Category Archives: Sister Spirit

Blog: Concluding the 114th Congress, Moving Right Along to the 115th

Concluding the 114th Congress, Moving Right Along to the 115th

Sister Marge Clark
December 20, 2016

The 114th Congress ground to a halt about 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 10 after just barely managing to not shut down the government.  A vote passed extending 2016 funding levels into the seventh month of fiscal year 2017. We strongly believe, however, that one temporary Continuing Resolution (CR) after another is no way to responsibly fund our government.

As we prepare to enter 2017, NETWORK continues work to support all at the margins of society due to unemployment or under-employment, immigration status, health issues, and many other concerns. Our 2020 Policy Vision guides our lobbying, outreach, and education to mend the access and wealth and income gaps that are rampant in our nation.  With this Continuing Resolution in place, the only means of increasing funding where absolutely necessary is through an anomaly.

NETWORK’s 2020 Vision did not fare well in the Continuing Resolution.  We focused our efforts on three items desperately needing increased funding and  advocated forincreased funding in each of the three following areas:

1. Census 2020

This is one area that did receive an increase from 2016 funding in the CR. The Census Bureau will be allowed to spend money earlier in the cycle, in an attempt to meet urgent planning needs.  This does not give the Census Bureau additional money, as had been requested. Instead, it leaves them with the same uncertainty about long-term funding for comprehensive planning in many areas, including: the census communications campaign, development of in-language materials, updating address lists, and adequate enumerator training, not to mention making progress on updating all census IT systems and cyber-security protocols. Using this money will also reduce the funds available to conduct the annual American Community Survey which provides important data on economic and healthcare status used by many departments.

2. Refugee Resettlement

Meeting this grave responsibility requires sufficient funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to welcome and support refugees as they strive to adapt and to thrive in the United States. In FY 2016, $1.67 billion in funding was calculated to serve 75,000 (and in the end assisted 85,000). The United States announced that, due to the global refugee crisis, we would accept 110,000. However, increased funding (a minimum of $2.18 million required to support the additional refugees, unaccompanied children and trafficking survivors) was not provided.

One allowance was made, if needed, for the housing and care of unaccompanied children, with the recognition that, due to the variability in the increased number of children coming into the country, it is possible that additional funds may be needed for this population.

3. Housing

Housing in the United States continues to be in short, and expensive, supply for households with low- or no-income. Federal rental assistance is critical for there to be available, affordable housing units. Thousands of public housing units are lost each year, from deterioration and lack of repair. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of families and individuals are homeless, living with others, in shelters, and even living on the streets. For many, they are unable to get rental assistance vouchers to help pay rent. NETWORK advocated for funding to at least be able to support the number of vouchers already in use, as well as funding to repair public housing. These requests, however, were not honored in the CR. The existing number of vouchers supported by the 2016 funds cannot be supported at 2017 costs. Additionally, owners’ costs will increase and those costs will be passed on to renters who are unable to cover that increase. This leaves federal housing assistance to cover the gap. Ultimately, with this CR, more households face homelessness.  A small increase was given for rural housing, in the Agriculture appropriation.

Our elected officials have left Washington for their winter break – to be with family, celebrate the holidays, and perhaps vacation. The same enjoyment is not available for members of our communities who rely on some government assistance to live a life with dignity. This may be a person sleeping on the street, a refugee stuck in a camp somewhere in the world, or those who will not be counted in the 2020 census, leading to inadequate funding for future years of “promoting the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”  We hope all legislators take a moment during their time away from Washington to reflect on the needs of the common good.

Advent Reflection: When Will We Make Room?

Advent Reflection:
When Will We Make Room?

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, DC
December 19, 2016

As the Advent season advances, we journey with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where they were met with insufficient housing. Consequently, when the time came, our Lord was born in a barn.  The Blessed Mother and St. Joseph were not lazy, unemployed or stupid (as some might say about those who are in need of shelter). On the contrary, they did precisely what they were asked to do at a very inconvenient time. And still, there was no room for them.

Today, many factors contribute to homelessness. Millions of families are one health diagnosis, one legislative action, one act of violence or one pay check away from homelessness. They, like the Holy Family, are responding to the many demands of life. And for some, it won’t matter. They will find no room at any inn.

Mr. McDermott lived on the same block as my mom for about 30 years with his wife and two sons. Mrs. McDermott was a nurse and he always worked, too. The kids went to the local Catholic school, grew up, married and moved away.  As the couple faced an empty nest, Mrs. McDermott was diagnosed with cancer. Toward the end of her battle, she was at the family home and Mr. McDermott was steadfastly present to her.

Last Christmas, on a cold, snowy afternoon, the ambulance came for Mrs. McDermott. The paramedics brought the dying woman out while her husband marched right beside them. His face was a billboard of numbing, incomparable sorrow. We pitifully looked on and offered our prayers as he trudged by us.

A couple months after the funeral, Mr. McDermott seemingly disappeared and the house was emptied of its contents. Subsequently, bank notices were posted on the front door and window. There were rumors, but I do not know whether he left the house due to foreclosure, taxes, or other reasons. I do know that Mr. McDermott was a good man who worked and did everything one could expect of him during a desperately painful time. In return, there was no longer room at his own inn.

Every day, people are responding to suffering and difficult situations with honor.  Can the same be said of our government?  As a community, we must call for the implementation of programs that enable families and individuals to live dignified lives. This includes ensuring access to affordable housing and healthcare, a living wage, and preventing domestic violence.

It is vital to increase the amount of subsidized housing that is clean, reasonably priced, and rodent-free.  Enhancing the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program will allow more families to move from areas that have been decimated by government-approved policies including redlining, forced urban development, and a lack of infrastructure maintenance.

It has been more than 2000 years since Jesus came into our struggling world, seeking shelter. He continues to come to us in our neighbors. This time, let us provide more than just a barn.

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy is a public housing attorney and a “Nun on the Bus”

Guest Blog: The Power of Sisterhood

Guest Blog: The Power of Sisterhood

Sister Bernadine Karge OP
March 8, 2016

What a wonderful day and a half at the Sisters in Public Leadership  training in DC the first weekend in March 2016! I am most grateful for this experience learning about media and advocacy with the women and men of NETWORK and Faith in Public Life.

My name is Sister Bernadine Karge, and I am an immigration attorney. For most of my ministry I have worked in direct service with education and advocacy on the sideline. Having been a “Nun on the Bus” during the last three years brought opportunities to speak with reporters, to engage others in issues dear to their hearts and to be welcomed into diverse faith and ethnic communities and enabled me to experience and share my gifts and talents in new ways.

The most surprising part of our Sisters in Public Leadership training was the sense of sisterhood I felt and owning the title of “sister” to speak the truth about the lives, hopes, struggles and dreams of all the people who have blessed my life. Meeting the other sisters from across the country increased our sense of sisterhood. Our passion for justice and service for the poor connected us immediately. We could laugh and cry together at the mess of our world.

One valuable skill I developed was connecting the moral and religious aspect with the legal aspect of immigration, which has been my passion for decades. To come at the question as a Catholic sister, rather than as only a legal advocate was a helpful shift in perspective. I was encouraged not to be fearful of speaking out from a faith perspective.

The community of our sisterhood has been hidden under a bushel basket. Sisters are no longer immediately visible without traditional habits, but even more significantly, we have not seen ourselves as others see us, as powerful women with life and faith experience for which our world hungers. We are the ones who can take the risk to bring the faces of the poor to those who do not see them.

The feeling of trust and belonging that was shared during my Nuns on the Bus experience expanded my sense of community to those of other faiths. We are all one – not because we believe or act the same way, but because we all breathe the breath of God who calls us to the fullness of life in God’s image. It is our role to share our light, our life and our love with all.

 

Sr. Bernadine Karge OP
Chicago, IL
Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, WI