March 5, 2010

Catholic Charities summit focuses on long term solutions to poverty

Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register 

When Catholic Charities leaders meet with a wide swath of business, non-profit, political and community leaders in Nashville next month, they will focus on identifying new initiatives that work effectively to help the poorest people move toward economic independence.

The first goal of the Centennial Leadership Summit of Catholic Charities USA, to be held March 25 at Belmont University, is to increase awareness of poverty locally and nationally. “Over the last 10 years, the lower class has expanded and the middle class has shrunk. Poverty has grown and we’ve got to reverse this trend,” said Bill Sinclair, executive director of Catholic Charities of Tennessee.

National and local leaders including Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, John Seigenthaler Sr., and many more will be working together to look at long term solutions to poverty during the day long summit.

“We’re hoping to bring about new partnerships to influence public policy and shape future legislation,” said Sinclair.

While Catholic Charities employees remain engaged in meeting the needs of the poor every day through Loaves and Fishes, North Nashville Outreach and other programs, the goal of the March 25 summit is to look further into the future.

Candy Hill, CCUSA senior vice president for social policy and government affairs, will speak to summit participants about what they can do to support education, health care, and jobs initiatives.

At the last leadership summit, held in Atlanta, Father Snyder’s address was “Poverty today – A Moral Threat to the Common Good,” and a theme likely to be revisited in Nashville.

While the middle class shrinks, “there has been a phenomenal accumulation of wealth at the upper level,” even during the recession, said Sinclair. As the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” widens, “it brings down the entire society,” he said.

If there were more emphasis on the common good, those who have grown up in poverty and never had a chance to attend a good school or land a job with benefits might be able to move toward self-sufficiency and a better future, Sinclair explained, or banks that received federal bailout funds would do more to help homeowners facing foreclosure to restructure their loans and stay in their homes.

The focus areas of Catholic Charities’ Campaign to Reduce Poverty, an ambitious plan to reduce poverty in this country by half in the next 10 years, focuses on five areas that will be addressed at the summit: hunger, housing, jobs, health care and education.

All are linked, and being secure in each area is essential to overcoming poverty, Catholic Charities leaders say. Even if a family has two adults working minimum wage jobs without benefits “they are riding the edge of poverty,” Sinclair said. A job that pays a living wage – estimated at about $10 an hour in Nashville – is necessary for a family to cover all their basic expenses independently.

Even though the country is struggling to recover from a recession and everyone’s resources are stretched thin, Catholic Charities’ campaign and summit “couldn’t come at a better time,” Sinclair said. “We need to respond the most when the economy is at a low point and poverty is at a high point.”

Photo by Steve Liss: After the Catholic Charities summit on March 25, there will be a photography exhibit at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University, featuring the works of Steve Liss, Time Magazine photojournalist, and John Partipilo, Tennessean photographer. The exhibit, a collaborative effort of Catholic Charities USA and AmericanPoverty.org will be open 4-6 p.m. and is free an open to the public.