When: Saturday, October 27, 2007
AT: 11am to 1 pm
Where: Our new home at: Walker Community Church
3104 16th Ave So Minneapolis
Join us for Great Discussions and a Meal! Childcare and rides provided!
Call WRC and Reserve your spot now: 612-822-8020
Want Grass Roots - Volunteer experience, tell us! WRC provides rides and childcare (and more) and YOU can help. If you are driving to the celebration and can pick someone up along the way, let us know.
Thank you all for your continued support!
Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) wins millions of dollars for low-income families in Minnesota!
In 2007, the politicians at the MN state capitol were in business from January until late May. From the beginning the Welfare Rights Committee was there, fighting for poor families' rights. After months of protests, hearings and dedicated hard work, poor people won big victories! WRC WON over $15 million dollars that will directly go back into the pockets of many families receiving welfare! WRC stopped politicians from stealing over $20 million from welfare for low income families!
Our Wins:
$125 SSI Cut: We won on getting rid of the $125 monthly cut to the MFIP grant that we get when we have a family member on SSI. We'll see the $ 2-1-2008.
Child care co-pays: We won on reducing the child care co-pays to what they were back in 2003.
MA co-pays: We won on getting rid co-pays for doctor appointments and therapies, starting soon.
20-hour rule for education: We won on undoing the law that forces us to work 20 hours a week if we want to do post-secondary education as a work activity.
Stopped politicians stealing welfare money: We stopped the governor and other politicians from stealing millions of dollars of welfare money! We will use this $ next year to undo more cuts.
Future Fights:
These ALMOST became law, but we were sold out at the end:
Undo the $50 housing cut: This was killed after the Pawlenty veto.
Undo the family cap: The WRC had a bill to get rid of the family cap - which punishes babies for being born, by not increasing the families' welfare grant. This was killed after the Pawlenty veto.
Undo health care cuts to immigrant kids: Thousands of children lost health care in 2003. Restoring health to these kids was removed in conference committee to give in to Pawlenty's demands.
More extensions to the five year limit: Our bill to give more extension was removed in conference committee by legislators to give in to Pawlenty.
Raise the grants: The first grant increase in 21 years passed both the House and Senate Committees, but politicians did not fund it in the HHS omnibus bill.
Outlaw workfare: Workfare forces us
to work for no pay to get the welfare grant. If there is a job to be done,
make it into a real job with a real wage. Workfare is slave labor. We
made it harder for them to force us into workfare, now
we have to kill it for good.