POWER - Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights
POWER is being talked about
We envision a world where children and care giving are truly valued, and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated. 
The Poor People's Human Rights Campaign
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead
POWER to the People
Jeannette Garceau, Board Member, Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights
As human beings, we have basic fundamental needs: food, clothing, and shelter to survive, education, love and opportunity to grow and thrive. The UN adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which specified the right of all human beings to these basic necessities. The US has never ratified this declaration, but the UN Declaration became a rallying cry for welfare rights and other people's organizations around the world as the minimum standards for meeting human needs and rights, not simply for the benefit of individual, but so individuals can contribute to functioning societies.
Governmental welfare benefits were an extension of the new deal era social safety net that provided economic support to help meet basic needs of mothers and children. Such support, minimal as it may have been, recognized that raising children is crucial to our society. For decades welfare was seen as providing a safety net for families. The welfare rights movement rose up in and around the civil rights movements and women's movement of the mid-60's, with coalitions of poor people's organizations fighting for the right of people, especially women and children of color, to equal access to government assistance. More welfare rights organizations emerged in the 1980's as working class jobs began to disappear, homelessness grew, and Ronald Reagan began unraveling the social safety net with his demonizing of the "welfare queen." Poor women were blamed for their poverty, labeled as irresponsible and devious.
After a decade and more of politicians and the media demonizing the welfare program and its recipients, Bill Clinton's administration passed welfare reform in 1996, with the insulting title of Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Welfare reform devalues the work of parenting, forcing mothers into low wage jobs or other non-parenting activities, while children go to paid childcare providers. The stated goals of welfare reform are to move parents out of poverty through marriage or work. Yes, unbelievable as it seems, marriage promotion is written into federal law, though only for heterosexual single mothers. The unfortunate reality of welfare reform was that people were simply moved off welfare, dropping the numbers by 40% nationally within little more than a decade, leading to a 56% increase since 1995 of single mother families living in extreme poverty.1 Since the passage of welfare reform, welfare rights groups nationwide have documented its devastating effects to the human rights of women and children.
Much of America is only now becoming fully aware of the economic crisis that has been impacting millions of families since welfare reform and before. The poverty and desperation that has been part of daily life for people around the country for years is beginning to spread as more and more are facing job loss, foreclosure, homelessness, hunger, lack of medical care, choices between mounting debt or depleted savings, rent or medical bills. Those who have been facing an economic crisis for decades are seeing that crisis deepen as they watch safety net programs, which already do so little, be cut even further. The work of welfare rights organization has not changed with the crisis so much as become even more relevant to more people, magnifying opportunities for organizing.
As more people cannot meet their needs, they are beginning to raise their demands for food, housing, education and health care. Welfare rights organizations consist of poor people growing and developing their ability to fight for their rights as citizens and human beings. We develop a spirit of solidarity, combating the stereotyping that has kept groups of the poor divided, allowing those in power to maintain control of the resources. We recognize the importance of crossing cultural barriers, not blaming others living in poverty, but equally protecting the rights of parents, people with disabilities, immigrants, and the unemployed. There is opportunity for a broad coalition movement demanding real change.
POWER, Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights, in Washington is working for just such change. We were able to get a bill passed unanimously this legislative session that requires welfare caseworkers to tell recipients about their education options and provide quarterly reports to the legislature about the wage progression they are achieving for parents on and off the welfare rolls. Legislators are beginning to understand that forcing single moms into the first available job, regardless of wages and opportunity of advancement, is short sighted and ineffective. POWER member like Brittney Ferara put a human fact to this fight. Although consistently discouraged by her caseworkers, she stayed in school, is organizing other student parents, and testified in support of this legislation.
When I had my daughter Zora it instantly changed my life. She made me feel like I have a purpose and a reason to succeed. I decided to go back to school right before she was a year old. My partner, Matt was working 40 hours a week, and we were not eating that much, just buying diapers and food for Zora. Matt and I felt helpless because we couldn't figure out how support ourselves while I was going to school. My caseworker treated me like I was a drive thru order at McDonalds. Even though I was in school and commuting 2½ hours each way, she told me that was not a good enough reason to give me phone interviews. After I finally received my benefits, they transferred me to another caseworker who told me to drop out of school. He would not answer my questions.
POWER members like Brittney are doing their best to educate legislators about the importance of public benefits during a deficit year. They are asking for a state budget that does not include cuts that will increase hunger, homelessness, and even death among people struggling to meet their basic needs. The slogan Tax the Rich or Kill the Poor is absolute truth this year in Washington. We are also looking at ways to leverage assets within our own communities to meet the needs unmet by our government. We want to create childcare collectives within the POWER community. Basic commodities are becoming more expensive, while we have achieved one welfare grant increase in the last 15 years. POWER is looking into creating buyers clubs among our members to save money. We are always trying to reach out to the poor and not poor alike to educate, organize and gain support. We will be producing POWER Hour, a radio show that illustrates through theater, innovative tips, songs and poetry the realities people living in poverty face every day.
As the economic crisis worsens, welfare rights groups will continue to organize and fight for basic needs. These can include needs as basic as water. In Michigan, changes in the economy, especially in manufacturing, have devastated the region and its citizens for years. The Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, a sister welfare rights group in Detroit, has been fighting the privatization of water utilities that raise rates and lead to cut off water for an alarmingly high percentage of struggling families. In Minnesota, the Welfare Rights Committee is part of the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout that is organizing people to resist eviction due to foreclosures and to occupy vacant foreclosed homes by those who are homeless. LIFETIMES in California, continues to fight for welfare recipients' rights to access education despite a devastated economy. POWER plans to better connect with our sister welfare rights and poor people's organizations to grow the movement toward a future where all people's right to thrive as human beings is the purpose and goal of our society, government and communities.
1 Rebecca Blank, "Improving the Safety Net for Single Mothers Who Face Serious Barriers to Work," 17 The Future of Children 183-197 (Fall 2007), available at http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/7_09_Blank.pdf (accessed 2/24/09).
Thank you
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