FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brandi Sweet, Prosperity Center Coordinator, (801) 214-3148, bsweet@slcap.org
The Five Parks Community Action Center joins the First Lady’s Let’s Move!
On Friday, April 26, 2013, the Five Parks Community Action Center, Five Parks Fitness and Health Club, will host its first meeting as an official meet up site for the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Faith Based and Neighborhood Communities initiative from 6:30 pm to 7 pm at 1238 W. Village Main Dr-Unit 1, West Valley City, UT 84119.  Let’s Move! Is a national initiative to combat childhood obesity within a generation.  

The Five Parks Fitness and Health Club is community-wide meeting place to support individual, group, and community wide efforts to become healthier.  The Five Parks Community Action Center vision is for every child, individual, and family in the Five Parks community to achieve their fullest potential in life.  The center offers comprehensive targeted services that support the development income, health, education and community engagement.  

Our first meeting will be a planning meeting to obtain your ideas and suggestions on what our events will be over the next year.  Visit http://www.fiveparks.org to learn more!

The Children and the underserved adults of the Salt Lake CAP Five Parks Community Need Your Help! 30% of households in the Five Parks area live at or below the poverty line. Many residents are elderly, disabled, single parents or just one lost paycheck away from homelessness.

These kids came in after school for a homework help session. It would be great to offer them something other than foldout tables to work on and a computer if they need it.

-29% of are single parent female households
-55% of the families have income less than $25K per year
-43% do not have medical insurance
-30% of residents live at or below the federal poverty level

Answer one question, how do you apply for a job in 2013?

Online of course! But many of our neighbors do not have the luxury of having daily access to the internet or e-mail. Did you know children now often do their assigned school homework online? These kids need computer access and they need knowledge of how to do research online, create power point presentations for the schoolwork and compile required reports.

We need your help and an underserved community needs your help!

The Salt Lake CAP FiveParks Community Center has opened and they need some assistance bringing vital services like online job searching and homework help (online and off) to the Five Parks Community. The community consists of 1209 trailer homes and apartments around 3300 South on the West side. There are about 5000 people that are served by the center.

Recently the center was the victim of fraud. Money for a furniture delivery was paid but the furniture was never delivered. The West Valley Police Department is investigating but it is unlikely the furniture or the funds will be recovered. The furniture store went out of business before we received our order.

Here is what the community center needs:

1-Community Computer Learning Lab: Furnishings for 10 Computer Lab stations:

• Desks
• Dividers
• Chairs
• Other miscellaneous equipment
• Child related computer equipment and accessories

What does this provide?:
Homework Help, job searches, research, learning, online components of curriculum for community classes in the center
2- A place for our staff and volunteers to work: 3 Office Desk Stations:

• Desks
• Dividers
• Office Chairs

3- Children’s Learning Center: To create a learning space
Wish List:

• Child-sized tables
• Child-sized chairs
• Toy Box
• Learning Toys
• Educationally based games & videos
• Learning-inspired furnishings
• Other ways to create and enhance a fun-filled learning space

What does this provide?
It is a place for infant to school aged children to learn and play and young children to get ready for kindergarten. It is also a place for children to play and relax when their parents come in to use center services.

4- A Community Gathering Space: A space for community members to hold meetings, gather and share ideas or wait to meet with Five Parks staff.
( Furniture that will comfortably fit in a small corner)

• Petite modern chairs
• Coffee Table
• End Tables

5-Community Resource Board:We need a bulletin Board in our entry way and organizational shelving to store resources, post fliers and provide vital information.

• Bulletin Board
• Shelving

Please send a check to:

Salt Lake Community Action Program, Attn: Five Parks Community Action Center

1238 West Village Main Dr-Unit 1, West Valley City, Utah 84119
In-kind Donations can be delivered to: Salt Lake Community Action Program, Attn: Five Parks Community Action Center, 1238 West Village Main Dr-Unit 1, West Valley City, Utah 84119
Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri between 10:30 am and 7 pm; Tue, Thur between 11 am and 7:30 pm
Questions? Phone:  (801) 214-3148
Email:  fiveparks@slcap.org
Salt Lake CAP/ Five Parks is a recognized 501 c-3 and all donations are tax-deductible

Salt Lake CAP and The United Way of Salt Lake have come together to offer the residents of Five Parks a community center.

The pantry filled an average of 1,100 emergency food orders each month as well as providing community services such as registration for food stamps, heat and referrals to other programs.

Those who were served by the food pantry will now be served by one of four other pantries according to their zip code. This can however be problematic as many community members do not have transportation.

The pantry was convenient for people working multiple jobs as they were open for extended hours and on Saturdays. The Redwood Neighborhood Center is now open on Saturdays beginning March 23, 2013 and is open to residents regardless of their zip code if they are unable to visit their regular pantry during the week.

Which Food Pantry Can I Visit?
Northwest Pantry: 1300 West 300 North, Salt Lake City
Serves all zip codes in Salt Lake City.
84101, 84102, 84103, 84104, 84105, 84106, 84108, 84109, 84111, 84112,
84115, and 84116.
Redwood Pantry: 3060 Lester Street, West Valley City
Serves all of 84107, 84117, 84119, 84120, 84124, 84123 and 84129.
(Note: Redwood Pantry is open on Saturdays to serve working families.
Clients unable to go to the pantry in their area during regular business hours
can use Redwood Pantry on Saturdays, regardless of zip code).
Magna Pantry: 3441 S 8400 W, Magna
Serves 84118, 84128, and 84044
South County Pantry: 8446 South Harrison Street, Midvale
Serves Midvale, Sandy, West Jordan, South Jordan, Draper, Bluffdale and
Herriman: 84020, 84047, 84065, 84070, 84081, 84084, 84088, 80490, 84092,
84093, 84094, 84095, 84096, 84107 and 84121

For more information visit www.slcap.org

####

NEWS RELEASE

CITIZEN GROUPS CALL ON GOVERNOR HERBERT TO VETO S.B. 275, ENERGY
AMENDMENTS

FOR:  Immediate Release                CONTACT:  
Claire Geddes (801) 943-3654
Betsy Wolf, Salt Lake Community Action Program (801) 891-5040

Tim Funk, Crossroads Urban Center (801) 364-7765

DATE: March 22, 2013           

Crossroads Urban Center, Salt Lake Community Action Program, the Coalition for Religious Communities, and Claire Geddes, Consumer Advocate, have joined together to urge Governor Herbert to veto S.B. 275,Energy Amendments (Sen. J.S. Adams)that was passed on the last day of the 2013 legislative session.  

S.B. 275 was touted as a bill that will go far in cleaning up Utah’s bad air.  However, not only will it not clean up the air, it has a number of potentially disastrous consequences for Utah and particularly ratepayers of Questar Gas Company.

      The groups’ primary concern is that S.B. 275 would significantly change the utility rate making process by requiring the captive customers of a monopoly utility company to pay for costs unassociated with their essential utility services.  In this case, it imposes a “hidden tax” onto the bills of Questar Gas customers.  This is a door that, once open, can and will be used and abused in the future.   And once that door opens, it jeopardizes Utah’s low energy rates which could have a detrimental effect on Utah’s economic development.

S.B. 275 starts with Questar’s customers’ paying, through their natural gas utility bills, for up to $5 M investment in natural gas vehicle (NGV) infrastructure *each year* (which maintains the very highest level of rate impact seen to date, compounds that rate impact year after year, and mandates that it be embedded – hidden – in base rates.) Betsy Wolf of Salt Lake Community Action Program said: “If that weren’t bad enough, it lifts the $5 million cap after the first year for four more years, providing a blank check for future natural gas rate increases.”

S.B. 275 also initiates a process at the Public Service Commission to look at funding mechanisms for vehicle conversion and maintenance of vehicles as well as additional infrastructure. Thus, S.B. 275 turns the utility into a tax collector and requires captive ratepayers throughout the state to pay, through their natural gas utility bills, to clean up the air on the Wasatch Front.  

Questar Gas has had a subsidized rate for natural gas vehicles (NGV) for over 20 years to help promote an emerging industry.  However, this has been such a small portion of Questar’s business that the ratepayer impact was minimal. As natural gas vehicle adoption has increased, the regulators and interested parties have worked to bring that rate to a level that the revenues from natural gas vehicles will equal the costs to serve those customers.

To clean up the air and transform the natural gas vehicle market, Utah needs to have a robust natural gas fuel market.  However a robust market is not possible if other providers have to compete against a below-cost utility provider.  So the result, intended or not, would be to allow Questar Gas to expand its facilities and its’ near monopolistic grip on cleaner fuels, prohibiting the growth of a competitive market in a state that theoretically values a “free market economy”.

“Cleaning up the air is certainly something that we all support but we do not support this method of funding it.  This is a regressive tax, which raises rates for all customers and has a disproportionate impact on seniors and low income households that are already struggling to keep the heat on in this difficult economy” asserted Tim Funk of Crossroads Urban Center.  “We urge the Governor to veto S.B. 275.”

Today, these groups delivered a letter to Governor Herbert asking him to do just that.

#  #  #  #  #

If you have ever though ‘there ought to be a law,’ perhaps you could get that law passed. It’s the legislative session again and the Capitol is bustling with activity. Stop by and check things out.

A couple holds goes toward the Capitol to talk to their reps.

Thanks to Community Action Partnership of Utah (CAPUtah) and the AARP about one hundred Utah residents braved a snowy winter morning to come to the Utah State Capitol and learn about the legislative process. Attendees were treated to a debate between the chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties, a run down of how to lobby and a guided tour of the Capitol. They then sat down to lunch with their Representatives.

They learned to get involved. It’s not as hard as you think it is.

Where to Start:

Talking to your representative can seem pretty intimidating but don’t let it scare you. There are numerous ways to speak to your rep. Calls, post cards, e-mails and even faxes can make a difference. Their home phone numbers are listed on the Legislative website. They are public servants and taking calls from constituents (that means you) is what they are expected to do.

Click Here to Find Your Representatives

Visit the Capitol and Check it Out
You can sit quietly in the balconies of the House or Senate any time they are in session. They rarely go into closed sessions. Peek in the East building behind the Capitol. The Cafeteria is on the first floor.

If you would like to talk to your representative during the legislative session and you don’t have an appointment talking in person is simple.  Go to the State Capitol during legislative hours and visit the men or women in the green jackets outside the Senate and House chambers on the second floor. They will give you a piece of paper that you address to your elected official with your information and concerns. They then take your piece of paper into the session to your representative and you wait outside the chamber to speak to them. Just know what your rep looks like so you can grab them before someone else does. It’s that simple!

There is a table like this in front of the senate and house.

What do I say?
Now you know how to talk to your rep, what do you talk to them about? Legislation of course, or you can talk to them about concerns you have that you think a law next year may be helpful for. Anyone can propose a bill to their rep or a representative that may be interested. All bills have to be sponsored by a member of the House or Senate to get into committees. Lots and LOTS of different types of people propose and write bills and get them passed. Just be honest and be brief. Our representatives all have full time jobs outside of the Capitol and they are busy people.

Remember..
This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Just introduce yourself to start with. You should keep tabs on your House or Senate Representative for a long time to come.

How do I know what is happening on Capitol Hill?
Visit the Legislative website and review the bills or talk to advocates and get suggestions. Find out the bill numbers of the bills you are interested in. Sign up to track a bill on the Legislative website. An email will be sent to you when it is about to be discussed in committee. Bills have to move through committees first, before being debated.

Some Facts for you to know:

The Utah State Senate has 28 members, you need 15 votes to pass a bill
The Utah House has 75 members and one needs 38 votes to pass a bill.

A bill first must get a sponsor who enters it and it is assigned a number. A sponsor is a legislator. Then it goes to rules where it is debated and if it makes it out it is assigned  a committee. If it makes it out of the assigned committee it can then be debated on the floor.

You can listen live every day to most sessions on the Senate or House floor here.

Now you know how to talk to your reps go do it and make a difference!

Some suggested links to follow legislation in 2013

United Way
The United Way is sponsoring a Day on the Hill on February 21st.

Utah Health Policy Project
UHPP meets every Wednesday during the session from 12:15-1pm in the Olmstead room at the Senate building. That’s downstairs in the East building behind the Capitol.

Utahns for Medicaid Expansion also meet in the Olmstead Room at the Senate building on Wednesdays from 1:10-2pm.

The Utah Education Association

Crossroads Urban Center

CAP Utah and AARP took citizens on tours of the Capitol to show them how to lobby.

Many do.

Thousands of Utahns do know the sting of poverty and exist in the shadows of our vibrant communities. Hundreds of advocates work each day to support those in our cities and towns who are marginalized. Community Action Partnership of Utah held it’s annual poverty conference last week. Hundreds of social workers, advocates and people from state and private agencies that serve the poor were in attendance.

This last year President Obama proposed deep cuts to Community Service Block Grants or CSBGs . These federal grants, distributed by the states, fund much of the anti poverty work in our communities and in towns across the United States. Anti poverty work helps the most fragile members of society. Anti poverty work, like the work done by CSBG funds often keeps people alive. In Utah CSBG funds food pantries, rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention, and job readiness programs.

Most of us who have a computer to read a blog online are lucky. We probably have the ability to purchase a modest steak when we feel like grilling. A trip to the grocery store doesn’t leave us keeping detailed totals in our heads and wringing our hands at the register. We can buy toiletries like toothpaste, toilet paper and shampoo when we need to. If we get a cavity we go to a dentist. There is no chance that a cavity will lead to a life threatening situation. Most of you reading this have adequate access to transportation to get to work, errands and appointments.

    Prior to the beginning of the recent annual CAP Utah conference, attendees were invited to join a poverty simulation. About 80 took advantage of the opportunity to walk in the shoes of their clients. The simulation took place for an hour and was designed to simulate a month living in poverty. The exercise allowed poverty specialists an insight into the lives of their clients.

    Participants were assigned an identity and they were sent to sit in family groups. If they did not find a family group when they walked in they went to the homeless shelter. Community services were put on the walls around the room and facilitators sat at the tables under their respective signs.

Participants were given transportation allotments, an assigned income, some basic family resources and a bevy of impediments to success. Some of the barriers to financial success were being elderly, disabled, having disabled family members, being underage, recently being divorced, being teenaged parents or grandparents caring for grandchildren and a few didn’t have families at all. Several participants had limited English and struggled to communicate with their communities.  For the next hour participants rushed from their jobs to errands. They stood in long lines and community services closed before they were able to get in.

“I really felt a sense of desperation. All these people were in the same situation as me and I just stopped caring. I wanted to climb over them, “ said one participant following the exercise. She works full time helping people living in poverty access community resources.

In the beginning people were orderly and respectful. By week three people had pawned most of their family possessions including basic appliances. Some were stealing from each other and one participant robbed the bank.

By the fourth week this microcosm of society had totally broken down. Children had not been fed and the police couldn’t not keep up with complaints.

“I was surprised how much people cheated.  They did things they normally wouldn’t do out of desperation.” said  ’42 year old Albert’ who was actually a young woman.

Being poor is extremely stressful, so stressful in fact that health conditions may develop as a result of stress. Preexisting conditions are exacerbated by the daily toll worry and frustration cause the poor. Routine tasks when one is poor are often impossible. Something as simple as a trip to a grocery store that is too far away to walk to can cause enormous amounts of anxiety and seem impossible.

“At one point I pawned some jewelry and a camera for two 13 year old girls and I didn’t want to give them their money,” said one man.

There is sometimes an assumption that benefits are simple to obtain, large and extravagant. Benefits aren’t simple for people with low incomes to obtain. Food Stamp benefits only cover a portion of food expenses and are meant to be temporary. The program is not designed to provide all of the food one needs. Food stamps cannot be used to purchase anything other than food such as toiletries, soap, or women’s hygiene items. Salt Lake CAP works with those in poverty to find community resources. Sometimes people living in poverty are sent running around only to find an agency no longer has the funding for a program.

“The church sent me to the agency over there and then they didn’t have they help that I needed and I didn’t have the right paperwork. I never did make it to get a job because I was running in circles,” said a young woman holding a blue baby doll. The doll was her infant in the simulation.

 This is often the case. Obtaining help can be frustrating.  For instance, in order to receive SNAP or food stamp benefits applicants don’t speak to a caseworker. They are required to use a phone. They commonly have to call the Utah state office multiple times in order to maintain benefits, complete paperwork and call wait times routinely exceed 15 minutes. For someone with no home phone and/ or a limited cell phone plan you can see how even getting a simple question answered can be a challenge. Benefit recipients can use a phone at a DWS office.  DWS recently put much of their access online to help with long call waiting times and set up a login system for benefit recipients.  It is a good first step but for people without a computer, internet and few computer skills, it may still be impossible to utilize.

Collectively, community agencies are making an effort to work together and help those people living in poverty take steps that will lift them out of poverty. In order to best serve their clients it is helpful for workers to understand where they are coming from. If they have not lived in poverty themselves they must seek out experiences in order to help them better understand their clients. The poverty simulation provided badly needed insight for many Utah poverty agency workers.

“ I understand now. This is why people do what they do. The desperation is overwhelming…. Being a social service worker is very difficult. You give them a list of what they should do and often they lose it. Now I see it’s just too much for them to handle. They yell at me. Now I see they are stressed but you know many times I do take it personally in my job. Now I won’t and I will listen more, ” said one Salt Lake advocate.

The poverty simulation was designed to further understanding in order to better serve the poor. For most participants it did just that.
 

Many do.

Thousands of Utahns do know the sting of poverty and exist in the shadows of our vibrant communities. Hundreds of advocates work each day to support those in our cities and towns who are marginalized. Community Action Partnership of Utah held it’s annual poverty conference last week. Hundreds of social workers, advocates and people from state and private agencies that serve the poor were in attendance.

This last year President Obama proposed deep cuts to Community Service Block Grants or CSBGs . These federal grants, distributed by the states, fund much of the anti poverty work in our communities and in towns across the United States. Anti poverty work helps the most fragile members of society. Anti poverty work, like the work done by CSBG funds often keeps people alive. In Utah CSBG funds food pantries, rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention, and job readiness programs.

Most of us who have a computer to read a blog online are lucky. We probably have the ability to purchase a modest steak when we feel like grilling. A trip to the grocery store doesn’t leave us keeping detailed totals in our heads and wringing our hands at the register. We can buy toiletries like toothpaste, toilet paper and shampoo when we need to. If we get a cavity we go to a dentist. There is no chance that a cavity will lead to a life threatening situation. Most of you reading this have adequate access to transportation to get to work, errands and appointments.

    Prior to the beginning of the recent annual CAP Utah conference, attendees were invited to join a poverty simulation. About 80 took advantage of the opportunity to walk in the shoes of their clients. The simulation took place for an hour and was designed to simulate a month living in poverty. The exercise allowed poverty specialists an insight into the lives of their clients.

    Participants were assigned an identity and they were sent to sit in family groups. If they did not find a family group when they walked in they went to the homeless shelter. Community services were put on the walls around the room and facilitators sat at the tables under their respective signs.

Participants were given transportation allotments, an assigned income, some basic family resources and a bevy of impediments to success. Some of the barriers to financial success were being elderly, disabled, having disabled family members, being underage, recently being divorced, being teenaged parents or grandparents caring for grandchildren and a few didn’t have families at all. Several participants had limited English and struggled to communicate with their communities.  For the next hour participants rushed from their jobs to errands. They stood in long lines and community services closed before they were able to get in.

“I really felt a sense of desperation. All these people were in the same situation as me and I just stopped caring. I wanted to climb over them, “ said one participant following the exercise. She works full time helping people living in poverty access community resources.

In the beginning people were orderly and respectful. By week three people had pawned most of their family possessions including basic appliances. Some were stealing from each other and one participant robbed the bank.

By the fourth week this microcosm of society had totally broken down. Children had not been fed and the police couldn’t not keep up with complaints.

“I was surprised how much people cheated.  They did things they normally wouldn’t do out of desperation.” said  ’42 year old Albert’ who was actually a young woman.

Being poor is extremely stressful, so stressful in fact that health conditions may develop as a result of stress. Preexisting conditions are exacerbated by the daily toll worry and frustration cause the poor. Routine tasks when one is poor are often impossible. Something as simple as a trip to a grocery store that is too far away to walk to can cause enormous amounts of anxiety and seem impossible.

“At one point I pawned some jewelry and a camera for two 13 year old girls and I didn’t want to give them their money,” said one man.

There is sometimes an assumption that benefits are simple to obtain, large and extravagant. Benefits aren’t simple for people with low incomes to obtain. Food Stamp benefits only cover a portion of food expenses and are meant to be temporary. The program is not designed to provide all of the food one needs. Food stamps cannot be used to purchase anything other than food such as toiletries, soap, or women’s hygiene items. Salt Lake CAP works with those in poverty to find community resources. Sometimes people living in poverty are sent running around only to find an agency no longer has the funding for a program.

“The church sent me to the agency over there and then they didn’t have they help that I needed and I didn’t have the right paperwork. I never did make it to get a job because I was running in circles,” said a young woman holding a blue baby doll. The doll was her infant in the simulation.

 This is often the case. Obtaining help can be frustrating.  For instance, in order to receive SNAP or food stamp benefits applicants don’t speak to a caseworker. They are required to use a phone. They commonly have to call the Utah state office multiple times in order to maintain benefits, complete paperwork and call wait times routinely exceed 15 minutes. For someone with no home phone and/ or a limited cell phone plan you can see how even getting a simple question answered can be a challenge. Benefit recipients can use a phone at a DWS office.  DWS recently put much of their access online to help with long call waiting times and set up a login system for benefit recipients.  It is a good first step but for people without a computer, internet and few computer skills, it may still be impossible to utilize.

Collectively, community agencies are making an effort to work together and help those people living in poverty take steps that will lift them out of poverty. In order to best serve their clients it is helpful for workers to understand where they are coming from. If they have not lived in poverty themselves they must seek out experiences in order to help them better understand their clients. The poverty simulation provided badly needed insight for many Utah poverty agency workers.

“ I understand now. This is why people do what they do. The desperation is overwhelming…. Being a social service worker is very difficult. You give them a list of what they should do and often they lose it. Now I see it’s just too much for them to handle. They yell at me. Now I see they are stressed but you know many times I do take it personally in my job. Now I won’t and I will listen more, ” said one Salt Lake advocate.

The poverty simulation was designed to further understanding in order to better serve the poor. For most participants it did just that.
 

 

Those there learned that lobbying is not about fancy lunches, golf games, and guys in suits. Citizen lobbyists can give representatives heartfelt reasons to support, do away with, or create  certain legislation. Lobbying is about relationships, building relationships and maintaining working relationships. Studies have shown that citizens are many times more influential than lobbyists.

If you live in the US and you vote, you have every reason to get to know your representatives and begin a working relationship with your reps. Representatives are often happy to meet with constituents just to hear their concerns about how the state is being run, regardless of there being specific legislation about an issue.

Too many times citizen lobbyists sit home believing that only big corporate interests can have a say in government. It is vital that people understand that human interests must come first.

Sharing our personal stories and telling our reps why legislation should pass or fail is our right to participate in the system. If we don’t tell those we elect to office about our communities, our families and our lives we can’t expect our reps to understand why and how laws affect us.

Visiting the Capitol

Find your representatives at http://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp

You can always call your rep at home, on their cell phone, email them, or write them. Another option is speaking to your representative during the session. Please see the lower section “Tips for Communication.”

You can send a note into your representative from the 3rd floor of the Capitol. The people sitting at the tables outside the Senate and House chambers wearing either green or blue jackets will give you a piece of paper and carry the note in for you.

It is also a good idea just to go in and observe how arguments are made on the floor and basic bill processes. Go to the 4th floor of the State Capitol and enter the viewing areas. The House is located in the West end of the Capitol and the Senate is located on the North end of the Capitol.

You can also call your rep ahead of time and schedule a meeting with them.

Tips for Communication

You have every right to communicate with your representatives and some would say you have a civic responsibility.  Communicate with your rep via mail, e-mail, telephone, on Facebook, on Twitter, on blogs, but especially in person and at events.

Things to remember:

1. It is good to have a specific bill in mind especially during the legislative session. Find one you are interested in here. http://le.utah.gov/dtforms/AllBills.html You can search for specific keywords.
2. Use your personal stories that relate to an issue to relate to your legislator.
3. Keep it brief. Your rep is very busy especially during the session. If you would like a longer visit or group visit make an appointment. Your legislator should be happy to meet with you.
4. Bring something in writing with your concerns, name, address and telephone number. Give it to your rep after you speak to them. If you give them this in the beginning they may cut your visit short.
5. Organize! If you and a group of friends are interested in a bill you may want to structure a lobbying visit. Here is a great resource about how to structure a group lobbying trip.
6. Do your research. Try and find out how the legislator has voted before on a bill. Know what makes them tick and what might persuade them to see your side.
7. Don’t forget an ask. It’s important to tell a rep how you feel, but don’t forget that you should ask them to do something specific. IE: vote “no” vote “yes” or fix a specific part of a bill.
8. Be honest. You are building a relationship with your rep. Hopefully this won’t be the last time you speak to them so stay in communication.
9. Be polite. Even if your rep doesn’t agree with you, they are more likely to work with you in the future if you keep the channels of communication open.
10. If you are disappointed in the way they voted on something or about a bill they supported tell them politely. It is okay to say you disagree.
11. Remember participating in government is a citizen’s right and it can be an empowering and fun experience.
12. Remember participating in government can also be disappointing but remember you are just getting started. Don’t give up too soon.

Following up with Your Representatives

1. When the votes are over don’t forget to say “Thank You” to your rep. Being a representative is hard work and they will appreciate that you notice their hard work.
2. Send a follow up note or e-mail. Always keep it personal and try to never send mass e-mails.
3. When you find a rep you like get involved. Keep in touch and help them with issues in your neighborhood. You may even want to volunteer for their campaigns.
4. Follow up if you are disappointed in a vote as well.
5. Follow up on social media like Facebook, blog posts, and twitter. Think about writing a blog post about your story and how you are affected by legislation. Post your blog on your rep’s Facebook page.

Following and Tracking Legislation

Go to the website http://le.utah.gov/

Read through the titles and summaries of bills. You can sign up to receive e-mail alerts whenever anything in any bill changes. If you have a hard time understanding a bill call a community group that might be working for or against it. They may have some valuable insights.

The first step for a bill is in a committee. Lots of things happen in committee meetings. People can testify for or against a bill. Bills can be put in committees early in the mornings and you should check the website often if there is  bill you care about. The agenda items for committee meetings often change.

Many of the committee meetings are held outside the Capitol in one of the three buildings in back.

Bill Process:

Rules Committee-The first place a bill goes in the process. Here the bill waits to be assigned to a committee. A bill can be killed in rules if the reps on the committee vote against it’s advancement.

Standing Committee-  A place to testify about the bill, call a bill sponsor to sign up to give your testimony or collaborate with a group opposing a bill if you so choose.

Floor Debate & Vote- The process varies but you are always welcome to sit in on a debate and some reps allow you to text them during the debate.

Second House- If the bill passes it then travels then to the opposite House and goes through the same steps-

Following the Approval in the House and Senate the bill passes to the Governors desk for his or her signature of veto. A bill automatically becomes law even if the Governor doesn’t sign it so long as it isn’t vetoed.

The Take Away

You have taken the first steps to participate in the process. Congratulations!

The real work begins after a session. Give your reps some time to recuperate but talk to them year round. You might even have a great idea for a bill that they may want to run next year, so keep in touch.

In the future you may run for office or collaborate with your representative.

99% of politics is just showing up. If you are there, you are calling reps, you are in the meetings, you have a chance to have your reps hear your voice and you give them the opportunity to work for you.

Last, don’t forget to friend your reps on Facebook and “LIKE” their pages as well as following their blogs and Twitter accounts. It’s a great space to talk about what is happening in your neighborhood.

New unemployment numbers can be discouraging and some American communities are seeing unemployment rates as high as 36%. These numbers, combined with desperate calls for food donations to food pantries with empty shelves emphasizes the need to empower those living in poverty to be empowered.

Those working with the impoverished can collaborate with those in need to find empowering and non-traditional solutions to hunger. It is not possible, in every case to help someone find ways to feed oneself besides food stamps but it is possible to help a few people be able to gather

Perhaps the easiest way to empower someone who struggles from hunger is to break conforming food patterns that cause illness, diabetes and pour grocery dollars into empty calories.

Eating habits are learned from one’s own environment and financial constraints and therefore forced upon people without money.

Tips for making the most out of your grocery dollar:

1- Skip the extra calories by skipping drinks:

Flavored drinks, even most fruit juices are empty calories and are loaded with sugars that will add to obesity. Juice is often sweetened with apple juice from concentrate and provides little to no nutritional value. It is always best to eat a piece of fruit. Drink water and pregnant and nursing mothers and children should drink the recommended daily allowance of milk. Begin carrying a re-usable water bottle with you that you can fill from the tap to resist the temptation to buy sugary drinks.

2- Say no to sugar and corn syrup when you buy peanut butter and other foods like ketchup, cereals and canned foods. Eating sugary, sweet foods often triggers hunger and poor eating. Skip it to feel healthier, prevent obesity and diabetes. Be aware of hidden sugars in processed food.

3- Buy a little bit healthier and heartier whole grain noodles, cereals, and breads when they are on sale. You will eat less and feel fuller and don’t forget to add frozen veggies and fruits.

4- Consider subscribing to a CSA farm share;

Community Supported Agriculture brings farmers and buyers in direct contact for the best savings on whole, fresh produce. CSA shares sometimes include local cheeses, organic eggs and meat. Google CSA and the name of your city to find share deliveries near you. Many anti-poverty agencies run CSAs. If you live in an urban area there is a good chance there is one near you. In Salt Lake County Crossroads Urban Center sells affordable CSA shares through it’s Community Food Co-op.

5- Skip the pre-packaged snack foods. If it comes in a box, a bag or a can chances are, there is little nutrition. Those snacks may add to the chances of getting diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Try replacing snacks in a box with homemade popcorn, fruit, or crisp vegetables. Remember, vegetables and fruit are often too expensive for those living with hunger to buy.

6- Meat can be expensive. For less a more affordable source of protein try eggs. They can be mixed with rice, fried, baked on bread, cooked with noodles and more. If you are really adventurous you might try raising chickens in a backyard coop.

7- Don’t forget to go to the food pantry. There are multiple food pantries in urban Utah communities. You can find one near you by visiting the Utah Food Bank website. The pantries are run by volunteers and anti-poverty advocates. The Salt Lake Community Action Program runs six pantries in Salt Lake and Tooele Counties. There are limits to the number of visits one can make.

*If you are having trouble feeding your family and you have not applied for SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps please do. There is no shame in admitting you need help in this tough economy.  Food stamps cannot buy all of your groceries but are often a great help when times are tough.

You can apply for SNAP benefits online by clicking on this link.