Henry Shelton usually finds his way into this space in early June, crusading for a summer job program for teenagers. A lifelong political activist, Shelton runs the George A. Wiley Center on East Avenue in Pawtucket. Among its many offshoots is a program called the “Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Poverty.”
Each year, Shelton finds himself with the same dilemma. Lots of kids – not many jobs.
But that’s a story for later.
Right now, Shelton and the Wiley Center are embarking on an important year and waiting until nearly summer to touch base with him would be a disservice.
As it turns out, this is the 15th anniversary of the “Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Poverty.” It coincides with the 40th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty.”
So Shelton is gearing up – first for the organization’s annual conference on Feb. 7 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, but also for the 2004 legislative session, which he hopes will be a fruitful one for the downtrodden.
There has been measurable progress in recent years, including breakfast programs in public schools, the passage of a state earned income tax credit and participation in a $5 million low-income housing campaign.
But the work for Shelton and others who do what he does, never goes away. And sadly, there is evidence that the war on poverty – here in Rhode Island and elsewhere – is largely being lost. It is why so many churches and synagogues have had to open their halls at night as shelters. It is why so many soup kitchens are running out of food.
“We are keenly aware that the gap in Rhode Island, the United States and the world between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ seems to be growing,” says Shelton.
He points out that according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 2003 report, requests for emergency food assistance have increased by an average of 13 percent.
And there’s more, according to Shelton:
• 2004 will mark the 15th year that thousands of Rhode Island’s poorest children who participate in the Family Assistance Program will have gone without a cost-of-living increase. The last raise was approved in 1989.
• 21,342 families lost either their gas or electricity in 2003 and the Public Utilities Commission rejected an affordable energy plan presented by a coalition of community groups that would have drastically reduced the number of shut-offs. An appeal to the state Legislature is planned.
Shelton hopes that a “strength in numbers” approach will pay dividends. The Wiley Center is part of the “One Rhode Island Coalition,” a collection of more than 100 community groups. The coalition has a game plan – one it plans to present to the governor and General Assembly.
It includes several components. One is an energy bill that would allow people eligible for federal assistance to make payments for heat, gas and electricity based on about 7 percent of their income. Payments would be long-term.
Shelton knows it is a controversial proposal. But not as far-fetched, he says, as one might think.
“Some people see this as a real gift to the poor,” he says. “But you and I pay 3 or 4 percent of our total income for gas, oil and electric … so it’s a more than a lot of us do. For thousands of Rhode Islanders, gas and electricity is not affordable.”
Shelton’s biggest challenge is to find legislators to join his causes. He mentions that Rep. Thomas Slater, of Providence, and Sen. Elizabeth Roberts, of Cranston, have been especially helpful.
“We try to get sympathetic legislators to head these issues,” says Shelton.
The political climate can be funny, according to Shelton. While there are countless social service agencies out there, few are effective organizers.
And for too many lawmakers, he says, that’s just as well.
“Most politicians – though they don’t want to admit it – like passive citizens,” he says. “But we want to organize people – to have Democracy in action.”
Shelton hopes the fact that it is the 40th anniversary of the “War on Poverty” will help to draw attention not only to the problem of child poverty, but other social issues.
“Let us resolve to make the 40th anniversary year the year that we become fully engaged,” he says.
Legislators should not shy away from Shelton. He isn’t talking about handouts and social programs gone wild. The proposals he pushes tend to be based on reason, backed by statistics.
And most of them come down to the same thing – finding people jobs. Because crafting laws that will help companies grow and create jobs will allow more Rhode Islanders to become self-sufficient.
That’s what they should be talking about at the state Legislature.
