The most recent Census Bureau data released also shows that an additional 20,000 New Orleans residents fell into poverty in 2008. This means that 23% or more than 67,000 residents of the City are living at or below federal poverty level, according to the 2008 census. The child poverty rate, meanwhile, reached an alarming rate of 37 percent. While these numbers are troubling, they do not even include the full reality of the today’s ever changing economic impact on our city.
For children, the consequences of poverty can be long-lasting, leading to poor nutrition, poor health and poor prospects for success in school. In the short term, less money to spend means greater hardships for families and low retail sales for communities. To avoid choking off the recovery now and to build for the future, we must continue federal help for the unemployed and aid to states to prevent more layoffs and more hardships.
About 300 people will experience the virtual realities of poverty in a unique poverty simulation and follow-up poverty summit at the Morial Convention Center on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. The event is being hosted by the No New Poverty team which is led by Total Community Action, Inc. The team includes City Council President Arnold Fielkow, Total Community Action President & CEO Thelma French, Children’s Defense Fund Louisiana Director Mary Joseph, Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation President & CEO Flozell Daniels, Orleans Public Education Network Director Dierdre Johnson-Burrell, Louisiana Justice Institute President & CEO Tracie Washington, and Ellen Lee, Vice President of Programs of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
The Community Action-Poverty Simulation and the NO NEW POVERTY Summit are both designed to help people better understand the realities of poverty, particularly in New Orleans. Participants will include staff members of various human service agencies and local business, civic and community leaders.
During the simulation, participants will role-play the lives of low-income families. Some are TANF recipients, some are disabled, and others are senior citizens on Social Security. They have the stressful task of providing for basic necessities and shelter on a limited budget during the course of four 15-minute “weeks.” They will interact with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and others.
“This program will help people understand the complexities and frustrations of living in poverty day to day says TCA President/CEO Thelma H. French. “With a greater awareness of its impact, we can more effectively address the poverty issues in our community.”
“This is the everyday reality of thousands of our citizens. Understanding that reality will help us change it,” said Mary Joseph of Children’s Defense Fund. The simulation will enable participants to look at poverty from a variety of angles and then to recognize and discuss the potential for change within their local communities. Further, it was designed to sensitize those who frequently deal with low-income families as well as to create a broader awareness of poverty among policymakers, community leaders and others.
New Orleans City Council President Arnold Fielkow, participated in the simulation in June, stated that “ultimately, we must develop our own action plan that engages the entire community into the solution.” For this reason, TCA and others are placing the seeds by hosting both the simulation and a community wide poverty summit on August 18, 2010 that will provide the necessary impetus to developing these action items that everyone (government, business, education, services and people) must be a part of. The morning simulation is limited to the first 150 registrants. Other opportunities will be offered quarterly.
The NO NEW POVERTY Summit will be a progressive look at how our community can help families work towards economic independence. The summit will build bridges, create dialogue, and encourage ideas. Expert researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from a broad spectrum of professions will explore the issues facing children and families experiencing poverty and the solutions that our community will commit to in the development of our action plan for the next five years. Agencies and individuals participating in this targeted hands-on workshop are expected to deliver a viable work plan that will assist in planning and delivery of future anti-poverty efforts and community development in New Orleans and serve as a model in other Louisiana communities.
The keynote speaker for the summit will be Dr. Otis Johnson, Mayor of Savannah, Georgia. Mayor Johnson is nationally known in the field of community building and youth development. He served as the 2009 Chair of the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families. Savannah’s mayor, Otis Johnson, has previously advised political, nonprofit and business leaders at a housing forum in New Orleans sponsored by the Greater New Orleans Foundation on how the City might marshal similar strategies for improving the quality of life and creating vibrant, safe neighborhoods that are welcoming to locals and tourists alike. Other notables invited include Mr. Daniel Dodd of Step-Up Savannah’s poverty reduction initiative, Mr. Johnnie Riley of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, Dr. Monteic Sizer of Louisiana Family Recovery Corps and REVIVE Louisiana, Dr. Pamela Monroe of Louisiana Poverty Council and others.
The Summit will including strategy focused Action Teams which are to be composed of members from the community. Each Action Team will serve as a venue for community problem solving and facilitation of solution implementation for their particular focus area. The current Action Teams identified:
Personal Responsibility (families doing for themselves)
Community Based Organizations (social, human, cultural)
Business (limited business representatives)
Elected Officials (limited to elected officials)
Education/Higher Education
Safety
Faith Based
Foundations (limited to foundations)
Health
Youth/Young Leaders
The Summit, while in planning for some time, has been identified as a mid to long term strategy recommendation of the Mayor’s transition taskforce for Youth and Families – Convene and lead the development of a multi-partner Poverty Reduction Plan for New Orleans. The core committee planning this event is comprised of multiple partners engaged in assisting families each and every day. The core team represents various human service agencies and local business, civic and community leaders. The event is open to the public and community / organizations may also sponsor portions of the event day.
The agenda for the event is:
Time Description
8:00 AM Registration
8:30 AM Welcome
8:45 AM Poverty Simulation (limited registrations)
11:15 AM Break
11:45 AM Refocus on the Real
12:05 PM NO NEW POVERTY Summit- The Purpose
12:10 PM Luncheon: Keynote: Dr. Otis S. Johnson, Mayor of Savannah
12:45 PM Panel Discussion
1:15 PM Building the New Orleans Strategy – Action Plan
1:45 PM Following U
To recommend data sources please send email to info@nonewpoverty.org. For additional information, interested parties may contact J. Kelley Terry at 302-9140 or email at jkelley@tca-nola.org.
