USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - January is Poverty in America Awareness Month

January is Poverty in America Awareness Month

WASHINGTON (December 20, 2000) -- The Catholic Campaign for Human Development challenges Americans to look at the 32 million people who live in poverty as a number equivalent to that of a state of the union, and the second most populous state in America, at that. On that basis, a new website takes visitors on a tour of the "State" of poverty, and lets them make hard choices about budgeting the $17,000 annual income a family of four has to distribute between rent, transportation, food, health care and other costs. Declaring January "Poverty in America Awareness Month," CCHD will release a national PSA campaign and public opinion poll about poverty in early January. It also will launch a new Web site, www.povertyusa.org. "One of every six children in America lives in poverty," says Barbara Stephenson, CCHD Director of Communications. "This is an indictment of the land of plenty."

Barbara Stephenson is available at 202/541-3364.

National Migration Week Theme "Make a World of Difference"

To focus on newcomers and people on the move in the United States, the NCCB/USCC Committee on Migration will sponsor the 21st annual National Migration Week. This national program takes place January 1-7, 2001. "This year's theme, 'Make a World of Difference -- Provide Hope,' emphasizes the call to the Church in the United States to continue serving immigrants, migrants and refugees in ways that will positively impact their lives," says Maureen Gross, Special Projects Coordinator, Migration and Refugee Services. "This is a time when our legislative advocacy, educational efforts, worship experiences, and cultural celebrations are meant to welcome and assist people on the move into the life of the local Church and community." A booklet and poster are available in English and Spanish from MRS, and a small grants program (application deadline February 2, 2001) will fund a range of migration projects.

Maureen Gross is available at 202/541-3385.

Anti-Violence Efforts Featured in January

If there is one theme overriding the commemoration of the Martin Luther King birthday holiday and the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, that theme is a call to resist violence in all its forms. The national Catholic Anti-Violence Working Group consists of ten Washington-area organizations who focusing their anti-violence efforts during the week between the King holiday (January 15), and the
abortion decision (January 22). "This year's efforts are similar to past years with two important exceptions," says Dan Misleh, Policy Advisor, USCC Office of Domestic Social Development. "The death penalty as an issue is gaining increasing national and international attention, as is our awareness of the horrors of trafficking in women and children." Antiviolence packets for commemorating the week-long observance are available on the Web: www.nccbuscc.org/sdwp.

Dan Misleh is available at 202/541-3190.