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Spotlight on Leadership
Little Haiti Action Group
 In this month's video, we take a look at a group of residents in Little Haiti who took their Neighborhood Leadership Program experience to the next level, starting an action group that meets every Tuesday at FANM. |
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HSC counts down to the big count: census 2010
 Groups that serve the community are in a unique position this year to impact the distribution of money to programs for our constituents. By preventing an undercount in the 2010 Census, we will be ensuring adequate funding for government programs such as healthcare, transportation and education, as well as assuring fair and accurate representation in Congress. Each person we count draws down between $800 and $3,500 from the federal government.
The Human Services Coalition and the South Florida Health Council will host a conversation cafe, "We All Count," on February 5 from 10 a.m. to noon to discuss ways community organizations can reach hard-to-count populations and encourage participation in the Census.
The event will be held at HSC's new location, 1900 Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 200. Speakers will include U.S. Census representative Ralph de la Portilla, Social Compact President John Talmage, National Association of Latino Elected Officials Educational Fund Regional Coordinator Jacki Colon, Office of Mayor Alvarez and Florida New Majority. If you work with community groups--particularly if you serve children, immigrants or low-income individuals--you should join the discussion to learn what you can do to make sure we all count! (RSVP through our event on Facebook or contact Caitlin MacLaren.) |
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Prosperity Campaign launches tax prep season
Miami-Dade County
Mayor Carlos Alvarez and other local leaders join the Human
Services Coalition in launching this year's free tax preparation and Earned Income Tax Credit push through the Prosperity Campaign. The kickoff event will
take place on January 29 at 10 a.m. at the Don Shula Hotel in Miami Lakes. The Prosperity Campaign is an
initiative that connects low-wage workers to existing economic benefits programs
such as the Earned Income Tax
Credit. It also seeks to
provide individuals and families with financial literacy
programs that will help them
improve their standard of living and the community's economic stability. This year, more individuals and families will qualify for EITC due to new guidelines. Taxpayers are now able to claim a third qualifying child and can receive up to $5,657 of EITC. The credit is  available to households earning less than $43,279 ($48,279 if married filing jointly) with one or more children; smaller credits are available to those with no children. |
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Nourishing Neighborhoods doubles consumer benefits
 We're happy to announce a new initiative to increase the availability of fresh, local produce in low-income areas. When the new farmers market at Roots in the City community garden in Overtown opens February 18, recipients of Food Stamp (SNAP) or Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits will receive coupons matching each dollar spent at the market up to $10. The Double Value Coupon Program comes from our collaborators, the Wholesome Wave Foundation. They are committed to increasing the availability and affordability of local fruits and vegetables by supporting similar programs across the United States. It is our hope that this undertaking will benefit the health of the community surrounding Roots of the City, as well as local farmers. Time TBD. Join the conversation!
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Movement for immigrant rights grows stronger
 South Florida is home to many immigrant families from Caribbean and Latin American countries who, far too often, are being torn apart because of immigration raids and deportations. In an effort to reform our country's broken immigration system, a group of immigrant students has embarked on a 4-month, 1,500 mile walk from Miami to Washington D.C. Along the way they are meeting with legislators, community activists and regular people to share their stories of struggle as children of immigrants to the United States. They began this journey on the first of the new year and are risking their lives to change the treatment of immigrant families. To find out how you can get involved, please visit www.trail2010.org.
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Conference offers sneak peak at Catalyst Miami
 Florida's largest social entrepreneurship conference, Social Venture Capital/Social Enterprise, Miami, will open at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Wednesday, March 17 and continue through Friday, March 19. Our C.E.O. Daniella Levine will be speaking about Catalyst Miami, HSC's new capacity building venture, on the final day of the conference. Additional topics to be covered include networking, building entrepreneurial non-profits and raising money for non-profits.
One-day and three-day tickets are available, as well as special prices for non-profit leaders. For information on non-profit scholarships email info@connectionmiami.com (subject line: np scholarships). |
CrisisCamp, Miami helps relief efforts in Haiti this Saturday
This Saturday, CrisisCamp, a summit devoted to improving the use of technology for humanitarian crisis management and disaster relief, will bring together volunteers to collaborate on technology projects which aim to assist in Haiti's relief efforts by providing data, information, maps and technical assistance to NGOs, relief agencies and the public.
CrisisCamp will be held at the Miami Heral building downtown. Doors open at 12:00 p.m. and the program runs until 5:00 p.m. For more info, contact crisiscampmiami@gmail.com. |
Food and medical supply drive for Haiti this Saturday
The next three Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. our Public Allies will be holding a food and supply drive at 900 NE 125th St. North Miami, FL 33161. |
Advocacy training with Florida Coalition for the Homeless
The Florida Coalition for the Homeless has scheduled advocacy tele-trainings again this year to help new and seasoned advocates prepare for the 2010 state legislative session and homeless advocacy day.
The following dates are scheduled for teleconference Advocacy Training Sessions:
Friday, February 5 - Introduction to Advocacy
Friday, February 12 - 2010 Homeless Issues
Friday, February 19 - Introduction to Advocacy (repeat)
Friday, February 26 - 2010 Homeless Issues (repeat) All trainings are from 10 to 11am. To join the teleconference training please contact Lesa Weikel at lesa@homelessofhc.org. |
Stories for senior financial literacy project needed
The Human Services Coalition is collaborating with the Nightly Business Report, a national program on WPBT, to produce television features about financial struggles affecting the elderly. HSC is seeking seniors willing to share their stories of economic hardship on camera. The purpose of these segments is to educate viewers on how to avoid similar situations, highlight the current financial system's failure to protect the elderly and give a human voice to seemingly impersonal financial topics. This is an exciting opportunity for the community!
The topics addressed include predatory lending, reverse mortgages, consumer fraud and government benefits among others. If you know a senior who has experienced these or other financial difficulties and are interested in sharing their story please contact me or Cal Soto at cals@hscdade.org or by phone at 305-576-5001 ext. 16. | |
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