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Today's newsletter has two significant new articles, "Contending with Rising Poverty in the Tri-Valley" and "The Human Use of Goods or Material Things, Part 1". It is hoped you will read both of them.
Anyone age 18 or over can volunteer to help with the Alameda County Homeless Count described below.
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The Human Use of "Goods" or "Material Things", Part 1
The October 23 issue of this newsletter had an article about the Catholic doctrine of the "Common Good" or what is mutually beneficial to human beings. Today we will look at Part 1 of Catholic guidelines about our stewardship and use of the plants, animals, minerals and all humanly created goods. These guidelines are important for us to understand because our ability to enjoy God's blessings to us depends our being mindful of the well-being of others and acting out of concern for others. Our concern must extend to everyone, without limits. More importantly, far beyond our own personal happiness the whole of humanity must come to understand and accept guidelines such as these in order to avoid tragedies that may exceed those of the First and Second World Wars.
"God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favoring anyone". We need to find ways to enable everyone to be fed, clothed and protected including infants and children, the elderly, persons who are sick or injured or have disabilities - regardless of their religion, skin color, language or location. As a practical matter, people everywhere need to provide for people in their vicinity as much as possible, but our responsibilities do not end with our immediate neighborhoods. Parents are obligated to care for their children, and as a matter of custom people have obligations to their parents and other relatives. Our obligations to one another are part of the structure of laws, agreements and customs that are part of the texture of any society, but the Church and the Gospel call us to a higher goal.
"The human person cannot do without the material goods that correspond to his primary needs and constitute the basic conditions for his existence; these goods are absolutely indispensable if he is to feed himself, grow, communicate, associate with others, and attain the highest purposes to which he is called". What we as human beings owe to one another extends beyond concern for their physical safety and not allowing them to starve to death.
"Each person must have access to the level of well-being necessary for his full development ". We need to help one another live full and productive lives, to have access to good educations and cultural participation, to interact with others freely, and to develop our individual talents.
Consideration of the human use of goods and material things should inspire us "to develop an economic vision inspired by moral values" and "bring about a world of fairness and solidarity". The production of wealth can and should be "guided by resourcefulness, planning and labor, and used as a means for promoting the well-being of all men and all peoples and for preventing their exclusion and exploitation".
We are called to "a common effort to obtain for every person and for all peoples the conditions necessary for integral development, so that everyone can contribute to making a more humane world, "in which each individual can give and receive, and in which the progress of some will no longer be an obstacle to the development of others, nor a pretext for their enslavement."
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Brief Links
Pope Francis calls for abolishing death penalty and life imprisonment (National Catholic Reporter), linkThe Working Nation (David Brooks, New York Times, Oct. 24), link
Great Communities Collaborative,
http://www.greatcommunities.org/
TransForm's Strategic Plan 2014-2019, link
Child Poverty at highest level in 20 years, link
The Crisis That Changed Pope Francis (Newsweek, Oct. 26), link
Looking to Escape the High Cost of College? These 7 Countries Will Educate You for Free, link
Environmental Efforts in the East Bay (Contra Costa Times article), link
Environmental Efforts in the East Bay, part 2, http://fivecreeks.org/
Dialogue and Proclamation (1991 Vatican document on interreligious dialogue and on the Church's mission of evangelization), link
Opening use of surveillance technology to public debate (East Bay Express, Nov. 12), link
Jesus and the Modern Man (James Carroll, New York Times, June 7), link
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Contending with Rising Poverty in the Tri-Valley
Over 150 people gathered on October 30 to learn about and come to grips with increasing numbers of people living in poverty in the Tri-Valley. Four sponsoring organizations, Kaiser Permanente, the East Bay Community Foundation, the East Bay Leadership Council and Hacienda Helping Hands, invited representatives of many other organizations to join an effort to deal with the problem.
PowerPoint presentations by representatives of the Brookings Institution, the Alameda Health Care Services Agency and the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District vividly portrayed the challenge. Elizabeth Kneebone of the Brookings Institution reported that poverty in the Tri-Valley grew 81% between the year 2000 when there were 8,015 living in poverty and 2008-2010 when there were 14,473. Among the challenges brought on by the suburbanization of poverty are transit access, strained local services, limited philanthropic resources, and change in school populations, she said.
Alex Briscoe of the Alameda County Health Services Agency reported that 15% of the 49,000 under the age of 18 were under 200% of the federal poverty level while 20% of the nearly 20,000 over the age of 65 were.
Kelly Bowers, Superintendent of the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District and a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley, noted that among school districts Livermore Valley has 3266 English language learners, Pleasanton 989 and Dublin 582. She pointed out that suburbs intensify a "culture of comparison" with conspicuous disparities in modes of transportation and living arrangements, among others.
The Tri-Valley Times newspaper published an article about the new initiative to deal with poverty in the Tri-Valley, see article
A meeting is planned for today, November 13, for those who volunteered to help lead the initiative.
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Alameda County Homeless Count, January 29, 2015
It is that time of year again: the Alameda County Homeless Count will be January 29th, 2015. We will be volunteering at hot meal programs, soup kitchens, and drop in centers as part of the countywide and national effort to enumerate how many people are without homes sleeping outdoors, in vehicles, in other places not meant for habitation, or in emergency shelters. The Homeless Count is an all-day event throughout Alameda County where teams of volunteers conduct a survey questionnaire with people who are at those programs and record their responses. These questionnaires are used by statistical researchers to enumerate the homeless population, in turn helping the County better serve their needs. To thank people for their time, all participants receive a pack of tube socks.
Our community uses this data to help us monitor how well we are addressing homelessness and where the gaps are. These food and drop in programs fill a critical need for low-income people in our community and use this data for fundraising. People using these programs are generous in sharing 10 minutes of their time to tell you about their circumstances, and you get a great experience learning about others and giving back to the community.
Sign up to be a part of this great project!
Now - Sign up to volunteer and select your January training date
Jan 6 - 17th - Attend training of your choice (those who have participated in previous years can leave after 2 hours of the 3 hour training)
Jan 21 - Receive your site and shift assignment
Jan 29 - Interview people at your assigned site to ensure that EveryOne Counts!
Please follow the link here: http://vols.pt/ppkyM6 to sign up!
Also, please follow EveryOne Home on Twitter and Facebook where we will be making frequent announcements about the Homeless Count! Thank you for helping make sure EveryOne Counts! Question? Please contact Angela at alyonsjustus@everyonehome.org.
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Upcoming Events
Friday, November 14, 6:30 - 9:00 P.M.
Ceasefire Night Walk
First Mt Sinai, 1970 86th Avenue, Oakland, map.
Friday, November 21, 6:30 - 9:00 P.M.
Ceasefire Night Walk
Cosmopolitan Baptist Church, 988 85th Avenue, Oakland, map
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