Most of My Paycheck Goes for Childcare

A few days ago I was talking to a lovely young woman.  She has one small child with another one on the way.  She’s married and has a job that she really likes.  We began talking about what she was going to do when the baby came.  It’s been so long since my own children and grandchildren were small that I knew little to nothing about the hurdles of childcare for young people who are barely living above the poverty level.  When our children were young, my wife was a stay at home mom, so the question never came up about the cost of childcare.  She then said that each child would cost $400.  a child and that was a cut rate since her employer picked up part of the cost.  I asked if there was a break for the second child.  She laughed and said, “you know both children need to be fed and changed and be given attention.  They probably should charge more for the second one.”  She then said, “Childcare will take most of my take home salary.”  Her answer angered me.  Why should this woman who loved her job and loved her family have to make the choice of either quitting her job or basically working for nothing.  As I heard her answer, I thought about women who had no husband or other family to help.  What do low income single mothers with children do to get by.  So, I decided to do a little research and see what other countries did in the way of childcare for working parents.  I was appalled at what I found.

Family Leave in the United States

“The FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) provides the right to a short (12-week), jobprotected parental leave for workers who meet qualifying conditions (that is, those who work in firms of at least 50 employees and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the prior year). Because of these qualifying conditions, fewer than one-half of the nation’s private-sector workers are eligible for leave guaranteed by the FMLA.5,6 A further limitation of the FMLA as a family leave policy is that it does not include any income replacement or pay during the leave; as a result, some workers who are eligible for leave do not take it.7 ” (See Table 1 :not shown here)

“Countries also vary in the extent to which the costs of child care are borne by government or by parents.26,27 Although data are not available for all countries, the pattern of results in Table 2 indicates that here, too, the United States lags behind other countries. One estimate suggests that the U.S. government covers 25% to 30% of the cost of child care for children under age three and children ages three to six. (This support takes several forms in the United States: tax credits to reimburse parents for child care fees, subsidies given to parents, and care that is purchased for free or at a reduced cost.) In the other countries for which data are available (Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and Sweden), government funds the majority of the costs of care, covering between 68% and 100% of the costs depending on the country and the age of the child.” (show table 2 not shown here)

In other countries Family Medical leave can be from one to three years with some countries providing income replacement.  After family leave has expired most of these same countries provide some form of subsidized or complete childcare.

For volumes 14, No. 2 and before, please use this attribution: “From The Future of Children, a publication of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation from 1991 to 2004.”

For volumes 15, No. 1 and all subsequent journals and written materials, please use this attribution: “From The Future of Children, a collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution.”

The health and education of children are greatly influenced by early childhood development and nurturing.  If you were to consider the educational achievement in those countries having a liberal family leave and childcare programs, you might be able to make inferences to why those countries have a higher educational achievement and the U.S. lags behind those same countries.  Many school district in the U.S. provide some form of early childhood intervention.  However, they are only partial educational interventions which still require parents to leave work early to take care of the children.

It would seem that one of the richest countries in the world could help provide a more liberal program for family leave and childcare.  This is particularly true as it affects the working poor.  Affluent families are more able to provide these benefits to their children and families.

This is not just an issue that affects my young friend in Alief.  It affects millions of families all over America.

Alief’s Twenty Square Miles of Violence →

     Do you think we have enough bullets?

The Houston Chronicle recently reported on murders committed in Houston in the last year.  There were approximately 200 murders in Houston in an area of over 600 square miles.  In a corridor of 20 square miles from Bissonet to Richmond Ave.  and a mile on each side of the Southwest Freeway, there were nearly 30 of those murders.  Quoting the Chronicle

“Nearly half of the murders in District 19 were clustered within a half mile of one another, in and around a string of apartment complexes along f few blocks of Forum Park Drive to Bissonnet Street.”

This is the area where “six brave mothers and grandmothers” (see previous blog article) went to over 400 apartment units to enlist support for cleaning up the community and assisting the school.  As a result of their efforts the community addressed such issues as prostitution, drug dealing, inadequate housing and crime including murders on some of their door steps.  As a result prostitution, drug dealing and other crime are down and there is a sense of trust among community members.  Mothers walking their children no longer have to contend with used condoms on the sidewalk or navigate around used needles. This is not a one time effort though.  It has to be ongoing and coordinated.  The mothers, grandmothers and businesses  need to continue their efforts.  The Alief ISD with it’s family engagement program, churches, other non-profits and the International Management District, and city councilman Mike Laster, must address these issues as a high priority.  And it has to be a coordinated effort.  The police cannot do it alone.  If you haven’t already done so, check out the documentary video called “Alief Hoods”.  It’s on the Blog Roll.  It gives one perspective of what many of the young men and women in the area call “the West”  see as their turf.

As Sgt. Walter Gaw of the HPD Westside Division says:

“People who live here need to report the things,” he said, “instead of turning a blind eye and keeping it shut inside.”

TMO (The Metropolitan Organization) has been instrumental in assisting parents at Best Elementary as well as other community leaders in their efforts to clean up the community, but making the community safe and economically viable will have to be a concerted effort.  There are no easy fixes.

Follow the ongoing effort of TMO and others to bring people together to make “the West” and “the corridor of violence”  a proud example of Alief’s ability to revitalize its schools and community.

click on map

Go to the bottom left of the map to Bissonet.

That’s the beginning of the 10 miles.  Go up Hwy 59 to near the top at Westpark.

Those are the 10 miles.  Refer to this map in subsequent articles

Please! Don’t Use My Name

This lady would have protested greatly if I said that she’s a saint so I changed to title of the article.  But I can’t find a better description for what she has done in the past and what she continues to do in the Alief community.   She was a teacher in Alief schools for many years and saw Alief transition from being an all white middle class community to a community where over 85 languages are spoken, with problems of abject poverty and homelessness, contrasted with wealth and civic pride among this diverse community.  She is also a valued leader with TMO and a member of Memorial Drive United Methodist.  She was an active contributor in community assistance programs that offered food assistance, ESL classes, and a variety of other services.  She also has been instrumental to raising funds for immunizations for children.   With TMO her passion for justice was also instrumental in raising awareness of the Winfield I condominiums referenced in another tmoalief.com blog article.  As stated in that article TMO with the city councilman and the mayor were able to have those abandoned condominiums razed.

Her  latest passion is the plight of the homeless in Alief.  (see blog articles on homelessness).  Over 1000 children in Alief were homeless over Christmas.  Currently, she is focusing efforts to help a family who was in danger of being evicted during the holidays.  The woman works as a janitor and is paid $300. every two weeks and the apartment rent is $519. per month plus electricity and water.  The woman has three children and is undocumented.  Her husband took off in the fall and she has heard nothing more since.  You do the math.  In Alief, and all over Houston and America this story can be repeated over and over.

In  the weeks and months to come TMO will be working with leaders in Alief to gain funding for the homeless and identifying other social justice issues in Alief where a constituency can be built.  In order to make an impact we must develop a constituency to enlist the city, non profits and other governmental agencies to fund programs for the homeless.  TMO  will be meeting with churches, the schools, the management district, city councilpersons, and governmental bodies to focus on the plight of the homeless.  We know that if Alief is to be successful in making an impact on homelessness, it is important to develop a community constituency of support because the issue is not always popular.  Some groups when confronted with these kinds of issues have the response of “not in my backyard”.  We also know that funding in Houston that is earmarked for the homeless will have constituents in other parts of Houston who want to have the funding going to their projects.  So, gaining community support is important.  As a part of building a constituency it is important to find leaders who share in the vision for change.  Ferreting these leaders out is a challenge since there are hard challenges requiring perseverance and creativity and can only be effective with people working together.

Sometimes one person can be the catalyst to raise awareness of an issue to its place of importance.  But then, if the issue is truly important others must accept the responsibility of taking an active leadership role to make change happen.  That is our challenge.  And maybe that’s one reason why she doesn’t want her named used.  It’s not just about her.  It’s about community.  I just wish we had a half dozen others like her.  It could change the whole culture of Alief.

Mercy This Month is Not Enough; What About Next Month? →

In a previous blog article I talked about the number of homeless children in Alief this Christmas.  Early this week a good friend and leader in TMO received a call about a family who was at risk of being put out of their apartment  for non payment of rent.  My friend is the type of person who when she thinks there is a need and no one else is around she will pick up and go.  As it relates to homelessness I have suggested to her and others that if we are to make an impression in the homeless rate in Alief we will need to organize a constituency of churches, mosques, temples, businesses, public officials, and the schools.  But she took it upon herself to try and make a difference in this one family’s life.  And for that she is to be commended.

Homeless people in Alief and other suburban  communities are invisible.  The city of Houston has a vigorous program to housing homeless persons.  One of the reasons for this vigorous program might be that downtown office workers are accosted on a regular basis and there is a built in constituency to alleviate homelessness.  As you might guess, the thrust of the city’s program is in downtown.  In a paradoxical move the city passed an ordinance last year that faith based groups wanting to feed the poor in downtown would have to get permits to do so.  Many of those churches protested to no avail.  But that’s another issue. So, let’s focus on my friends family.

The family was a mother and three children.  She had no SS card which probably meant that she was undocumented.  She spoke little English.  Her husband had abandoned her and the children and taken off to parts unknown.  She worked in a downtown office building making no more than minimum wage.  Because of her status she was not eligible for government assistance.  On her own, my friend has been attempting  to get funding for the homeless in Alief from the city.  So far, she has been unsuccessful but she continues in her efforts.  She would not admit it but I think she paid this months rent.  I asked her what she would do, next month.  She is hopeful of finding an apartment project that will donate an apartment.  The city rep stated that an apartment project could deduct the rent.  However, I talked to my CPA who stated that this was not true.

So, next month the woman is back to square one.  Even if she were to get six months free rent and utilities, the problem for her and other homeless still exist.  Fundamental changes have to occur.

Go back to “There’s a Hole in the Bucket Dear Liza–Redux 1” that elaborates on 16 impediments to the poor.  Not all of these impediments can be alleviated but even if a few key systemic changes can make a significant difference.  Here are just a few  suggestions:

1. Develop a constituency in Alief of organizations and persons concerned about the issues surrounding homelessness and poverty in the suburbs.  Put pressure on city, county, and state officials to address the issue through funding for affordable housing.

2. Develop support groups for the poor within churches, apartment projects and schools.  Isolation is one of the most critical ways the poor are marginalized.   Share groups, roommate services, and bartering programs might be started with the input of the homeless persons.  In order to know the life of homeless persons, we need to know them, to share stories with them and look at them in the eye.

3.  Raise the minimum wage to $15. per hour.–I hope you didn’t stop reading.  You might want to go back and read my article on raising the minimum wage to $15.  That would do more to help take people off the welfare roles and would be a huge savings for the tax payers.  It sounds counterintuitive but it’s true.  Check it out.

4.  Help anglo middle class persons to better understand poverty and that only paying for rent or giving food only keeps the person in a state of dependency and a form of brutality, that keeps persons in a state of constant fear, helplessness, and hopelessness.  And this is not just done by having a study about poverty at your church.  It’s about developing relationships with the poor and those persons with the power to bring about systemic changes.

If there is an answer to homelessness it will require that we bring homelessness and poverty out of the shadows and  acknowledge that it exists.  Then we have to confront the overwhelming myriad of issues that are unearthed.

Mercy without Justice is Brutality →

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”  Micah 6:8

Now, before anyone supposes that I am suggesting that we shut all the food pantries in America and stop giving medical aid around the world let me dispel those ideas.  However, it might be helpful to understand what the terms mercy and justice mean.

Mercy is an immediate response to tragedies such as disastrous weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.  The recipients of such help normally, in time, will be able to reconstruct their lives to where they were before the disaster.  Justice on the other hand is about equity.  It not only restores persons but has a role in changing the system to make persons lives better.  For some reason it seems easier to do acts of mercy rather than acts of justice.  The reason for making issues of justice more difficult is that justice may require that we take a position that challenges our place in the social and economic order.  Let’s look at a hypothetical situation where this might happen.

Mrs. Betty O’neal is a loyal member of a Christian church in any town USA.  Every week she volunteers at a local food pantry and helps distribute food to those in the community who are poor and need the extra help over and above their salaries and government assistance.  Mrs. Lorraine Gonzales is a single parent with two children ages 8 and 10.  She works full time in a downtown office building as a janitor and makes $7.50 per hour before deductions.  She also works at McDonalds during the day for $7.50 per hour.  Her two children are home alone much of the time since their mother works sixty hours per week.  Ms Gonzales comes to the food pantry as often as is allowable to supplement her food budget.  The pantry, because of demand, can only provide assistance once a month.  Ms. O’Neal and Ms. Gonzales have a fairly good relationship and frequently talk about their families and their life challenges.

Today, Ms. Gonzales comes to Ms. O’neal with a special problem.  “Ms. O’neal,  you have always been so kind to me and I cannot think how to repay you and your church.  I feel ashamed that I have to take charity.   But you have never made me feel bad.  I have a special request today.  At the office building where I work the workers are ready to go out on strike for better wages.  We just can’t make it on $7.50 an hour.  I come home dead tired from two jobs and my kids have to fend for themselves.  The apartments we live in have some really seedy characters and i’m worried that something bad’s going to happen to them.  I’ve had to move twice in the last year because I couldn’t pay the rent.  If we don’t get a raise, I don’t know what we’ll do.  So, Ms. O’neal, here’s what I want to ask you.  Can you and your church help the workers in my building while they’re on strike?  I don’t know what that would look like but being able to get food from the pantry more than once a month would be a big help.

If you were Ms. O’neal and a good church member, what would you do?  For Ms. O’neal and her congregation Ms. Gonzales’ question presents a confrontation with an issue of justice.  What alternatives might Ms. O’neal and Ms. Gonzales take to address the issue.

But why do I say that this has elements of  brutality to only continue with doing the same thing as in the past?  Certainly, the food bank is important to the people getting the food.  But it is wrong on several levels.  First, scripture says to “do justice”.  So, we are called to do more than just give mercy or charity.  Secondly, it does nothing to get persons out of poverty.  The unfortunate truth about the poor today is that without fundamental changes in education, wages and employment they will remain in poverty and the probability is good that their children will grow up in the same trap that their parents are in.  But the most insidious effect of such merciful work is that we as the those who provide the aid often consider ourselves righteous for providing food which will only last a little while,  and at a different level harbor negative feelings about those who receive the help as being dependent and indolent.

For every mercy strategy there should be a justice strategy attached.  After giving mercy help, how will we as part of the system ensure that persons finally get out of the cycle of poverty.  Because as a nation, going back over 400 years we have developed a system that often helps maintain persons in poverty and isolation.  In the development and implementation of acts of justice, it must include all phases of the system including those who will be directly involved, the poor.  And changes must not just be piecemeal.  As Pope Francis stated in his Christmas homely,  “we must place ourselves at the service of the poor.”  Not only must it not be piecemeal, but it must be sustained for at least a generation.  And lastly, we must learn from our mistakes and refrain from politicizing the process.  If we have been able to put men on  the moon, we certainly should be able to accomplish this.

Even though the probability that Ms. O’neal’s congregation getting out on the picket line is slim to none, the situation may give Ms. O’neal and Ms. Gonzales the opportunity to get others from the congregation and some of the workers in conversations about what it’s like trying to make ends meet on $7.50 and hour as well as having conversations on how to better one’s life.  Conversations are only the beginning and need to result in further action.

Over One Thousand Children in Alief Will Be Homeless this Christmas

What’s it like being a homeless child, and more sobering, how do you tell your child that you will have to move again or that you’ll have to move into a shelter. If you’re a child who’s not sure where your next meal is coming from, you may hide a few morsels to be sure you have a little something if you aren’t going to have a next meal. And all around you is plenty, but you can’t have any of it. In some cases the safest place during your day is school and occasionally your mother might take you to a church, but the words you hear in church don’t give you a safe place to sleep or a meal to eat and if you’re old enough to understand, you wonder why this God they keep talking about is so mean; that He certainly never did any thing for you or your mother.

According to the Alief ISD homeless liaison over 1000 children are currently homeless. Because of the way the district determines homelessness this number may be dramatically understated. At the end of last school year, the number was over five thousand which is more than 10% of the entire school population. Whatever the number, there are many families in Alief that are on the streets. The district has a program in place that assists families in finding homeless shelters. However, these shelters are primarily in the inner city and require that the district bus these children to and from the shelter. In many cases it over a two hour round trip. For children who are already uprooted this journey to and from school is a traumatic trip. It is also costly for the district which also provides other services to the children. And as a child, what would it be like to have to study and do your homework? Even though growing up I was not homeless I still went to 5 schools in 4 years. It was a traumatic experience and as a result it was not until the middle of my junior year in high school that I began to put the pieces together and discovered how important school was. I can only imagine what its like for children, living in abject poverty, homeless and moving three to four times a year.

Beryl Hogshead, Memorial Drive UMC member and TMO leader is passionate about the plight of homeless children in Alief and is determined to find places in the Alief area where homeless families can be housed until they get back on their feet. Much of the effort by the City of Houston has been with the homeless population in the inner city. But the homeless are with us everywhere in our city. Because of this, there is not the same interest in the issue in Alief. The homeless are among us but we don’t see them. They are invisible and if we were to see them on the street we would turn our eyes from them so that we did not have to see them. There is much of Alief that testifies to our affluence. We see this affluence in our shopping centers and office buildings as well as some of our churches, temples and mosques. All we have to do is to look up and down Bellaire Boulevard to see the wealth. But this affluence will not be available to these children if they are not able to finish school and end up becoming members of the permanent underclass. Beryl and TMO cannot make a change in how we treat the homeless in Alief and the school district is limited in what it can do. In order to bring about a change, congregations and community leaders must first of all acknowledge the problem and then develop a constituency to address the issue. Homelessness is a complex issue. It has many facets and we have to come together and develop a full frontal attack. Otherwise, the picture below will become a reality and we will sink deeper into creating a permanent underclass.

I ask all who see this article to pray that we can bring about a compassionate solution.

Over a thousand children homeless in Alief this Christmas

Over a thousand children homeless in Alief this Christmas

Over a thousand children homeless in Alief this Christmas