Volume 17
Number 6
February 18, 2005

Director on Record

Where We Are

Bills Tracking

Chapters

The Director on Record
Homeless on Grace

I remember working for my first Soup Kitchen in 8th Grade. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was one block from the Catholic school I attended in Newport News and students were permitted to leave 15 minutes early for lunch if we would serve at the parish soup kitchen. Amid the sights and sounds of a soup kitchen I began to understand that not everyone lives in a house and not everyone has a stocked refrigerator to turn to when one’s stomach rumbles.

Several weeks ago I was reminded of the formative images of those struggling survivors of St. Vincent as I walked to our offices in the Centenary United Methodist Church on Grace Street from the Capitol. It was after 11pm and a sub-committee had just finished for the night. The bitter cold was all I expected to find but before me was a stirringly unavoidable image.

As I came down the street I noticed people in bundles desperate to keep warm. Doorway after doorway cruelly promised to protect the poor from the elements as cradled homeless men and women gathered together. As I approached the church, I witnessed a man laying perpendicular to the stone steps of the sanctuary. Being too cold to lay on the steps themselves, it was as if he were both seeking shelter and telling the world that not even freezing temperatures would drive him to the margins any longer. He was an eloquent reminder of poverty in his silence.

Life is like that in downtown Richmond. We work among the poor, who are looking for scraps of help, hopping from one feeding program to the next, less eager to plan for tomorrow than to survive for today and tonight. In many ways, Grace Street’s homeless people are a constant reminder that our work is still not done. After years of feeding the famished, we still have not addressed the systemic issues with enough impact to alleviate suffering, aid the seemingly un-aidable, and bring compassion to our social services system.

I thank God that our Abrahamic traditions command us to love the strangers among us. It stirs our faith and plants seeds of compassion along the road of grace. - Doug

Few days remain in the 2005 legislative session. Bill-wise, that means a flurry of subcommittee and committee action to get bills to the floor. Should there be a variance between a House approved and Senate approved bill, a conference committee will be formed to iron out the difference. Paralleling that effort will be the “round the clock” pace of the budget conferees and their staffs pulling together a unified budget. For more information on the budget conference committee membership (not available at press time), please visit our Web site, www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org.

The session is scheduled to end Saturday, February 26th. Even during the fast pace of the first month, one feels that the system is relatively “open.” During this last week with conference committee negotiations, access to deliberations is significantly reduced. Meetings take are called all over the place, mostly unannounced, and the public is not often involved.

Bill Tracking

Bills in black are those that the Virginia Interfaith Center opposes. Grey indicates the bill is dead.

NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS BY FAX, EMAIL, PHONE, OR VISIT! Send email and fax messages to your legislators via our user friendly communications system on our Web site at www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org.

Key - HB= House Bill; SB=Senate Bill; BA=Budget Amendment; PBI=passed by indefinitely (dead); Tabled=probable death; Left in Committee=probable death

Support Prenatal Care for Low Income Women

ACTION: By the time you read this, the budget conferees will have begun their work. Please visit our Web site, www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org and utilize our user friendly Capwiz system to send a fax or email to the conferees regarding prenatal care. A sample letter will be provided, but PLEASE take a moment to personalize your fax or email.

YOUR MESSAGE: Ask the conferees to reject House Budget Item 324 #1h, which defers about $3.3 million state dollars and over $6 million in federal funds originally tagged to expand eligibility for prenatal care through the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS). The Governor’s introduced budget and the Senate’s budget would have expanded FAMIS eligibility to pregnant women with a family income up to 175% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Simply put, thousands more low income women would have access to prenatal care services.

Prenatal care is extremely cost effective: A woman who does not receive prenatal care is three times more likely to deliver a low birth weight baby and hospital charges for a low birth weight baby are sixty times more than an uncomplicated birth.

Get Involved! Regional Chapters

Did you know that the Virginia Interfaith Center has 9 chapters across the Commonwealth? The Center’s regional chapters host various events throughout the year including Candidates’ Forums, Social Justice U Advocacy Training, and Session Wrap-Ups with Legislators. We have chapters in the following localities:

If you are interested in participating in local events, please contact our office at office@Virginia Interfaith Center.org or 804-643-2474 or your local regional coordinator.