- dchevalier02
Save Community Action
The Community Action Lehigh Valley has been targeted for deep, deep federal budget cuts. (In case you missed it, I responded to these cuts in a post earlier this week.)
This is the point where I might typically launch into a rant. I’d wonder why we can’t afford child nutrition programs, housing subsidies, aid to cities and rebuilding an infrastructure that is decrepit. I’d wonder why we CAN afford every expensive weapons system that the military industrial complex (not my term, but President Eisenhower’s) can dream up. And I’d wonder why we can afford to loot the Treasury for tax cuts for those of us lucky enough to have all we could possibly need.
But I’m assuming you get it. I’m assuming, too, that you know all about the far-reaching impact Community Action has had on the region, and even the state and nation, whether it has been working with banks on access to credit, the passage of the $67 million open space referendum called the Green Future Fund, fighting predatory lending when nobody else even knew what it was, and so much more. I’m assuming you know about the programs we operate, from the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Sixth Street Shelter, Safe Harbor Easton and a massive weatherization effort, to entrepreneurial training, microlending, and homeownership counseling, from Neighborhood Partnerships to rescuing families from foreclosure and helping to organize RenewLV.
I’m not sure what the Lehigh Valley would look like if we hadn’t been here. And I’m assuming you are reading this because you’re appalled at the prospect of the agency being decimated, if not destroyed.
Well, we aren’t going down without a fight. The national campaign to advocate against these funding cuts has begun, and Community Action is joining (and will likely be one of the loudest voices among) the caucus. You and the members of Congress have already heard from me and a dedicated Community Action staff member to whom Obama’s proposal hit closest to home. Now they need to hear from you! Join us in what will be an uphill battle to not only save Community Action, but to protect communities like ours all over the nation by preserving the CSBG funding that makes Community Action possible.
Here’s how you can help:
Sign a petition to save CSBG funding
Write, Call, E-mail Elected officials
#lehighvalley #alanjennings #csbg #congress #lowincome #budget #communityaction #poverty #Obama