Welcome


Voices for Action is a statewide effort to reduce poverty 50% in Michigan by 2020.

Led by the Michigan Department of Human Services, the initiative has created a network of organizations including human service organizations, government agencies, local faith-based and community organizations, non-profits, and businesses.


This space is for you to share your Voices for Action stories and current information. There are three ways to share.

- Submit a post via email to: voices4action6@haltpoverty.org and we'll post it for you, be sure to include contact info

- Submit a post through blogger: Google account required; request author invite by sending an email with
name & organization information to: voices4action6@haltpoverty.org

- Comment on published posts, no login required

You can use tags to highlight themes, such as 'asset building', 'workforce development', 'food assistance', etc.



Here are current poverty statistics for Region 6:

2009 Poverty and Median Income Estimates - Counties
Name Poverty Estimate All Ages Poverty Percent All Ages Poverty Estimate Under Age 18 Poverty Percent Under Age 18 Median Household Income
Allegan 12,850 11.5 4,601 16.2 50,487
Barry 6,038 10.4 2,111 15.2 53,566
Berrien 27,259 17.4 9,481 25.4 39,856
Branch 7,430 17.9 2,780 26.8 40,798
Calhoun 22,951 17.4 8,193 26.1 39,130
Cass 7,837 15.9 2,334 21.5 45,799
Kalamazoo 46,977 19.6 11,748 21.8 42,336
St. Joseph 10,265 16.9 3,710 23.9 43,402
Van Buren 12,755 16.6 4,409 22.8 41,731






Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area
Estimates Branch

Internet Release date: December 2010




View Michigan Counties - Region 6 Poverty in a larger map

Monday, November 14, 2011

Half in Ten Releases New Poverty Reduction Toolkit

Did you miss Half in Ten's webinar last week? Here's the scoop:

On the webinar, a distinguished panel of speakers, including Co-Chair of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-9) discussed Half in Ten’s new report and accompanying advocacy tools to cut poverty in half over the next 10 years.

The report, “Restoring Shared Prosperity: Strategies to Cut Poverty and Expand Economic Growth,” is Half in Ten’s first inaugural report that will track progress toward our goal on a variety of indicators to help advance policies that create good jobs, strengthen families, and promote economic security.

This report will serve as a guide for our efforts to cut poverty and will help us hold elected officials accountable. But building the movement of advocates fighting poverty nationwide and creating the political will to end poverty is what will help us reach this achievable goal.

To that end, Half in Ten has developed resources and action steps advocates can take to educate their networks about the challenges facing families struggling with poverty and economic hardship and to engage their elected officials in the fight against poverty. Consult the resources below and take action today!

Resources:

Action steps:

Michigan League for Human Services publishes Food Assistance Facts

MILHS Food Assistance FAQ
Did You Know?
  • Food assistance recipients generally have to be working or participating in employment or training activities to receive assistance for more than three months.
  • Almost 80% of food assistance dollars are re-deemed within two weeks and 97% within a month.
  • Food assistance helps the economy grow. For every $1 spent in food assistance, $1.79 is generated in economic growth.
  • Food assistance generates spending in the retail, agricultural and food production industries in Michigan.
Download MLHS' full fact sheet.