part in the initiative by collecting more than 3,000 student signatures.

Also, I always try to mention any fund raising events I come across, this same article also promoted a "Stand In" event coming up next week.

On Oct. 17, Western students will be challenged to attempt to live on $2 a day as part of Stand Up Kentucky. In coordination with Americans for Informed Democracy at Western, the event will bring together everyone who is trying to live like many impoverished people do worldwide in an effort to take a stand against global poverty.

"We're trying to break the Guinness World Record for having the most people standing up for a single cause," Harris said.

Fifty million people around the world are expected to take part in the international day of action for the eradication of poverty.

Events at Western will begin at 6 p.m. at the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Amphitheater.

-- For more information, visit www.wkuaid.org/standup.

The One's web page on the bus tour has neat multimedia offerings on the tour. Including video, pictures and blog posts.

Beshear cuts red tape for kids' health insurance

from the Lexington Herald Leader

The Governor of Kentucky is making moves to get more children health insurance. The office admits that finding the money to do this will be difficult. - Kale

By Sarah Vos

In an attempt to get more children covered by health insurance, Gov. Steve Beshear is simplifying the enrollment process and making other changes to the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program.

His administration estimates the changes could encourage the parents of the 67,000 children who are eligible but not enrolled to participate in the federally sponsored program.

"To me, it is a moral obligation for Kentucky to provide adequate health care for its children," Beshear said.

The changes make economic sense as well, Beshear said in a meeting Tuesday with the Herald-Leader editorial board.

In the long run, the changes will help Kentucky cut it's chronic diseases expenses — the largest part of the state's Medicaid budget — and reduce the number of emergency room visits, Beshear said. It will also help Kentucky's schools.

"A healthy child has a much better chance of learning," he said.

Beshear is announcing the changes to KCHIP in a series of news conferences across the state starting Wednesday in Ashland.

KCHIP provides health insurance and dental and eye insurance to children whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid but less than 200 percent of the poverty level, or $42,400 for a family of four. About 52,000 children are currently enrolled.

The changes, which will begin in eight weeks, include eliminating a face-to-face interview for parents.

The face-to-face requirement, which only four other states require, prevents many children from enrolling, Beshear said. Many of those the program helps are single, working parents who can't take time from their jobs to go to an interview, he said.

Among other things, the state will:

Hire 28 people to process the additional applications and increase outreach.

Simplify the application itself and give applicants 30 days to provide missing information.

Train employees at federally qualified health care centers, free clinics and health departments to assist with applications

Recruit participants through other programs, like free and reduced lunch and food stamps.

Send a postcard to the parents of every newborn, telling them about KCHIP.

Beshear estimates that an additional 35,000 kids will be enrolled in the program by the end of fiscal year 2010. The changes will cost $6.1 million in state funding and $16.7 million in federal funds in the first year. In the second year, it will cost $25 million in state funds and $64.6 million in federal funds.

Link to full article. May expire in future.

More Kentuckians living in poverty

from the Lexington Herald Leader

Kentucky regressed in some areas in the census bureau stats. - Kale

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears

The number of Kentuckians living in poverty last year increased only slightly, from 17 percent of the population in 2006 to 17.3 percent in 2007, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.

A much bigger increase was seen in the percentage of people without health insurance, rising from 13 percent in 2004-2005 to 14.6 percent in 2006-2007. Insurance rates are measured over two-year periods.

Overall, Kentucky ranks 48th among states in income, compared with 45th in 2006. It is the fifth-highest state in terms of the number of people living in poverty.

In reaction to the report, the state's leading child-advocacy group says that families in the state are faring far worse over time. Kentucky's poverty rate has risen significantly since 2001, when it was 15.4 percent, Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said in a press release.

Median household income in the state also dropped last year and is below the national average of $50,233, according to census figures released Tuesday.

However, Kenneth Troske, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky, said that although Kentucky is a poor state, he doubts we've grown poorer this past year.

"I don't know whether or not the census numbers are correct, but they just don't fit with other data we have on the state's economy," Troske said.

Troske said there was a 2.3 percent increase in the amount of goods and services produced in Kentucky in 2007, according to national figures.

Brooks, of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said the census numbers on poverty are cause for alarm.

"Despite several years of economic growth, Kentucky's families actually lost ground in reducing poverty, improving health coverage or increasing family incomes," Brooks said.

"Now that the economy has weakened, things are likely to get worse ... for the most vulnerable of Kentuckians," he said.

More children younger than 18 were living in poverty in 2007, 23.4 percent, compared with 22.3 percent in 2006.

Kentucky's median household income decreased from $40,489 in 2006 to $40,267 in 2007.

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Johnston girls help others, learn value of home

from the Des Moines Register

The great thing about lending a hand is when your done, you want to do it again. This story profiles 3 girls from Iowa who helped the people of Appalachia. - Kale, Poverty News Blog Editor.

By JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS

Three Johnston High School students have returned from a trip they say makes them look at life more realistically, appreciate family more and be less materialistic.

Haley Johnson, 17, and Kara Highfill, 15, both of Johnston, and Caroline Byrd, 16, of Urbandale just returned from a mission trip to Kentucky.

Three crews totaling 12 people from Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Urbandale repaired and improved houses for families through the Appalachian Service Project.

"I just had such a great experience last time," Byrd said. "I learned so much from it, and it is something I want to continue doing."

That's why she went along on this year's trip, leaving for Barbourville, Ky., on July 5 and returning on Saturday. "You learn that everything is not how it is in Johnston. Johnston is a different community and a lot more fortunate than a lot of places, even places in Iowa," she said.

Last year's trip was to a remote location in the mountains in Virginia, she said. This time the destination was less secluded and she had cell phone service so she could talk to her family daily.

Byrd and Johnson worked on the same team, installing drywall and doing a little plumbing with the other crew members.

Johnson said she got to know the family she was working for better than in the last three mission trips because they had children at home.

"I just thought this family was really cool," she said. "The lady of the house, she used to live in the Philippines and I think that when she lived there she had a lot of things, but not so much since she moved here. But she said she is getting to see her boys grow up and be with her family. It just shows you don't need a lot of things in life to make you happy."

The woman cooked for the crew every day.

Highfill, who was on her second mission trip, worked on a separate crew. Her group scrubbed the walls, primed and painted the kitchen and did other work on the roof of the house.

"I think when I come back from these trips I have a sense of renewal and what is important in my life," she said. "The culture down there is a lot about family and when I come back I understand how important family is."

Byrd said she also bonded more with the family she was helping on this year's trip.

"When we sawed drywall, the little 4-year-old would blow the dust away so we could see the lines. He also would hold a flashlight for us when we did plumbing work."

Link to full article. May expire in future.

A lesson in poverty

from The Courier Journal

St. X game makes a serious point

By Antoinette Konz

Chase Carraro is a 17-year- old junior at St. Xavier High School, but for a few hours last week, he played the part of a single, unemployed parent struggling to provide for his young child.

Other members of his class took on similar roles.

Some were low-income workers trying to survive, while others assumed the identitiesy of senior citizens trying to get by on Social Security.

It was all part of a simulation aimed at sensitizing students to the harsh realities that low-income families face.

St. X officials transformed the gymnasium into a miniature city, complete with a bank, hospital, pawn shop, police station and various human-services agencies.

"We want to try and help our students better understand the struggle of living in poverty," said Rosanna Vessels, St. X's theology department chairwoman, who also teaches several social-justice courses. "This simulation brings to light many of the things that they are learning about in class."

The exercise was organized by the Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization based in Louisville.

Students were organized into families and given a limited budget of play money.

Their task was to find a way to provide food, shelter and other basic necessities while working with various community-service agencies staffed by low-income volunteers.

It was the second year that members of St. X's junior class participated in the simulation, Vessels said.

"As part of our faith, we are called to serve, and there are hundreds of families in Louisville that struggle every day," she said. "We hope that they can take this experience with them once they leave St. X and become members of our community."

Afterward, students sat on the bleachers and talked about the exercise. Vessels asked them what they learned about poverty.

"It's worse than I thought it was," replied Joey Golemboski, 16. "I felt like there was never enough time and that I would never have enough money to survive."

Joey also said he felt it served as a wake-up call for the entire class.

"Many of us don't have to face what it would be like to live in poverty," he said. "It was a real eye-opener to live that kind of life."

Michael Edelen, 16, said it made him feel grateful for what he has and "increased my awareness about the problem."

Becki Winchel, community-outreach coordinator with the Coalition for the Homeless, said she hopes the simulation also will encourage the students to help out in their community.

Children in poverty

from The Kentucky Post

Problem getting worse in N. Ky., report finds
BY PEGGY KREIMER | POST STAFF REPORTER

Income levels in Northern Kentucky are going up, but so is poverty. The birth rate among teens is down, but the accidental death rate among children is up.

The numbers are part of the annual Kentucky Youth Advocates' Kids Count report that tracks health, safety and economic trends that affect children in the state. The report is being released today, and it holds some surprises.

Last year, the report showed the number of low-income children getting dental care was low but improving.

This year, that has turned around, with even fewer children getting care, and that problem is nowhere worse in the commonwealth than in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.

Boone County Human Services Director Kirk Kavanaugh calls the report a wake-up call.

"These numbers are shocking," he said.

The value of the Kids Count report is that it helps to identify trends. Low numbers that are improving are positive indicators, even if the numbers continue to be low. Numbers that are falling are a different story, said Kavanaugh. "It shows something's going wrong."

The report is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's national effort to track child well-being. Funding comes from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Metro United Way, PNC Bank and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

The report tracks 47 indicators relating to family and community, health, economic well-being, education and safety.

Kentucky showed more improvement than decline, including more children graduating from high school, more child support being collected, and fewer teens giving birth, said Kentucky Youth Advocates spokeswoman Tara Grieshop-Goodwin. But areas showing problems are serious, including higher poverty levels, more child abuse or neglect and more accidental child deaths.

The percentage of children living in poverty in the state went from 21 percent in 2000 to 22 percent in 2004, a slight increase. In Northern Kentucky, the trend was more pronounced.

In 2000, 7 percent of Boone County children were living in poverty. In 2004, the number had jumped to 10 percent. The jump was even steeper in Kenton County, from 12 to 16 percent. And in Campbell County, the rate rose from 12 to 14 percent.

The poverty threshold for 2004 was an annual income of $19,157 for a family of four with two children.

That contrasts with the median income, which rose from $33,672 in the state in 2000 to $37,046 in 2004.

In Boone County, the median income jumped from $53,593 in 2000 to $58,749 in 2004. Campbell County went from $41,903 in 2000 to $44,639 in 2004. Kenton County went from $43,906 in 2000 to $47,729 in 2004.

"Gaps might be widening between those living in poverty and those not living in poverty," said Makeda Harris, health policy analyst for Kentucky Youth Advocates.

"The data is extremely powerful in telling the story of what is going on and in influencing policy. It's only one piece of the puzzle, but it's an important piece."

Kavanaugh said he used the data in last year's Kids Count report to support efforts to improve dental care in the region. That report showed only 35 percent of Boone County children who are eligible for Medicaid or KCHIP - the state and federal health insurance programs for low income families - had received any dental care in 2005. That number was up from 29 percent in 2003, but it still represented a crisis for the 65 percent of eligible children who were not receiving care, Kavanaugh said.

This year's report showed that only 25 percent of poor children in Boone County had received any dental care in 2006.

"That means 75 percent of eligible children are not getting any dental care," Kavanaugh said.

Kenton County also backslid on gains it had made in that category. Its number, which went from 28 percent in 2003 to 31 percent in 2005, dropped to 25 percent in 2006.

And the situation was even more dire in Campbell County, where the number went from 31 percent in 2003 to 34 percent in 2005 to 22 percent in 2006. That ranked last in Kentucky.

"That's horrendous," Kavanaugh said. "We pride ourselves in Northern Kentucky that we are on the cutting edge, but we're not, as least in this area. And something needs to change."

Some of that change already is in the works. HealthPoint, the Children Inc. child care agency and the Northern Kentucky Independent health Department launched the Northern Kentucky Oral Health Initiative about two years ago, sending professionals to schools to put protective sealant on children's teeth and working to educate parents about the importance of brushing the teeth of very young children.

This spring, HealthPoint launched a dental van that goes to schools with a high percentage of low income children and offers free dental care.

"It's making a dent, but we're not kidding ourselves that this is going to be a silver bullet," said Chris Goddard, CEO of HealthPoint, a nonprofit that focuses much of its work on providing care for low-income families.

HealthPoint also has expanded its on-site dentistry program.

"The reality is it is just a drop in the bucket, with the need," said Goddard.

He said many dentists have stopped accepting Medicaid and KCHIP patients because of the relatively low reimbursement levels for those program. Kavanaugh said many low-income patients don't show up for scheduled appointments, exacerbating the problem.

Kavanaugh, who is on the dental advisory committee for Boone County's Success by 6 program, said he has spent the past year immersed in addressing the dental care problem for children, working with Goddard and other advocates.

Among solutions they are exploring is offering a cash or gift card incentive to parents to take their children to the dentist.

A relatively small incentive for the first few visits would more than pay for itself, he said. "When young children don't get dental care, it only gets more expensive later. Poor dental care can affect learning, health, family life," Kavanaugh said.

The Kids Count report makes it clear that the need is even more urgent.

"We can't keep looking at this statistic," Kavanaugh said. "It's not going to get better unless we do something."

Legislative recommendations

Kentucky Youth Advocates has identified several health policy issues that it wants the state legislature to consider:
-- Implement a state earned income tax credit to help low-income families.
-- Explore expanding student loan forgiveness programs to encourage dentists to treat children on the Medicaid and KCHIP programs, which have lower reimbursements rates.
-- Energize the state outreach program to encourage more eligible families to sign up for the KCHIP program and other benefits. Many eligible families are not enrolled, officials say.
-- Break down administrative barriers that can make it difficult to enroll in programs, including eliminating the face-to-face interview requirement.

Children in poverty Problem getting worse in N. Ky., report finds

from the Cincinnati Post

By Peggy Kreimer
Post staff reporter

Income levels in Northern Kentucky are going up, but so is poverty. The birth rate among teens is down, but the accidental death rate among children is up.

The numbers are part of the annual Kentucky Youth Advocates' Kids Count report that tracks health, safety and economic trends that affect children in the state. The report is being released today, and it holds some surprises.

Last year, the report showed the number of low-income children getting dental care was low but improving.

This year, that has turned around, with even fewer children getting care, and that problem is nowhere worse in the commonwealth than in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.

Boone County Human Services Director Kirk Kavanaugh calls the report a wake-up call.

"These numbers are shocking," he said.

The value of the Kids Count report is that it helps to identify trends. Low numbers that are improving are positive indicators, even if the numbers continue to be low. Numbers that are falling are a different story, said Kavanaugh. "It shows something's going wrong."

The report is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's national effort to track child well-being. Funding comes from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Metro United Way, PNC Bank and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

The report tracks 47 indicators relating to family and community, health, economic well-being, education and safety.

Kentucky showed more improvement than decline, including more children graduating from high school, more child support being collected, and fewer teens giving birth, said Kentucky Youth Advocates spokeswoman Tara Grieshop-Goodwin. But areas showing problems are serious, including higher poverty levels, more child abuse or neglect and more accidental child deaths.

The percentage of children living in poverty in the state went from 21 percent in 2000 to 22 percent in 2004, a slight increase. In Northern Kentucky, the trend was more pronounced.

In 2000, 7 percent of Boone County children were living in poverty. In 2004, the number had jumped to 10 percent. The jump was even steeper in Kenton County, from 12 to 16 percent. And in Campbell County, the rate rose from 12 to 14 percent.

The poverty threshold for 2004 was an annual income of $19,157 for a family of four with two children.

That contrasts with the median income, which rose from $33,672 in the state in 2000 to $37,046 in 2004.

In Boone County, the median income jumped from $53,593 in 2000 to $58,749 in 2004. Campbell County went from $41,903 in 2000 to $44,639 in 2004. Kenton County went from $43,906 in 2000 to $47,729 in 2004.

"Gaps might be widening between those living in poverty and those not living in poverty," said Makeda Harris, health policy analyst for Kentucky Youth Advocates.

"The data is extremely powerful in telling the story of what is going on and in influencing policy. It's only one piece of the puzzle, but it's an important piece."

Kavanaugh said he used the data in last year's Kids Count report to support efforts to improve dental care in the region. That report showed only 35 percent of Boone County children who are eligible for Medicaid or KCHIP - the state and federal health insurance programs for low income families - had received any dental care in 2005. That number was up from 29 percent in 2003, but it still represented a crisis for the 65 percent of eligible children who were not receiving care, Kavanaugh said.

This year's report showed that only 25 percent of poor children in Boone County had received any dental care in 2006.

"That means 75 percent of eligible children are not getting any dental care," Kavanaugh said.

Kenton County also backslid on gains it had made in that category. Its number, which went from 28 percent in 2003 to 31 percent in 2005, dropped to 25 percent in 2006.

And the situation was even more dire in Campbell County, where the number went from 31 percent in 2003 to 34 percent in 2005 to 22 percent in 2006. That ranked last in Kentucky.

"That's horrendous," Kavanaugh said. "We pride ourselves in Northern Kentucky that we are on the cutting edge, but we're not, as least in this area. And something needs to change."

Some of that change already is in the works. HealthPoint, the Children Inc. child care agency and the Northern Kentucky Independent health Department launched the Northern Kentucky Oral Health Initiative about two years ago, sending professionals to schools to put protective sealant on children's teeth and working to educate parents about the importance of brushing the teeth of very young children.

This spring, HealthPoint launched a dental van that goes to schools with a high percentage of low income children and offers free dental care.

"It's making a dent, but we're not kidding ourselves that this is going to be a silver bullet," said Chris Goddard, CEO of HealthPoint, a nonprofit that focuses much of its work on providing care for low-income families.

HealthPoint also has expanded its on-site dentistry program.

"The reality is it is just a drop in the bucket, with the need," said Goddard.

He said many dentists have stopped accepting Medicaid and KCHIP patients because of the relatively low reimbursement levels for those program. Kavanaugh said many low-income patients don't show up for scheduled appointments, exacerbating the problem.

Kavanaugh, who is on the dental advisory committee for Boone County's Success by 6 program, said he has spent the past year immersed in addressing the dental care problem for children, working with Goddard and other advocates.

Among solutions they are exploring is offering a cash or gift card incentive to parents to take their children to the dentist.

A relatively small incentive for the first few visits would more than pay for itself, he said. "When young children don't get dental care, it only gets more expensive later. Poor dental care can affect learning, health, family life," Kavanaugh said.

The Kids Count report makes it clear that the need is even more urgent.

"We can't keep looking at this statistic," Kavanaugh said. "It's not going to get better unless we do something."

Pewee Valley church has big desire to fight world poverty

from The Courier Journal

Concert, fair planned to raise awareness

By Christopher Hall
Special to The Courier-Journal

St. James Episcopal is a small church in Pewee Valley that wants to make a big difference around the world.

St. James is holding the first annual B.E.A.T. World Poverty Concert and Fair today from 1-7 p.m. to help raise awareness and support for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, aimed at reducing hunger, disease and poverty.

The Episcopal Church worldwide has thrown its support behind the development goals, and St. James wants to do its part.

The Rev. Paul Jeanes, rector at St. James, said that after a meeting last year in Scotland with members of two companion churches, he came back to the church energized to do something.

One of the companion churches was in Scotland, and the other was in Byumba, in the Episcopal Diocese of Rwanda.

"It was out of this meeting and out of that partnership that I came back from Scotland with the idea that we needed to do more … and the biggest piece of that is, Number One, to get the word out of the devastating effects of poverty, and, Number Two, that we could actually do something to address it," Jeanes said.

"Even though we're a fairly small parish in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, of all places, even here we can make a difference across the globe," Jeanes said. "We can impact the lives of people thousands of miles away from us in a positive way."

The concert will feature several acts, headlined by local band The Rigbys, and the fair will include activities for children, including storytelling and puppeteers, Jeanes said.

But the real focus of the fair, he said, will be its Fair Trade Village, which will feature vendors and representatives of local organizations that promote and/or engage in free trade and equal exchange practices.

The village also will have an informational station for each of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

Admission to the fair is free, but donations will be accepted.

The eight U.N. development goals, adopted in 2000, target hunger, disease, poverty and basic human rights, and were designed to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015.

Seven years have passed since their adoption, and most people still don't even know about the goals, said Mary Abrams, chairwoman of the B.E.A.T. event.

Approximately half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day, and more than 30,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from easily treatable diseases like malaria and diarrhea, she said.

"We are the first generation that have the ability to eradicate extreme poverty, and those goals are so important. We are halfway through and we are not halfway there, I don't believe," she said. "If everybody did a little bit, we could eradicate extreme poverty."

That's what is motivating the church to hold what it hopes will be the first of an annual tradition, Jeanes said.

"We are doing this to raise awareness and support, to address world poverty…To raise awareness and support to beat world poverty."

QUICK TAKE

Name: St. James Episcopal Church

Address: 401 La Grange Road in Pewee Valley

Services: Sunday Eucharist, 8, 9:15 and 11 a.m.; Sunday school, 10:15 a.m.; during the school year from September to May, Wednesday Eucharist, 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and formation programs for youths and adults from 6:30-7:15 p.m.

Congregation: 300

Phone: 241-8136

Web site: www.stjamespewee.org

Single moms often live in poverty

from The Courier Journal

Activists: Spread affordable housing

By Marcus Green

About 40 percent of Louisville households headed by single mothers are bunched largely in high poverty areas west and south of downtown, a new report shows.

Housing advocates say the study shows the need for more affordable housing throughout the city, including subsidized apartments and public housing.

And such housing should be required in every Metro Council district, according to the study released today by the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, a nonprofit agency that supports fair housing issues.

The mayor's office stopped short of endorsing mandated affordable housing, instead endorsing incentives to encourage developers to build homes of different price levels.

Experts say the importance of blending low-income residents into middle-income neighborhoods is that it offers better work and education opportunities for impoverished parents and children.

"In these high-poverty areas, there aren't a lot of jobs, a lot of viable institutions" such as parks, said Karen Christopher, a University of Louisville sociologist. "When you're raising a family, that's what you need."

Expanding affordable housing into middle-income and affluent neighborhoods won't directly pull single-mother families out of poverty, but it could influence their aspirations and behavior, Christopher said.

Homes and apartments are deemed affordable if they cost less than 30 percent of a household's income, according to the federal government.

But in Louisville, demand outpaces supply, with nearly 15,000 people on a waiting list to receive housing subsidies.

The housing coalition's analysis of U.S. Census data paints a stark portrait of households headed by women, showing that 37 percent of those led by single mothers are impoverished.

The coalition is recommending several steps.

In addition to requiring affordable housing in each of the Metro Council's 26 districts, the coalition wants public money to be consistently directed to a city trust fund that homebuyers and developers could use for that purpose.

"The ultimate goal is to have affordable housing everywhere," said Cathy Hinko, the coalition's executive director.

Mayor Jerry Abramson's office disagrees that the city should require affordable housing in all parts of Louisville.

"We have always taken an incentive approach," said Chris Poynter, an Abramson spokesman. Those include incentives that encourage the construction of homes for low- and moderate-income residents.

In an attempt to start the housing trust fund, Abramson has committed $1 million to the fund in the pending city budget and promises to add more in the future, Poynter said.

Efforts in the General Assembly to use a portion of certain state fees for affordable housing have failed.

"We agreed that there needs to be some kind of dedicated stream, but we would like to see Frankfort be partners with us," Poynter said.

Sarah Foster, a policy analyst for The Family Foundation of Kentucky, said policies that improve housing for single-mother families should be applauded.

But she said any group creating those policies "should not ignore the undeniable benefits for moms, dads and children" from a family with two parents, "nor should they create any policies that undermine the institution of marriage," Foster said. Many of the single-mother families live in unsafe areas or in shoddy housing, but they could move to stable neighborhoods if more affordable units were available, Hinko said.

Austina Merriweather, a 29-year-old single mother of two children, lived in Parkway Place housing complex, in a council district that has 1,400 households headed by single mothers.

She moved to an apartment in the Park DuValle neighborhood in 1999, a housing development with a mix of income levels, and now owns a Habitat for Humanity home there. She has no concerns about her safety, although she had worried about drug activity and people gathering on porches at Parkway Place.

"That was an environment that I could not see my son playing outside," said Merriweather, a bus monitor for Jefferson County Public Schools.

Virginia Durrance lives in Louisville's 6th District, just west of Interstate 65 in downtown. In 2000, about 32 percent of residents there lived below the poverty line -- $13,880 for a family of three, according to the 2000 Census.

Durrance, 39, hasn't worked for about two years, she said, but hopes to look for a job after she has gastric-bypass surgery next month. A federal housing voucher pays rent on the Arcade Avenue apartment she shares with her 9-year-old daughter.

But she would like to move. She said her apartment has been broken into, and she worries about the safety of nearby parks.

"In the daytime I'm OK, but at night time it's not safe," she said.

Reporter Marcus Green can be reached at (502) 582-4675.