Homelessness prevention programs at risk

Though we all cringe at Miami’s $4-a-gallon gas prices, most of us can at least be grateful we’re able to fill up our tanks and get to work. The cost of fuel appears more dire to someone who’s just been laid off and can’t make it to a job interview. Having transportation can be the difference between unemployment and employment, between homelessness and having a place to stay.

Jewish Community Services of South Florida is addressing this and other factors that contribute to homelessness with its Homeless Outreach for Prevention and Employment (HOPE) program. HOPE provides vocational training, transportation assistance, job referrals, rent assistance and other guidance to those at risk of becoming homeless. Unfortunately, JCS is one of the community-based organizations slated to receive half of their funding from Miami-Dade County.

County funding for organizations like JCS has been steadily eroded over the course of the last five years. JCS Vice President of Rehabilitation and Employment Tom Fleischmann says they are receiving a mere fraction of their initial funding. While they were once able to serve upwards of 120 people a year, they are now contracted to serve 26. And Fleischmann worries that next year with half the money they will serve half the people. As it is, Fleischmann says they are “treading water,” until things begin to look up.

JCS is not the only agency tackling homelessness at risk of losing funding. Camillus House and Catholic Charities, among others, are looking at a 50% cut in their funding this year. These types of programs are not only critical to the well being of the county, but save us money in the long run by preventing problems like homelessness from reaching a boiling point.

To learn more about the budget and what you can do to save services and jobs, visit the Penny Wise Campaign page.

Jacob Coker-Dukowitz, our Advocacy Coordinator, Writes a Letter to the Editor of The Miami Herald

Budget cuts would put lives at risk - Letters to the Editor - MiamiHerald.com

Budget cuts would put lives at risk

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposed budget, if approved, would be a crippling blow to the health and well-being of our economy and our residents, cutting core services and frontline jobs during a time of high unemployment. Miami-Dade cannot afford the same unpopular slash-and-burn tactics that Gov. Rick Scott used in the state budget. According to The Miami Herald, 93 percent of Miami-Dade County residents don’t want social services cut. And, while anger towards overpaid staff is widespread, most residents don’t want cuts to frontline county workers who earn less than $80,000 a year.

Cutting services and jobs will result in more unemployment, more foreclosures and a further eroded tax base, placing the safety of our families at risk.

Miami-Dade County currently funds domestic violence programs such as MUJER, social-service organizations such as Switchboard and food banks such as Curly’s House that serve thousands of residents. The proposed 50-percent cut to any of these organizations could translate to loss of lives. County funding for these programs leverages millions of dollars in private funding that flows into our community. Protecting our frontline county employees and nonprofit service providers from budget cuts will ensure that our community thrives.

Our Penny Wise Campaign derives its name from the expression, “Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.” The County Commission should not make short-term cuts that could have onerous long-term consequences.

Jacob Coker-Dukowitz, The Penny Wise Campaign & Catalyst Miami, Miami

Democracy Summer: Advocacy is in Season

By Bianca Mijares, Catalyst Miami Intern

 

Catalyst Miami’s “Democracy Summer” is an advocacy training designed to strengthen the understanding, commitment and skills of nonprofit staff and board. We will help nonprofits meet their missions by incorporating advocacy and policy analysis into their strategic planning. Participants will leave understanding the importance of engaging constituents and clients in leadership development, capacity building and strategic planning. Participants will leave with tools to protect services and organizations through client engagement. Democracy Summer is an 8-part training series taking place July 7 through September 1, 2011. We will enroll up to 25 advocates. Be on the look out as Catalyst Miami will begin contacting potential organizations this week!

VICTORY AT THE COUNTY TODAY

Earlier today, the Board of County Commissioners met to vote on the property tax rate ceiling for the 2010-2011 county budget. When the commissioners vote in September to determine what the actual rate will be, the rate they just voted on cannot be exceeded. With the exception of three members, the Board voted to support the rollback rate. Though we won’t know the actual rate until September, this is one of three critical steps that will ensure that we prevent the worst of the cuts.

It is due to the efforts of several organizations and numerous concerned residents of Miami-Dade County that we were able to secure this vote. The rollback rate will earn the county the same amount of property tax revenue as last year, thus avoiding even greater budget cuts. While we would have liked to have the flexibility of the maximum rate, this is a huge victory for the Penny Wise Campaign given the recent developments and setbacks encountered.

It is important that we acknowledge that we have only won a battle –the outcome of the war remains to be seen. We will still be facing a deficit of around $60 million- a huge improvement over the $400 million loss without rollback. But because the cost of services increases each year, cuts will still happen. On the chopping block now are over 900 jobs and a 25% reduction in funding to social services agencies (on top of the 30% cut last year!).

We have until September to collect as many signatures as possible and let the Board of County Commissioners and the mayor know that social services and county jobs are not expendable parts of the county budget. Please help us by signing the petition and forwarding it to all of your friends- we’ll be collecting them until the next vote in September. We also need you to keep calling commissioners, keep coming to our actions and keep attending our meetings. If you’d like to become further involved, please contact the phone number or e-mail address listed below. We will need a tremendous amount of support if we are to protect social services and county jobs in Miami-Dade. As residents, we all deserve to live in a healthy and safe community and we cannot allow ourselves to be penny wise and pound foolish!

There will be several opportunities in July, August and September to engage in this process and add your voice to this important deliberation.

Here are key dates to keep in mind:

August 24: Property tax TRIM (truth in millage) notices will be sent out to homeowners to inform them of the property tax rate ceiling set on July 20 (a.k.a. the rollback rate).

Sept. 13: First budget public hearing, at which any member of the community may address the Commission regarding the tax rate, funding priorities and other budget issues.

Sept. 23: Final budget public hearing. The final tax rate and budget are approved at this meeting.

Oct. 1: New fiscal year begins.

For the full text of the Mayor Carlos Alvarez's Proposed Budget Message, visit www.miamidade.gov/budget/

Contact Information: Jacob Coker-Dukowitz, Coordinator, Penny Wise Campaign, 305.576.5001 x25 or Pennywise.campaign@gmail.com

Interview with Trudy Krasovic of SwitchBoard of Miami

In a recent conference call, I spoke with Trudy Krasovic of SwitchBoard of Miami about the potential budget cuts to social services and jobs and how they would affect her organization. Switchboard of Miami provides a confidential crisis hotline for people who find themselves in desperate situations. This organization receives approximately 180,000 calls per year. She commented that “If we lose funding, it would mean that we cannot hire as many counselors as we need…It’s very hard to find volunteers.” This would result in increased wait time for people who, for the most part, don’t have seconds to spare. Unfortunately, Switchboard of Miami serves as the only link that many of these people have to the outside world. Drastic cuts to social services would adversely affect not only numerous organizations receiving county funding, but also the hundreds of thousands of people that rely on these services to survive. Please support social services, such as SwitchBoard of Miami, and jobs by signing the Penny Wise Campaign PETITION!

Penny Wise Campaign Press Conference 6/15

Today, the Penny Wise Campaign held its first press conference at the Government Center in Downtown Miami. In attendance were representatives from various organizations, including: Human Services Coalition, MUJER, Curley’s House, Switchboard of Miami, Research Institute for Social and Economic Policy and Jewish Community Relations Council. WSVN-7 Fox and Telemundo 51 documented the event and filmed interviews. Numerous community members listened as representatives discussed how their organizations would be affected by massive budget cuts to social services and jobs. The Penny Wise Campaign brought along a 5-foot-tall penny and an enormous petition and delivered these items to Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s office after the press conference. Throughout the event, Penny Wise Intern Organizers gathered signature from community members, all of whom voiced enthusiasm about the campaign.

Penny Wise Training Session TONIGHT

This evening, from 6 to 8 pm, the Human Services Coalition will host training sessions at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 200, and at the South Dade Regional Library. The sessions will discuss the Penny Wise Campaign, which was formed to convince constituents of the need to prevent Miami-Dade Commissioners and the Mayor from cutting $400 million from social services and other important county jobs. The premise behind the campaign is that an increase of approximately $100 in property taxes would allow the county to avoid cutting important social services. Without these services, numerous community members would find themselves without the means to survive and prosper. The session will train community residents on public speaking techniques that can be used to garner support for the campaign. We hope to gather 50,000 signatures for our petition in favor of a property tax increase, which would amount to a few pennies per month and would serve to protect social services and county jobs. The signatures will be presented to district commissioners once they have been gathered. This will hopefully serve to convince commissioners that they need to vote yes on a property tax increase.