Dialogue on Poverty 2000

Dialogue on Poverty 2000:
Leading America to Community Action

CAFCA Executive Director Edith Karsky with NACAA Executive Director John Buckstead

A series of community forums were held across Connecticut this Spring to identify the major problems that cause poverty, identify solutions to those problems, and take actions to address them. Locally, discussions were held in Hartford, Bristol, Stamford, & Willimantic.

A statewide program was also held to share the experience of poverty in Connecticut with state legislators, advocates, and policy makers and determine polices that would lead to self-sufficiency for everyone in Connecticut. The series culminated in Washington, DC with a National Dialogue Town Hall Meeting.

The Dialogue on Poverty 2000 is a follow up to the 1996 National Dialogue on Poverty. The 1996 National Dialogue resulted in a clear mandate for action at the local, state, and national levels: to eliminate poverty and improve the quality of life in our communities, Americans need more well paying jobs with benefits and other supports necessary to raise a family. The 2000 dialogue will focus on taking action at the local, state, and national level on those issues.

The national agenda for the Dialogue on Poverty 2000 is:

Everyone who can work should work.
Those who do work should earn sufficient income to provide for their families’ basic needs.
Those who are unable to work, or who work but do not earn enough to provide for their families, should be assisted by policies and programs to meet their basic needs and secure safe and decent housing.

The Dialogue on Poverty 2000 gives folks a chance to talk about the devastating impact of poverty here in Connecticut and across the country and what actions can be taken to help low-income people become self-sufficient.

For more information, please contact Susan LaRosa, Statewide Coordinator, at (860)560-5847 or via e-mail at LaRosaS@crtct.org.

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