"[H]ere is the challenge to our democracy: In this nation I see tens of millions of its citizens — a substantial part of its whole population — who at this very moment are denied the greater part of what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of life.
"It is not in despair that I paint you that picture. I paint it for you in hope — because the Nation, seeing and understanding the injustice in it, proposes to paint it out. We are determined to make every American citizen the subject of his country's interest and concern; and we will never regard any faithful law-abiding group within our borders as superfluous. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
Second Inaugural Address
Wednesday, January 20, 1937
Spoken over sixty years ago, these words by FDR ring true today. While the style of the rhetoric is perhaps unfamiliar to us, the point is powerful: millions of working families, despite their hard work, are poor and live as if "the pall of family disaster hangs over them day by day". Running in Place: A Report on Poverty in Massachusetts focuses on the state of poverty in Massachusetts and, in particular, working poor families on the brink of "family disaster."
It is part of the mission of the community action agencies (CAAs) in Massachusetts as represented by MASSCAP, the Massachusetts Association for Community Action , to chronicle the state of poverty in the Commonwealth. Running in Place is a follow up to a similar report we made in the early 1980's; it is also a jumping-off point for an approach to combating poverty.
Community action agencies were created in the 1960's by Congress to combat poverty and to help low-income people achieve self-sufficiency. In Massachusetts, 25 CAAs provide basic support services, education and training services, and advocacy services to low-income people living in virtually every city and town in the Commonwealth. Together, these agencies are represented by MASSCAP.
As a group, we believe that low-income people should be treated with dignity and supported in their efforts to become self-sufficient. We believe in empowering people to take control of their own lives and communities in spite of individual and societal barriers to this end. It is our role to speak out and to support the low-income community's efforts to integrate more effectively into all aspects of society. We believe in the strength of collaboration, both internally and externally, to enable us to adapt to the changes in society an the emerging needs of the low-income community. Above all, we believe that helping people avoid poverty is as important as helping them when become poor.
Since FDR spoke the words quoted above, responsibility for helping low-income people has shifted or devolved from the federal to state governments. They are operating in an environment colored by the "Contract With America", mandated federal deficit reduction, welfare reform, and, despite an apparently healthy economy, an ever widening gap between the rich and poor.
State governments and CAAs work as partners in helping low-income people. This is the case in Massachusetts and CAAs are uniquely qualified for this role. We have over 30 years of experience helping poor people become self-sufficiency through programs such as: Fuel assistance, weatherization assistance programs, GED and ESL Education, job training, head start and day care, homelessness prevention services, senior services, temporary food assistance programs, affordable housing creation and renovation, micro-enterprise and small business creation.
Unlike other non-profits, we are mandated under federal law to represent the communities we serve. We are anchored in those communities by a board of directors made up in equal parts by low-income people, members of the business community, and local public officials including: teachers, mayors, city councillors, selectmen, medical professionals, state elected and appointed officials, low-income people, business owners, community leaders, lawyers, veterans, manufacturers, students, clergy, union members, homemakers, CPA's, bankers, insurers, local merchants, human service professionals.
CAAs are also economic engines, providing communities with an annual infusion of over $250 million in total resources. CAAs generate twice that amount by helping clients become self-sufficient and productive. CAAs in Massachusetts serve over 250,000 families and over 600,000 individuals, employ over 4,000 people, work with over 3,500 volunteers, and grants over 6,000 contracts with local vendors totaling more than $50 million.
We stand ready to work with state and federal elected and appointed officials on the recommendations we make in this report.
—Alan C. Sax
President
MASSCAP