Commonwealth Magazine
Helping low income families out of poverty
KATHERINE CLARK and 
ELISABETH BABCOCK
Building a pathway that leads out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency requires hard work, resilience and persistence. However, low-income families will do all it takes to reach economic independence if given the means. To create that opportunity, service providers, philanthropy, and government must come together as partners to create the necessary supports needed to escape poverty.
Poverty is harder to escape than ever before as jobs that can support a family continue to require increasing levels of education. This is particularly hard on single mothers who, as the sole heads of 39 percent of low-income families, face the overwhelming challenges of juggling childcare and jobs, while working to gain the post-secondary education credentials they need to improve their lives.
To address poverty head on, we must develop comprehensive, multifaceted approaches focused on simultaneously improving family stability, well-being, education, financial management, and employment. To make such approaches successful, corresponding government-sponsored supports must provide the temporary help with things like child care or transportation that low-income families need as they strive to get ahead.
Social service programs are doing their best to help low-income families transition out of poverty. Crittenton Women’s Union has successfully worked with low-income women to address all parts of their lives, improve decision-making skills, and develop the persistence and resilience needed to stay on the pathway out of poverty. Seventy-four percent of Crittenton program participants are in school or working, and, after three years in the program, 65 percent have a technical or college degree, 57 percent have a savings account, and a third have secured a job with a living wage.
With these results, we are seeing more city, state and federal programs adopting similar comprehensive coaching approaches to move families out of poverty. However, at the same we are seeing cuts both locally and nationally resulting in fewer resources for single mothers, homeless families, and struggling low-wage workers. These supports are imperative to help the social service providers and state programs achieve lasting success with low-income families who are willing to work hard and build skills to move ahead on the path out of poverty.
According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, over the past decade, funding has been reduced for adult education, job training, child care subsidies, housing, and many other programs that help those in poverty cover the basic expenses and pursue the education and training needed to become economically secure. Since the largest user of these services are women looking to improve the lives of their families, they and their children bear the brunt of these budget cuts.
Now, the federal government has an opportunity to be a stronger partner with social service providers and low-income families who are working together to end dependence on public assistance.
Congress is currently working through a reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, a federal grant program that gives states resources for temporary assistance for families living far below the poverty level. TANF empowers state governments, social service organizations, and families to work together toward self-sufficiency and financial stability. The reauthorization gives Congress an opportunity to revitalize a program that can be a critical lifeline for vulnerable families, especially those who are seeking opportunities to exit poverty through education and training leading to better jobs. The addition of case management as well as career, educational, and life-skills coaching, coupled with the financial and child care assistance already available to some families, would lead to successful transitions off TANF and other public assistance programs.
Congress also has an opportunity to evaluate outdated policies in TANF, such as restrictions that make it difficult for participants to complete post-secondary training programs and requirements on states that emphasize job placement in any job, even those that cannot financially support a family, over development of skills leading to higher paying careers.
Congresswoman Katherine Clark represents the 5th District of Massachusetts. Elisabeth Babcock is the president & CEO of Crittenton Women’s Union.
BOSTON GLOBE
OCTOBER 01, 2015
In announcing Clark’s new position, Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer called her “an effective member of the whip team” who “brings a strong voice for women and families to the table.”
Senior whips meet to discuss key issues, and they talk with fellow Democrats about upcoming legislation.
Clark votes against fast track authority
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Katherine Clark released the following statement regarding her vote against fast track authority, also known as trade promotion authority (TPA), that establishes an expedited process for the approval of trade deals negotiated by the President.
“I want any international trade agreement to defend our standards for workers’ rights to safety and fair wages, strengthen environmental protections, and protect jobs. These issues within the Trans-Pacific Partnership need debate and resolution, and granting fast track authority effectively ties Congress’ hands in the negotiating process. The choice isn’t whether or not to have trade, the choice is whether or not to fight for our values in this trade agreement.”
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RELATED: Important Information about protecting yourself from immigration scams
SOURCE: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
These initiatives include:
If you believe that you have been misled by someone pretending to be an attorney or Accredited Representative, or if you need additional information, please call the Office of the Attorney General at 617-963-2917.
You may also contact the Massachusetts Bar Association at (617) 654-0400, if you would like a referral to an attorney.
Finally, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provides more information on legal services on its website: http://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams/find-legal-services
For assistance or questions about immigration issues, you may reach my offices at 781-396-2900.
In my Washington, DC office, internships run throughout the fall, spring or summer semesters for college students. Although all internships in all offices are unpaid, students gain invaluable work experience. The hours are flexible to accommodate students' hectic course schedules, but generally run 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. when Congress is in session, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. when not in session.
In Washington, interns' responsibilities will vary. They will be asked to answer phones, run errands, research legislation for the Member and legislative staff, attend hearings and briefings and answer constituent letters on various issues before the House. As a result, interns learn about the legislative process and the many other functions of a congressional office.
In my Massachusetts office, interns may be asked to do a variety of things, including day-to-day office work such as answering phones, writing letters and assisting with media clips. In addition, interns may be assigned to assist in various constituent case work or work on District-based projects of importance.
TO APPLY OR FIND MORE INFORMATION, VISIT OUR INTERSHIP APPLICATION PAGE
Application: Tornado Relief Fund Application from the City of Revere (Deadline: Sep 15)
Application: Small Business Administration (SBA) Application for Affected Families and Businesses
Information about Small Business Administration (SBA) Federal Disaster Loan for Affected Families and Businesses.
SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and most private nonprofit organizations. SBA disaster loans can be used to repair or replace the following items damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster: real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, and inventory and business assets.
City of Revere:
281 Broadway. Revere, MA 02151
The main phone number is: 781-286-8100
U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Assistance
(880) 659-2955
Office of Congresswoman Katherine Clark:
5 High Street
Suite 101
Medford, MA 02155
phone: (781) 396-2900
The City of Revere has established a fund so that these residents and business owners are not alone in shouldering the burden of rebuilding their lives and our community. Please support the relief fund here and share this information.
The following story appeared in the Boston Globe on August 28, 2014
DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF
Repairs were underway on Wednesday to a house on Taft Street in Revere, but other residents were still negotiating with insurance companies following last month’s tornado.
REVERE — Exactly a month ago, Paul Carrabes was at work in East Boston when he got a call telling him a tornado had roiled this oceanside city.
“My brother called and said, ‘You need to get home. The house is gone,’ ” Carrabes, 61, recalled.
Just after 9:30 a.m. July 28, an EF-2 category tornado, which can generate winds of up to 120 miles per hour, slammed directly into Carrabes’s house on Revere Beach Parkway, ripping off the roof.
Carrabes and his brother will not be returning anytime soon to the home where they grew up and later lived with their spouses.
“We’re getting an apartment,” said Carrabes, who plans to move Sept. 1 to Charlestown, where he and his wife have a one-year lease. “The insurance company hasn’t settled anything on the house as of yet.
‘When you go to bed at night, you don’t sleep good because your mind is going with all these things that you have to do.’
James DePaulo, retired air traffic controller
“We’re in a holding pattern.”
It is a story that rings with sad familiarity on the Revere streets that bore the full fury of the tornado, which roared along a 2-mile path that extended from Revere Beach Parkway to Brown Circle. Within four minutes, the storm was over, with no deaths or serious injuries.
For those with homes or businesses damaged by the tornado, the last four weeks have brought a flurry of calls with insurance companies, stacks of repair estimates, and lots of waiting.
“When you go to bed at night, you don’t sleep good because your mind is going with all these things that you have to do,” said James DePaulo, a 70-year-old retired air traffic controller.
DePaulo said he had to leave his Revere Beach Parkway home for three days after the tornado caused about $100,000 in damage to his front porch, slate roof, and walls.
“The biggest problem is trying to deal with the insurance company in terms of what they’re going to pay you and trying to get a contractor who can do it all,” DePaulo said.
Immediately after the storm, 14 buildings were left uninhabitable and nearly 70 structures were damaged, said Miles Lang-Kennedy, chief of staff to Mayor Daniel Rizzo.
DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF
Carolann Gambale walked past neighbors’ homes still patched with blue tarps and plywood on Wednesday on Revere Beach Parkway.
Since then, the number of uninhabitable buildings has dropped to nine, Lang-Kennedy said. So far, more than 1,300 tornado-related insurance claims have been filed, including requests for help paying for tree and debris damage, according to the state Division of Insurance. The agency said the average claims seek payment for $10,693 in losses.
The total amount of damage to public property is unknown, but Rizzo said tree removal alone cost more than $400,000, and there is damage to eight municipal buildings, including City Hall, which might need a new roof, at a cost of about $1 million.
Still, the extent of destruction was not enough to qualify for federal disaster aid, leading city officials to look elsewhere for help.
One source is the Revere Tornado Relief Fund, which has raised about $225,000 so far, Rizzo said. The deadline to apply for aid is Sept. 15, and money is expected to start being distributed in late October, Lang-Kennedy said. About 40 applications for assistance have been received.
“It’s really been rewarding to me to see the outpouring of support and to see, really, the generosity that is making this bad situation at least a little bit better for these victims,” Rizzo said in his office.
The US Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster loans to residents and businesses, but there has not been much interest, an agency spokeswoman said. The office has received four applications for home loans and one for a business loan, spokeswoman Kathy Cook said. Three home loan applications have been approved for a total of $66,000, she said.
Cook encouraged people to consider applying for aid.
“There’s a resistance to take on additional debt just in general,” Cook said. “The other thing is people prejudge their situation and count themselves out and they don’t take the time to apply.”
Rizzo said he has heard a wide range of reports addressing how insurance companies have handled claims. They range from stories of firms offering blank checks to reports that consumers are getting low-balled.
“There’s no net gain in haggling over nickels and dimes when people’s lives were turned upside down in four minutes,” said Rizzo, who also owns an insurance company. “It’s good public policy for them to go out and be as fair and as upfront as they can right from the beginning.”
Anthony Pintone, co-owner of Master Auto, said he has been caught in a waiting game since the tornado ripped the roof off his building. He said he rented space in Saugus where he can do vehicle repair work, but the rest of his business is on hold.
“I lost everything,” he said.
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Katherine Clark released the following statement regarding the Azeri aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh:
“I am deeply concerned by the recent military aggression by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, including reports of sniper fire against a Red Cross envoy and Armenian civilians. For too long, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh have lived under constant threat of Azeri aggression. This campaign of violence violates a long-standing ceasefire and will only lead to additional loss of life. The Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh have succeeded in creating a vibrant democratic society against long odds, and I stand with them in condemnation of Azerbaijan’s aggression.”
The following article written by Congresswoman Clark was featured in the Huffington Post. The original article can found here.
Virginia Tech. Tucson. Aurora. Navy Yard. Newtown. Albuquerque. Houston. Santa Barbara. The list goes on.
There was a time when mass shootings shook our nation to its core, and our elected leaders would find a way to address the unthinkable. They would struggle to get it right, but ultimately they would act.
It happened in 1934 with Roosevelt's "New Deal for Crime." It happened again 46 years ago when high profile assassinations resulted in the Gun Control Act of 1968. And it happened in 1993, despite the NRA's intense opposition, with the passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Program.
Today, the heavy hand of America's gun lobby has paralyzed Washington, and Congress appears anesthetized to these bloody rampages.
As a mom of three, a former prosecutor and new member of Congress, I'm not willing to accept this as our new status quo.
Nearly as many Americans die from gun violence as from breast cancer. More Americans die from bullets than leukemia, and since Newtown, more Americans have died from gun violence than the total of U.S. military casualties in the war in Iraq.
War. Leukemia. Breast cancer. Those who lose a family member to one of these afflictions will endure an unspeakable pain, but many will also take solace in knowing their family member protected our country, inspired our communities to find a cure or create better policies. This is not the case for the families of victims of gun violence. For them, progress has been stalemated by the corrosive influence of special interests and the politics of cynicism. Today, the answer we hear from Washington when it comes to gun violence is that nothing can be done.
There is a way to end that cynicism. We have to remember and listen and act.
We should remember Boston's Ruth Rollins whose young son Warren was taken from her by the hands of a shooter. We should remember Christina Taylor Greene, a 9 year old girl shot and killed while meeting her political idol outside of a grocery store in Tucson. We should remember Hayida Pendleton, a 15 year old honor student shot and killed in Chicago a week after performing with her school band at President Obama's inauguration.
We should listen to the anguished plea for action by Richard Martinez whose son Christopher was killed in Santa Barbara. We should listen to Congresswoman Giffords, who in the midst of her recovery was able to muster the strength to admonish Congress, "Be Bold. Be Courageous. Americans are counting on you."
Congress should listen to the broad consensus of Americans who believe more can and must be done to end gun violence.
I applaud the members of the Commonwealth's legislature for doing just that. Speaker DeLeo has poised the Massachusetts legislature to pass the most comprehensive gun laws in the country. But states cannot do this alone. Congress needs to act.
There are common sense proposals on the table that respect the rights of lawful gun owners while providing effective measures to improve gun safety and save lives. The public agrees that reasonable legislation, like closing the gun show loophole and expanding background checks, should become law. But instead of debate and discussion, these proposals are met with preternatural silence in the halls of the Capitol.
More than 30,000 Americans die from gunshot wounds every year, and each time Congress abdicates its responsibility to reduce this gruesome tally, we risk more violence. We risk forgetting that our nation is built and made stronger by tough decisions and weakened when we put the deep pockets of special interests ahead of our children and families.
In 1993, the NRA fought Congress with a $2 million war chest to prevent them from passing the Brady Bill. They fought, but America's perseverance and practicality won. Twenty years later, the NRA's political influence is once again at odds with public opinion. This time the war chest is ten times bigger and they're placing a bet that their money is louder than the voice of the American people.
In the six months I have served in Congress, the House has paused on several occasions to solemnly honor recent victims of shootings with a moment of silence. However, if we are to truly honor those we have lost to gun violence, it is time for Congress to end its silence.