Willimantic
On May 31st, the ACCESS Agency held Solving
the Puzzle of Poverty at Eastern Connecticut State University in
Willimantic. This was part of the
series Dialogue on Poverty 2000: Leading America to Community Action, led
by the National Association of Community Action Agencies.
Advocates, providers, policy makers, and low-income people
from Eastern Connecticut discussed the major barriers to self-sufficiency in
Eastern Connecticut and suggested ways to eliminate them.
Ron Cretaro, Executive Director, Connecticut Association of
Nonprofits, said that 1 out of 5 children in Eastern Connecticut live in
poverty. Indicators such as teen
pregnancy, child abuse, test scores, and drop out rates are the worst in the
state.
Low-income people did not create poverty, yet they are
blamed for being in it, said Dr. David Carter, President of Eastern Connecticut
State University. Dr. Carter and
Dennis King of the Connecticut Department of Social Services urged the audience
to continue working together to solve the problem of poverty.
Congressman Sam Gejdenson said that we can only move
forward as a nation if we make provisions for everyone to move forward together.
With the largest federal surplus in history, no American should go
without food, health care, or education, he said.
Audience members then took part in small group discussions
around a number of issues affecting self-sufficiency, including transportation,
affordable housing, jobs and income, basic needs, child care, health insurance,
education, and job training.
Information gathered at the meeting was shared at the National Dialogue Town Hall Meeting in Washington, DC on June 15th.
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