Idaho

The Homeless Alliance of New York says that $9.25 a day is about how much someone living under the federal poverty guidelines has left after paying for housing and clothing. The group issued a “poverty challenge” recently asking participants in the challenge “to start with an allotment of $9.25 on Tuesday and Wednesday and to live within those means for two days.” For more information on the challenge, please see the article by clicking here. Though this might be an enlightening activity for some, for others it’s the reality they live with every day. Think about how to feed your family on $9.25  a day? What happens to ‘luxuries’ such as a car, medical care, etc?

From the AP wire… “From subsistence farmers eating rice in Ecuador to gourmets feasting on escargot in France, consumers worldwide face rising food prices in what analysts call a perfect storm of conditions. Freak weather is a factor. But so are dramatic changes in the global economy, including higher oil prices, lower food reserves and growing consumer demand in China and India.

The world’s poorest nations still harbor the greatest hunger risk. Clashes over bread in Egypt killed at least two people last week, and similar food riots broke out in Burkina Faso and Cameroon this month.” To read the rest of this article, please click here.

The Idaho Partners for Homebuyer Education, Inc., a 501(c)(3) created by IHFA and several organizations statewide, has designed an education program called Finally Home!® to help address many issues that potential home owners face. The program covers all the steps involved in making that big investment, from qualifying for a mortgage and choosing a Realtor®, to making an offer and closing costs.Participants who successfully complete Finally Home!® may be eligible for the following incentives:

Down payment and closing cost assistance

Programs that accept higher debt ratios

Using “gifted funds” at closing

More than 14,000 students statewide have been educated through the program since its inception in 1999. Approximately 200 classes are offered statewide each year through eight regional training partners. The Idaho Partners for Homebuyer Education, Inc. anticipate educating 2,500 during 2006.

CLASS SCHEDULE:

Designed specifically for first-time home buyers, classes are taught throughout the state by regional training partners. Click on a location near you for class schedules:

The fee for the classroom course is $10 per student except the classes held in Lewiston. Community Action Partnership, the Regional Training Partner is Lewiston, initially charges $10 for the class but refunds it upon completion.

	Adams County and Valley County
	Boise
	Caldwell
	Coeur d’Alene
	Idaho Falls
	Lewiston
	Nampa
	Pocatello
	Post Falls
	Hailey
	Valley County

An online course is also available statewide. The online course can be accessed at: www.ihfa.org/FinallyHomeOnlineCourse, and the fee for the online course is $50.

From a recent article on Yahoo News… “The gap between rich and poor in many states has broadened at a quickening pace since the last U.S. recession, which could make it difficult for low-income families to weather the current economic downturn, according to a report issued Wednesday.” For the full article, please click here.

Idaho Horizons is part of a large-scale poverty reduction/leadership development program funded by the Northwest Area Foundation. Six other states and their communities have blogs that are authored by community members just like you. Check out what those communities are doing by starting at the state pages and exploring. These blogs are informative, interesting AND inspiring…

• Iowa (click on a community blog listed in the ‘blog roll’)
• North Dakota (click on a community blog listed in the ‘blog roll’)
• South Dakota (click on a community blog listed in the ‘blog roll’)
• Minnesota (click on a community blog listed in the ‘blog roll’)
• Montana (click on a community blog listed in the ‘blog roll’)
• Washington State (click on each individual community and then click on their ‘blogspot’ link)

Some Idaho hunger statistics from the Idaho Food Bank:

–An average of 66,300 (14.6%) Idaho families worried they could not afford food (known as food insecurity) between 2002 and 2004. And 17,377 (3.7%) families had members who actually went hungry (food insecurity with hunger) during the same period. This makes Idaho the 8th hungriest state in the country.

–In another study, the US Department of Agriculture ranked Idaho the 4th worst hunger state and found that 4.5% (22,098) of Idaho households experienced hunger between 1999-2001. In its previous study, done between 1996-98, USDA rated Idaho in a tie for 25th. This descent, from 25th to 4th, was the second worst among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Only Utah’s decline was worse. (USDA: Household Food Security in the US, December 2002)

The Idaho Food Bank website has info on how to organize a food drive in your own community as well as other statistics and resources for your community and information about programs such as ‘Grow a Row’ (planting extra plants in your own garden to donate to food banks or other organizations).

Rules:
Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 1 (no jokes about April Fool’s day!) by midnight and be entered in the drawing for a fabulous prize.

Reflective Question: How is your community thinking about/planning for sustainability after the end of the Horizons program on June 30? What will Horizons-related groups look like in your community in one year? Are you optimistic/worried? (relieved?)

Scavenger Hunt Question: Which community has been approved to receive a $65,000 Idaho Community Development Block Grant for work on their city water reservoir?

HINT: don’t forget to check ‘previous entries’ (the link at the bottom of the blog page, or check archives in the column on the right)

This week’s winner will receive BOTH of the following books:

The Magic of Dialogue : Transforming Conflict into Cooperation by Daniel Yankelovich

Population: 485 –Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry

More free cartoons available at weblogcartoons.com

Find out using the Southern Rural Development Initiative’s Federal Funds Analysis Program. You can also find out what types of local programs are receiving federal funding and how local federal funding compares to that of neighboring counties.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service provides access to reports on a variety of rural development strategies. Reports include Education as a Rural Development Strategy; Recreation, Tourism and Rural Well-Being and Farm-Based Recreation. Check out other research available from their Rural Development Strategies Briefing Room.

“Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain.” A recent article in the Financial Times summarized research presented at a recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Research indicates “many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.” For more information please read the article here (free but user must register) and this New York Times editorial (free access) that discusses the article. Another good article about the research findings is available here (free).

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) sometimes called the Earned Income Credit (EIC), is a refundable federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. Congress originally approved the tax credit legislation in 1975 in part to offset the burden of social security taxes and to provide an incentive to work. When the EITC exceeds the amount of taxes owed, it results in a tax refund to those who claim and qualify for the credit.

To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they did not earn enough money to be obligated to file a tax return.

The EITC has no effect on certain welfare benefits. In most cases, EITC payments will not be used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, low-income housing or most Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) payments.

Find out if you are eligible for the EITC by answering some questions and providing basic income information using the EITC Assistant.

What kind of world do we live in where people are reduced to eating dirt in order to sustain themselves and their families? Recent media coverage has highlighted the fact that some Haitians (the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere) have to rely on eating and selling ‘cookies’ made out of mud in order to feed their families. This really highlights the seriousness of poverty as a global issue and how the politics of poverty destroys hope for so many.

“Labels are for cans, not for children” states third grade teacher Valorie Lewis of Stigler, Oklahoma. Lewis overcame many childhood hardships growing up in severe poverty (including living in a horsetrailer for over a year) and she now works daily to instill a sense of worth and respect for others in her pupils in the high poverty school district she teaches in. Check out this inspiring article from USA Today here.

From the newly published toolkit, Homes Within Reach: “This toolkit was created as a place to begin a dialogue between stakeholders, and more  specifically, developers and municipal officials—two of the main players in the creation of affordable housing. It offers information about who lives in affordable housing, what developers see as some of the barriers to building it, and ideas for land use planning that encourage its creation. The design portfolio provides examples that range from multi-family development to mixed-use communities to single-family developments that match the surrounding rural landscape.” Follow this link to download the free pdf.

The Study Circles Resource Center has a web article about 2 of our Horizons communities, Bonners Ferry and the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. Check out what your neighbors are up to! The website also talks about other study circles across the nation and the topics they are talking about (education, immigration, racial equality, police & community, etc.)