We are changing our name to ConnectUp

King County Community Voice Mail changes name to ConnectUp

Highlighting new ways to link people to resources for stability

King County Community Voice Mail announces that as of April 29, 2013, it will be known as ConnectUp. The new name was prompted by an expanding vision for the program as it works with more communications technologies to keep people living on low incomes connected.

Launched in 1991 by the local non-profit Solid Ground, Community Voice Mail pioneered the use of free voice mailboxes to connect people living without homes or phones to potential employment, housing and community. The effort was replicated in communities across the country through an effort led by the nonprofit Springwire (which recently changed its name from Community Voicemail National).

“I was doing a lot of phone calls to agencies about housing and resources,” said voice mail user Brianca. “Community Voice Mail provided me with a telephone number where they could reach me. Also it allowed me to maintain a sense of privacy… Having a background in domestic violence, it is really important to me that I keep my personal information very personal.”

“We recognize that voicemail technology is no longer the only way for disenfranchised people to connect to vital resources,” said Lambert Rochfort, program supervisor. “This new name, ConnectUp, is reflective of the services we provide to help low-income people access communications technology, information, and services.”

ConnectUp is the lead agency for homeless and low-income telecommunications access in King County. Services include helping people access Lifeline Cell Phone programs, as well as programs for subsidized landline phones and internet access. It informs social service providers as well as people living on low incomes about available telecommunications programs.

ConnectUp is a communication hub for people living in King County. The program also broadcasts information about social services, jobs, housing, healthcare and more through its voice mail system, email listserv, blog and social media. People can sign up to receive these Resource Broadcast messages at tinyurl.com/connectup.

ConnectUp partners with Springwire to provide Community Voice Mail and Resource Broadcasting services.

ConnectUp is a program of Solid Ground, which works to end poverty and undo racism and other oppressions that are root causes of poverty. Each year Solid Ground helps more than 50,000 people in Seattle/King County and across Washington State move beyond poverty and oppression to access quality housing, nutritious food, equal justice and opportunities to thrive.

Washington Reading Corps Hiring

Solid Ground is now hiring for AmeriCorps members to serve in our communities through the Washington Reading Corps. These are full time positions for 10½ months, starting October 1, 2013. Members receive a monthly stipend of $1,150, plus a $5,550 education award at the end of their term of service. If you receive SSI benefits, TANF, food stamps, or other government entitlements your eligibility will not be affected by the AmeriCorps income.

Through the Washington Reading Corps, AmeriCorps members at sites throughout Shoreline, Seattle, South King County, and Bellevue, provide direct daily literacy tutoring and help schools to harness the talent and energies of parents and community members as volunteer tutors.

Members will be placed in schools, early childhood centers, and community centers, typically serving at one site: a school, non-profit, or preschool. Members will provide one-on-one and small group tutoring, recruit and train community volunteers in under-served schools, and develop their own leadership skills by participating in team trainings and by leading local service projects. The WRC, as a program of Solid Ground, is committed to undoing racism. Members will engage in year-long training to explore and understand the relationship of racism, illiteracy, and poverty.

For more information about this opportunity, please email readingcorps@solid-ground.org  or call 206.694.6793 or visit www.solid-ground.org/AmeriCorps/Washington.
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Fact vs. Fiction About ‘Obamaphones’ (Lifeline)

Conservatives have recently been attacking the Lifeline cell phone program, which they call  "Obamaphones" and The U.S. Congress is holding a hearing this Thursday, April 25th to talk about potentially restricting or eliminating parts of the Lifeline program. Our national partner Springwire sent a resource broadcast voice message on Monday asking Community Voice Mail users for their stories to submit to Congress on how Lifeline has helped them.

Check out this infographic "Fact vs. Fiction About ‘Obamaphones" by Erin Zipper. And read the following article "Obamaphones’: A Case Study in How Race Perverts the Spending Debate" by Jamilah King.

Tea party Republicans have used race to demonize a longstanding government phone subsidy, saying it’s an example of “wasteful spending.” But the program’s an important one for millions of subscribers living in poverty. “Without this program, 15 million low-income families would literally be choosing between feeding their children or going without a dial tone,” says FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, an Obama appointee.

Read Jamilah King’s explanation of how the program became one of the right’s favorite memes about poor, black people—and how, as a result, it finds itself facing the budget ax. Below, Erin Zipper separates myth from reality. (reprinted below the infographic)

‘Obamaphones’: A Case Study in How Race Perverts the Spending Debate
by Jamilah King, Colorlines, Monday, April 8, 2013

As Washington has debated the sequester and the fake crisis of federal spending, some leading conservatives have revived a familiar meme about an old program called Lifeline, which is a longstanding federal subsidy created to make phone service accessible to people who are elderly, very low-income or living in rural areas. Like the furor surrounding Obamacare in 2009, the ongoing stir over “Obama phones,” as the program has been dubbed, is instructive. It illustrates just how bizarre the right can make reality look when it uses race to demonize government.

Conservatives such as talk show host Rush Limbaugh and Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) have cast the nearly 30-year-old Lifeline program as wasteful and targeted it for elimination. In a video on his congressional page, Griffin spends more than three minutes bashing what he calls the government’s “unchecked spending.” The ad rests on the image of a black man screaming, “Get your free government phone today!” from a car.

The recent attack is actually nearly four years in the making. Early in Obama’s first term conservatives began characterizing the program as “phone stamps” and calling Lifeline pre-paid cellular units “Obama phones.” Trading on the welfare queen stereotype, they’ve also accused black people in low-income communities of voting for the president strictly because his administration doled out free cell phones.

As the narrative goes, the federal government is using taxpayers’ (translation: white people’s) hard-earned money to maintain an alleged welfare state and support the extravagant lifestyles of poor black folks in places like Cleveland, where video of an African-American woman singing the program’s praises went viral last year.

The resulting debate has finally put the program at risk: Some Democratic lawmakers have buckled under Republican pressure and agreed to make cuts.

FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, an Obama appointee, attempted to “set the record straight”] about Lifeline at a Consumer Federation of America assembly last month. “Without this program, 15 million low-income families would literally be choosing between feeding their children or going without a dial tone that potentially could save their lives and put them on a better economic path,” she said. But Clyburn’s fighting against years of powerful myth-making.

“The point of government assistance ought to be to remove people from it,” Limbaugh declared on his radio show last September. “But with the Democrat [sic] Party and Obama, the objective [of the Lifeline program] is to increase the number of people, and they use you,” he said, alluding to taxpayers.

Of course, the truth is much more nuanced.

The Truth About Lifeline

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of the tea party, and his Republican-led FCC started Lifeline. The goal was straightforward: To make basic telephone service accessible to the vast majority of people living in the United States. Underpinning that goal was the fundamental idea that in 20th century having a telephone wasn’t a luxury but a necessity.

Lifeline was also simple in practice. If you couldn’t afford phone service—which back then meant a landline—you’d fill out an application. If you were approved, the phone company in your area would provide service at a discount and it would receive a federal subsidy to help make up the difference.

In 1996, a Democratic-led Congress made two key revisions to the Telecommunications Act in keeping with the FCC’s overall mission to provide universal telephone service. First, in a nod to the growing use of hand-held cell phones (rather than “car phones”), and the eventual decline of landlines, the law described “universal service” as something that would evolve. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of wireless subscribers in the United States grew from from 47 million to more than 243 million.

Second, Congress began requiring every company offering telephone service across state lines to contribute a portion of their annual profits to a newly established Universal Service Fund. Contributions to the fund would help underwrite telephone costs for low-income households.

With the 1996 law, the FCC created a federal subsidy that would, in effect, pay for itself. If telecom companies paid a portion of their profits to the Universal Service Fund and agreed to extend service to low-income and rural households, they’d see the money again in the form of a federal contribution.

Today 13.5 million households rely on Lifeline subsidies, a number that includes cell phone subscriptions.

Poverty Pays

The government has encouraged Lifeline providers to market their federally subsidized service to consumers more aggressively. One company in particular has made immense profits by doing so: TracFone, the Mexico-based subsidiary of Latin America’s largest telecom operator, América Móbil. TracFone is the company behind SafeLink Wireless, a widely advertised program targeting Lifeline enrollees. In 2009, TracFone received more than over $189 million in federal subsidies to serve low-income subscribers. Put another way, 20 percent of all Lifeline payments went to TracFone.

Due in large part to TracFone’s efforts, enrollment in the Lifeline wireless program grew from 7.1 million users in 2008 to 8.6 million users in 2009. This is what Republicans point to as some sort of Obama-led socialist expansion. “Lifeline (aka ‘phone stamps’) has been growing by leaps and bounds since 2008, at significant cost to taxpayers,” wrote John Sexton, a writer at Breitbart.com last June.

Neither TracFone nor the FCC is trying to hide the company’s growing market share. In a 2010 report the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office noted how the company “has always considered low-income consumers its customer base and, thus, has experience advertising and marketing to this population…TracFone’s participation in the Lifeline program is an integral part of the company’s business model and enrolling low-income customers is in the company’s interest.”

TracFone has become one of the nation’s most popular wireless carriers. Virgin Wireless is also trying to get a piece of the Lifeline pie.

Reality Bites

While TracFones are common, they’re not say, iPhones or Samsung Galaxies. They offer voice-to-voice service but no WiFi access. They also tend to be prepaid and only last 50 to 250 minutes a month. These are the phones under such intense scrutiny by conservatives.

“If you’re trying to deal with social services, you will not be able to take care of business [with 250 minutes a month],” says Ana Montes, the director of organizing at The Utility Reform Network (TURN) in California. Montes says that her group often works with people who are homeless.

Still, in response to some legitimate claims of Lifeline subscribers not being able to verify their eligibility for the program, the FCC last year introduced a series of so-called “reforms” meant to curb fraud. Now, in addition to living on an income at or below 135 percent of the poverty level or being currently enrolled in a federal assistance program, Lifeline applicants must provide their Social Security number and re-apply for the program every year. According to Montes, whose group works closely with people applying for Lifeline program, the reforms have done more harm than good.

“It has become extremely difficult for poor people to sign up for the program,” she says. “One of the things that’s being discussed at the FCC is that people now have to have ID to apply for the program. The people that need it the most can’t afford to replace that paperwork.”

A report from New Millenium Research Foundation called cell phones “an important economic tool” and found that for low-income customers, they generate an average of $259 a year by helping them find and retain income.

Reality has never stopped Republicans from vilifying federal programs for poor people and using racially charged images to do so. Clearly, even in the wonky space of telecommunications policy, race matters. “The Universal Service Fund exists because at some point we made a decision that people having phone service is essential, something everyone should have,” says Steven Renderos, a national organizer for the Oakland-based Center for Media Justice. “There’s this idea that telephone service is an essential service.”

Lifelong Housing Safety Net

If you or someone you know has experienced foreclosure or lost housing due to renting a foreclosed property and you or a household member have a chronic illness we want to let you know about the new Lifelong Housing Safety Net, a partnership with Lifelong AIDS Alliance and Solid Ground, that provides free support to households impacted by the foreclosure crisis who also have a family member living with a chronic illness.  For eligible households, Lifelong Housing Safety Net provides financial assistance to help stabilize current housing, as well as an array of support services focusing on future housing and financial stability. Eligible households must meet all of the following criteria:

• Live in one of the following Washington State counties: Clark, Cowlitz, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Island, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston and Wahkiakum

• Have experienced foreclosure (or housing loss due to rental in a foreclosed property) in the last 24 months

• Have a household member living with a diagnosed chronic illness

• Have household income less than 80% of Area Median Income (which is $5,370/month for a family of four)

In addition to financial assistance, the program provides services that support participants’ stability, health and well-being. Services include but are not limited to:

• Housing search assistance

• Housing stabilization support

• Landlord mediation

• Education on tenant rights and responsibilities

• Financial coaching and education

• Connection to medical care

For more information about Lifelong Housing Safety Net or to apply, call (855) 424-4113 or email housingsafetynet@solid-ground.org.

Everyday First Aid Tips

In light of what happened at the Boston Marathon on Monday, we thought it could be useful to provide some first aid tips. You may not always have access to a first aid kit in an emergency so here are some suggestions for everyday items you can use in certain situations.

If someone gets burned, but cold water isn’t available, use any cold liquid including juice, beer, and milk, until you have access to cold running water. The aim is to cool the area as quickly as possible and for it to be effective you should keep it covered with the liquid for at least 10 minutes. To protect the burn from infection use plastic wrap, but if that isn’t available you can use a sandwich/freezer bag or a clean plastic bag. Plastic bags won’t stick to the burn and they create a barrier to stop infection.

For broken bones, use items such as clothing, blankets, or simply hold the injured part close to the body in order to support it until you can get medical care.

If someone is bleeding heavily, but you don’t have medical pads, you can apply pressure to the wound using a t-shirt, towel, or even your hand. By applying pressure you can stop or slow down the flow of blood.

For a head injury, you can use a bag of frozen vegetables if there’s no ice. Frozen peas work great because they are already in a bag and are pliable enough to set on your head.

The final tip today is for a diabetic emergency. You can use orange juice, packets of sugar, chocolate, or any regular fizzy drink (not diet drinks) to help bring a person’s sugar level up.

We hope that you never have to deal with an emergency situation, but if you do, hopefully some of these tips could come in handy until folks can get to a doctor. Take good care out there. 

Check out this article from the Red Cross "No First Aid Kit? No Problem" for more everyday first aid tips. 

Xerox Hiring Event/Renton Technical College Job Fair

If you or someone you know are looking for work: We want to let you know about the Xerox Hiring Event at Worksource Renton next Tuesday the 23rd and the Renton Technical College Job Fair next Wednesday the 24th.

Xerox is hiring for multiple Customer Service Representatives on Tuesday, April 23, from 1-3pm at WorkSource Renton. The job requirements are:

• High School Diploma or GED
• Ability to type 40 wpm
• Excellent customer service skills
• Flexible to work a variety of shifts
• Good computer skills

Xerox Hiring Event
Tue. 4/23, 1-3pm
WorkSource Renton
500 SW 7th St
Renton, WA 98057

Metro buses 110, 153, 140, 161, 280, 101, 102, 167, 169 and 560.For more information Email lcorwin@esd.wa.gov.

The Renton Technical College Job Fair is on Wednesday, April 24th from 10am – 1pm. This event features employers from various local businesses. Attendees are encouraged to dress professionally and bring a supply of resumes for networking purposes. Free for job-seekers. Parking is free but limited.

Renton Technical College Job Fair
Wed. 4/24, 10am-1pm Renton Technical College
Cafeteria Bldg I 116
3000 NE 4th St
Renton, WA 98056.

Metro buses 105, 111, 908, and 909.  For more information call 425.235.2352 ext. 7785 or email miko@rtc.edu

Good luck!

American Diabetes Association Health Expo 4/13

The local chapter of the American Diabetes Association is coordinating a health expo this Saturday April 13th at the Washington State Convention Center from 9 to 3. Find out your risk for developing diabetes, stroke, heart and kidney disease with free health screenings and consultations. Learn how to eat healthy, be active and change the future of diabetes in Seattle at the largest community gathering dedicated to health.

The EXPO is FREE and in addition to health screening includes cooking demonstrations, expert presentations, product and service exhibitors and much more! All screenings are available until supplies last. To ensure availability of screenings please plan to attend EXPO earlier in the day.

In King County, one in 16 adults has diabetes. And the American Diabetes Association states that there has never been a more urgent time to know your risk, because an estimated 79 million, or one in three American adults, have pre-diabetes. 25 percent of Americans who have type 2 diabetes don’t even know they have it. Find out if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes by taking a free diabetes risk test online at diabetes.org/risktest.

You can also call 2-1-1 to learn more about diabetes and find local organizations that can help, or visit diabetes.org.
And don’t miss the:

American Diabetes Association EXPO
Saturday, April 13th
Washington State Convention Center, North Hall 4E/F
800 Convention Pl
Seattle, WA 98101
(corner of 8th and Pike St)9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

For more information on the 2013 Seattle EXPO, please contact Alicia Morgan at 206-282-4616 ext. 7212 email amorgan@diabetes.org or visit diabetes.org/exposeattle.

Transition Resource Fair 4/12

I want to let you know about the Transition Resource Fair this Friday April 12 At New Holly Learning Center from 9 to 2. The fair is for anyone struggling to adapt to return to normal living, particularly those with a criminal history or who are trying to escape a life of alcoholism or addiction.

The Transition Resource Fair is sponsored by Community Partnership for Transition Services. Service providers in attendance will have information about many types of resources ranging from legal aid, to housing, employment, child support and more.

The following services will be offered:
Veterans' Affairs
Housing Opportunities
Child Support Services
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Education/Training/ Pre-Apprenticeship Opportunities
Tenant Services
Mental Health Services
Drug/Alcohol Treatment Services
Legal Services
Employment Preparation
Seattle Bituin Lions Club Mobile Medical Association Clinic
DSHS Mobile CSO
Community Voice Mail

In order to get the most possible out of the resource fair, please bring the appropriate paperwork with you (if applicable):

-Driver’s license and/or photo identification
-DOL driving abstracts
-Child support paperwork
-Any relevant legal documents
-DD214 for Veterans
-Social security card/number
-Resume (on flash drive, if possible)

Signing in when you arrive and signing out when you leave is required.

The Transition Resource Fair will be at the New Holly Learning Center, at 7058 32nd Ave S, Seattle, 98118 from 9am – 2pm this Friday the 12th.

Metro buses 36, 106 and Link Light Rail (Othello Station) will get you there.

Please spread the word by distributing the flyer.

For details, contact Thomas Wagner (206) 767-9975 ext. 1121 or email thomasw@svdpseattle.org.

Good luck!

Seattle City Hall Open House - low income utility assistance- Saturday 4/6

If you or someone you know need help paying for your utilities, or are just looking for something fun to do on Saturday, I want to let you know about the City Hall Open House this Saturday April 6th at Seattle City Hall from 10 to 2. There will also be live music, family activities, opportunities to meet your elected officials, low income utility assistance and more.

Utility Assistance for Low Income Residents will be available during the City Hall Open House. Low income utility assistance general requirements are:

-The Seattle City Light account must be in the primary applicant’s name
-Age 18 years or older
-Household income does not exceed 70% State Median Income
-Applicants cannot receive utility allowance and live in federally subsidized housing (Housing Choice/Section 8, SHA, KCHA, HUD, Shelter and Care, etc.; except for SHA Senior Bond Housing)
-Bring a copy of income documents for all household income for the last 3 months

Language Interpretation will be offered in Khmer, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Swahili, Somali, Spanish and ItalianIf you need more explanation about documents, other language services, and to RSVP please email imr_oira@seattle.gov  use the subject line: Open House

The open house will also feature live entertainment, including Acrobatic performance by SANCA (The School of Acrobatics New Circus Arts) at 11 a.m.
And Massive Monkees Dance Crew at 12 p.m.

There will be Cupcake & Hat decorating by South Seattle Community College’s Culinary Arts Program and Food Trucks from Skillet.

Plus Adoptable Dogs and Critters.

And Story Time by the Seattle Public Library.

You can also meet your elected officials, including Mayor McGinn, the City Council, and City Attorney Pete Holmes. And you can tour City Hall offices, like the mayor’s office and City Council offices and learn about the different city departments.

City Hall is located near many bus lines, as well as the Pioneer Square light rail station. For transit directions visit metro.kingcounty.gov

Please spread the word by distributing these flyers:
Open House Flyer
Utility Assistance at Open House Flyer

City Hall Open House:
When: Saturday April 6th
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Seattle City Hall
600 4th Ave Seattle, WA 98104
(Please use the entrance located on 5th Avenue)

For more information call 206.684.4000 or visit seattle.gov/openhouse2013