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

Background

The Voices for Action movement began in November 2008, where a Poverty Summit in Detroit engaged over 5,000 community leaders and low-income residents from around the state to address the barriers that prevent Michigan’s low-income residents from achieving self-sufficiency.

Poverty Summit


In November 2008, the statewide Voices for Action Poverty Summit gathered over 5,000 community leaders and low-income residents from around the state to address the barriers that prevent Michigan’s low-income residents from achieving self-sufficiency.
 
Governor Granholm speaks
at the 2008 Poverty Summit
In collaboration with Western Michigan University’s Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations, the PRI has been appointed to coordinate regional poverty reduction planning for Region VI (Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Cass, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren).

After the Summit, Governor Granholm joined with the Director of the Department of Human Services and Michigan Community Action Agency Association’s Board of Directors to direct all local Community Action Agencies and Departments of Human Service to participate in local and regional planning activities.

Being selected to coordinate our region’s poverty reduction planning, the PRI has been convening a regional coalition that represents human service organizations, government agencies, local faith-based and community organizations, non-profits, and businesses from around the nine counties of our region.


Regional Network


This regional gathering of human service providers and residents engages diverse partners from our many communities and, in itself, delivers one part of our regional agenda- collaboration and comprehensive planning. In a time when city and township budgets are diminishing, and county and state funds are unable to meet the many needs of those struggling in Michigan, collaboration is one resource which remains intact. 

Collaboration is the cornerstone of our regional poverty reduction efforts, and an essential component of our region’s ability to provide comprehensive planning for our low-income residents. By gathering state agencies with local government departments, faith-based organizations with non-profits, human service organizations with neighborhood associations, and all of these with community members, we look to provide resources and support to the many programs southwest Michigan operates for those in need.

As our local Community Action Agencies and Departments of Human Services work together with existing community organizations, it is the task of the PRI and WMU Walker Institute to coordinate this regional planning, and help facilitate and develop comprehensive plans for each community in our region. After reviewing proposals, the post-summit Region VI Coalition voted that the PRI and WMU Walker Institute develop a Community Indicators System, which will serve as an informational resource to all human service efforts in a community.


What's Next


The goal of the Community Indicators System is to provide a community with a complete view of the programs it is currently offering, and compare this in contrast to the needs its residents currently have. This Community Indicators System would allow the many organizations of our community to evaluate their programs more accurately, and help all organizations coordinate their programs to make sure they best meet the most pressing needs of our community.
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