Poverty is gaining a higher profile as the recession continues — and so is religion’s role in combating it. Unemployment figures released on June 5 showed a loss of 345,000 jobs in May and a jump in the unemployment rate to 9.4 percent. One in eight Americans is poor,and many more struggle to meet daily needs.

And concern is growing not only for the 37 million people living in poverty, but also for those who could soon swell their ranks. More layoffs, more home foreclosures, higher costs for food and medical care — all are combining to plunge more people into poverty, or make them aware that they could be next.

Religious leaders, organizations and individuals are mobilizing in new and sometimes more forceful ways, demanding changes in public policy and flexing their muscle as the leading nongovernment provider of food and shelter for the needy.

This edition of ReligionLink offers a guide for reporters writing about trends, changes and innovations in the interface of religion and poverty.

What’s new

Experts expect the poverty rate – already 12.5 percent – to keep growing, particularly among children and those considered in deep poverty. One in five children live in poverty. And though a majority of the poor are white, poverty disproportionately affects blacks, Latinos and American Indians. (A family of four with two children is considered poor if its income before taxes is less than $22,050.) See government stats.

The unemployment rate in May was the highest level in 26 years, though the monthly drop was smaller than expected. Some experts fear the rate could hit 10 percent by year’s end even if the economy bottoms out, as expected. Home foreclosures set a record pace in the first quarter of 2009. And the wealth gap between the richest and poorest Americans is wider than it has been since the 1920s. (See a Sept. 2, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle story about census numbers.)

Awareness is also growing of the public costs and consequences of poverty. For example, research by Harry Holzer and colleagues estimated that because of lower productivity, higher health-related costs and increased crime costs, it costs the national economy $500 billion a year — about 4 percent of the gross domestic product — to have children growing up in persistent poverty.

Attitudes toward the poor may be changing. A December 2008 poll (pdf) found that more than three-quarters of Americans said the president and Congress should set a goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years.

What’s new with religion’s role

More religious organizations are urging lawmakers to put in place a plan to cut domestic poverty in half in 10 years, and othey are offering specific policy proposals.

Fighting poverty, once an issue pushed in the public square mainly by religious liberals, is also being embraced by conservatives. In some cases, conservative and liberal religious leaders and organizations are joining forces, agreeing that their faith demands that they work to help the poor and devising policies they can both support; see the Poverty Forum as a recent high-profile example.

While religious people across the political spectrum agree that Scripture clearly urges care and compassion for the poor, there are complex and sometimes fierce debates — particularly among Christians and Jews across the conservative-liberal divide — about how best to do that. Tensions remain over how best to address poverty — what actually works and what the responsibility of people of faith, or the government, is. Some debates focus on the moral responsibility of the haves toward the have-nots; others on the moral responsibility of those who are poor. (Many media outlets have compared the differing interpretations of Scripture addressing women’s roles, homosexuality or the environment; the same treatment may work well for poverty.)

There is an appreciation among policymakers for religion’s role in providing social services and supporting those in poverty. President Barack Obama has continued his predecessor’s faith-based programs, for example. See a February 2009 White House news release.

Religious groups are actively cultivating leaders among their youth to work on public issues such as poverty, and organizations of youth are engaging members in fighting poverty.

See ReligionLink’s guides to these topics for more expert sources and information:

• Affordable housing
• Faith-based social services
• Homelessness
• Hunger
• Insurance

How to use this guide

Sources are divided into several categories:

ORGANIZATIONS

• Religious
• Research centers based at universities
• Nonprofits
• Think tanks

NATIONAL and REGIONAL SOURCES

• Government
• Academics
• Authors

RESEARCH and STATISTICS

• Government
• Other
• Opinion polls
• Media

Organizations

RELIGIOUS

Nearly every denomination includes a department or initiative on poverty. Check the RNA library for links to religious groups and denominations. Here are selected other programs:

Catholic Charities USA, based in Alexandria, Va., has a campaign that seeks to reduce poverty by half by 2010. The Rev. Larry Snyder, who is a member of the president’s advisory council for the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, is president. Contact 703-549-1390 or see a list of offices across the country.

Christian Churches Together, a large national ecumenical organization that includes evangelical, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, historic Protestant, racial and ethnic churches, has a domestic poverty initiative. Its plan, announced in early 2009, includes specific policies designed to cut poverty in half in 10 years. Leaders met with members of Congress in early 2009. Contact executive administrator Richard Hamm in Indianapolis, 317-490-1968, dhamm@ddi.org.

The Christian Community Development Association, the largest Christian community development group in the country, works to reduce poverty. It’s based in Chicago. CEO Noel Castellanos is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences on poverty. Contact 773-762-0994, noel@ccda.org.

Evangelicals for Social Action works to engage Christians in public policy issues. President and founder Ron Sider is the author of Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America and Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving From Affluence to Generosity. Contact 610-645-9354, ronsider@esa-online.org.

Islamic Relief USA, the U.S. arm of the Muslim aid and development organization, has added domestic programs that support those in poverty to its primary function of fundraising. They include an annual Day of Dignity, in which Muslims in 20 cities nationally feed and provide services to the homeless. Contact Mostafa Mahboob at 714-676-1305, or see a list of regional contacts in Texas, New Jersey and Virginia.

The Islamic Society of North America is the largest Muslim organization in the U.S. National director Sayyid M. Syeed was among signers of a 2008 letter to presidential candidates urging them to offer policies to combat poverty. Ingrid Mattson is president; read a speech she gave about people in poverty. Contact through the national office in Plainfield, Ind., 317-839-8157.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a national organization that addresses public policy from a Jewish perspective, has an anti-poverty campaign. Its executive director, Rabbi Steve Gutow, co-wrote a commentary on American Jews’ responsibility toward the poor. Contact through the D.C. office, 202-212-6036.

The National Association of Evangelicals represents about 60 denominations and more than 45,000 churches. President Leith Anderson can speak about evangelicals’ commitment to the poor. Contact 202-789-1011, president@nae.net.

The National Council of Churches is an association of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, evangelical, historic African-American and Living Peace churches that represents more than 30 denominations and 45 million people. It is active in economic justice issues. General Secretary Michael Kinnamon was among signers of a 2008 letter urging presidential candidates to address poverty. Contact 212-870-2141, Mkinnamon@ncccusa.org.

The Poverty Forum, formed in 2008, is “a select group of leaders and policy experts representing divergent political perspectives but sharing biblical values surrounding God’s concern for the poor and a commitment to address poverty.” It has 18 participants and posts its specific policy proposals. It is led by co-chairs Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, and Mike Gerson, Roger Hertog Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Contact through Tim King of Sojourners, 202-745-4636, tking@sojo.net and media@sojo.net.

The Poverty Initiative is based at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and was established in May 2003. Its goal is to “to raise up generations of religious and community leaders dedicated to building a social movement to end poverty, led by the poor,” and it brings together scholars and grass-roots organizations. Contact the coordinator of the Poverty Initiative, Liz Theoharis at 212-280-1439, poverty@povertyinitiative.org.

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is heavily involved in economic justice issues. Rabbi David Saperstein is director and counsel. Contact 202-387-2800.

The Salvation Army is well-known for its service to the poor. Commissioner Israel L. Gaither is the national commander. Contact through media relations in Alexandria, Va., 703-647-4799, MediaRelations@usn.salvationarmy.org, or see state and regional contacts.

Sojourners is an interdenominational Christian organization that works with Washington lawmakers on poverty reduction. Jim Wallis, president and executive director, is a founder of the Poverty Forum as well as author of The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post-Religious Right America (2008) and God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. Sojourners sponsored the 2009 Mobilization to End Poverty, April 26-29 in Washington, D.C. Contact through deputy press secretary Jason Gedeik, 202-745-4633, jgedeik@sojo.net.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sponsors the Campaign for Human Development, which has a goal of ending poverty in America. Its Poverty USA Web site has images and information about poverty in America. A clickable map provides contacts in every state. Ralph McCloud is national director. Contact 202-541-3367, rmccloud@usccb.org.

RESEARCH CENTERS BASED AT UNIVERSITIES

The Bertram M. Beck Institute on Religion and Poverty is at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y. Anita Lightburn is director and associate professor of social service. Contact 212-636-6738.

The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire conducts policy research on vulnerable children, youth and families and on sustainable community development. Cynthia “Mil” Duncan is founding director. She is the author of Worlds Apart: Why Poverty Persists in Rural America. Contact 603-862-2821, mil.duncan@unh.edu.

The Center for Comparative Family Welfare and Poverty Research is at the University of California Berkeley. The director is Neil Gilbert, Milton and Gertrude Chernin Professor of Social Welfare and Social Services, who wrote Transformation of the Welfare State: The Silent Surrender of Public Responsibility. Contact 510-642-1899, ngilbert@berkeley.edu.

The Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality is at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. Sociology professor David Grusky is founding director. Contact 650-724-6912, grusky@stanford.edu.

The Center for the Study of Urban Poverty is at the University of California, Los Angeles. The director is Abel Valenzuela Jr., professor of Chicana and Chicano studies, who has expertise in urban poverty and immigration issues. Contact 310-206-8224, abel@ucla.edu.

The Center for Poverty Research is at the University of Kentucky. James P. Ziliak, who holds the Gatton Endowed Chair in Microeconomics, is director. It publishes a newsletter, Insights on Southern Poverty. Contact 859-257-2776, jziliak@uky.edu.

The Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity is at the University of North Carolina. Gene Nichol, a law professor at the university, is director. Contact 919-962-5928, gnichol@email.unc.edu.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Claudia Coulton (216-368-2304, claudia.coulton@case.edu) and Rob Fischer (216-368-2711, fischer@case.edu) are co-directors.

The Institute for Policy Research is at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. James Rosenbaum chairs the Poverty, Race and Inequality Program. Contact 847-491-3795, j-rosenbaum@northwestern.edu.

The Institute for Research on Poverty is at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Timothy Smeeding, professor of public affairs and social work, is director. He is a co-author of Poor Kids in a Rich Country: America’s Children in Comparative Perspective and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Economic Inequality (2009). Contact 608-262-6358, smeeding@lafollette.wisc.edu.

The Institute on Assets and Social Policy is at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. The director is Thomas Shapiro, who is also Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy at Brandeis’ Heller School for Social Policy and Management. He is the author of The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality and co-author of Black Wealth/ White Wealth. Contact 781-736-8685, tshapiro@brandeis.edu.

The Institute on Race & Poverty is at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Myron Orfield is executive director. He wrote American Metropolitics: The New Suburban Reality. Contact 612-625-7976, orfield@umn.edu.

The Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program is at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The director is William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor. His many books include (as co-author) Good Kids From Bad Neighborhoods: Successful Development in Social Context. Contact 617-496-4514, bill_wilson@Harvard.Edu.

The Michigan Program on Poverty and Social Welfare Policy is at the University of Michigan. Its director is Sandra K. Danziger, professor in the School of Social Work and research professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Contact 734-615-4648, sandrakd@umich.edu.

The National Center for Children in Poverty is at Columbia University in New York City. Janice Cooper is interim director. Contact 646-284-9600.

The National Poverty Center is at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The director is Sheldon H. Danziger, Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy and research professor at the Population Studies Center at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He is co-editor of Working and Poor: How Economic and Policy Changes Are Affecting Low-Wage Workers and Understanding Poverty. Contact 734-615-8321, sheldond@umich.edu.

The Rural Policy Research Institute is at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Oregon State University. Charles W. Fluharty, research professor at the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, is director. He has a degree from Yale Divinity School. Contact 573-882-0316, CFluharty@rupri.org.

NONPROFITS

The Center for Community Change is a grassroots organization in Washington, D.C., that helps empower low-income people to improve their communities and public policies. Deepak Bhargava is executive director. Contact through media director Germonique Jones, 202-339-9331, gjones@communitychange.org.

The Center for Law and Social Policy is based in Washington, D.C., and works to improve the lives of low-income families; see its poverty page. The executive director is Alan Houseman. Contact ahouse@clasp.org or through communications, 202-906-8029.

The Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., works to end child poverty. Marian Wright Edelman is president. Contact 800-233-1200; see a list of regional contacts across the country.

The Coalition on Human Needs in Washington, D.C., is an alliance of national organizations that advocate policies to help low-income people. See its poverty page. Deborah Weinstein is executive director. Contact 202-223-2532 ext. 29, dweinstein@chn.org.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research is a public policy research organization whose focus includes poverty and welfare. The president is Heidi Hartmann. Contact 202-785-5100, hartmann@iwpr.org.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., provides legal support in the effort to end homelessness. Maria Foscarinis is executive director. Contact 202-638-2535, mfoscarinis@nlchp.org.

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, based in Chicago, works for economic justice for low-income people. Contact president John M. Bouman, 312-263-3830 ext. 250, johnbouman@povertylaw.org.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, nonpartisan initiative in Washington, D.C., that works to implement public policies that will reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the U.S. Contact deputy director Jodie Levin-Epstein, 202-906-8000, Jodie@clasp.org.

THINK TANKS

The Rev. Robert A. Sirico is president of the Acton Institute for the study of religion and liberty in Grand Rapids, Mich., which addresses poverty through the application of Judeo-Christian and free-market principles. Contact 616-454-3080, rsirico@acton.org.

Douglas Besharov directs the Social and Individual Responsibility Project at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C. His research includes poverty and welfare. Contact through Veronique Rodman, 202-862-4871, Vrodman@aei.org.

Bob Giloth is director of the Family Economic Success program at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, which focuses on meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families. Contact through public affairs manager Sue Lin Chong, 410-223-2836, media@aecf.org.

Ron Haskins is co-director of the Brookings Center on Children and Families. A former White House and congressional adviser on welfare issues, he is an expert on preschool, foster care and poverty. Contact 202-797-6105 (communications department), communications@brookings.edu.

Rebecca Blank received Senate confirmation in May 2009 to be undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs at the federal Commerce Department. Before the appointment, she was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She’s also a former co-director of the National Poverty Center. She is an expert on welfare reform and low-income families and co-author of Is the Market Moral? A Dialogue on Religion, Economics and Justice. Contact through the Commerce Department’s public affairs office, 202-482-4883.

The Center for American Progress has programs that focus on poverty and mobility. In 2007 it published a report that outlines a strategy to cut national poverty in half. Staff experts include senior fellow Mark Greenberg; Joy Moses, policy analyst with the Poverty & Prosperity program; and Louis Soares, director of the Economic Mobility Program. Contact information is listed on their Web pages.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C., includes a focus on poverty and income. Its staff experts are Sharon Parrott, director of the Welfare Reform and Income Support Division; senior fellow Liz Schott; and senior researcher Arloc Sherman. Contact through deputy communications director Michelle Bazie, 202-408-1080, bazie@cbpp.org.

Robert Rector, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., focuses on welfare, poverty and marriage promotion. Contact through media affairs, 202-675-1761.

Joel Schwartz is adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., and author of Fighting Poverty With Virtue: Moral Reform and America’s Urban Poor, 1825-2000. Contact 202-606-8473.

The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., does considerable research on poverty and welfare. Its staff includes nearly 20 experts on various aspects of these issues; see a list. Contact through media affairs, 202-261-5709, paffairs@ui.urban.org.

National sources

GOVERNMENT

• The Department of Health and Human Services maintains a Web page on poverty guidelines, research and measurement. Kathleen Sebelius is HHS secretary. Contact 202-619-0257.
• Joshua DuBois is director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. See a February 2009 news release about the office that includes a list of the advisory council. Contact through media relations, 202-456-6238 or 202-456-2580.
• The U.S. Census maintains a Web page on poverty with numerous links to its research. Contact the Demographic Call Center Staff, 301-763-2422.
• Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chairs the Task Force on Poverty, Work and Opportunity of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In 2008 it released a National Action Agenda on Poverty for the Next President of the United States. Contact 213-978-0600.

ACADEMICS

• J. Lawrence Aber is professor of applied psychology and public policy at New York University in New York City. He is an expert on child development and social policy who researches the effect of poverty and violence on children. He is also former director of the National Center for Children in Poverty. Contact 212-998-5410, la39@nyu.edu.
• Randy Albelda, professor of economics and senior research fellow at the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Social Policy, is an expert on poverty, particularly regarding families and women. Contact 617-287-6963, randy.albelda@umb.edu.
• Mary Jo Bane is Thornton Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management at Harvard University and co-author of Lifting Up the Poor: A Dialogue on Religion, Poverty & Welfare Reform. A former assistant secretary for children and families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, her work focuses on poverty, welfare, families and the role of churches in civic life. Contact 617-496-9703, mary_jo_bane@Harvard.Edu.
• Harlan Beckley is Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion and director of the nationally known Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Contact 540-458-8164, beckleyh@wlu.edu.
• Miguel A. De La Torre is associate professor of social ethics and director of the Justice and Peace Institute at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. His expertise includes religion’s effects on class/race/gender oppression and liberation theology. Contact 303-765-3133, mdelatorre@iliff.edu.
• David Ellwood, Scott M. Black Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University and dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is a noted expert on poverty and welfare. He is an author who co-chaired President Clinton’s Working Group on Welfare Reform, Family Support and Independence. Contact 617-495-1122, david_ellwood@Harvard.Edu.
• Susan Pace Hamill is a law professor at the University of Alabama and specializes in federal corporate tax law. Hamill, who has a degree in theology, gained national attention beginning in 2002 by calling for applying Judeo-Christian teachings to state and federal tax policies and taxing the poor at lower rates than the rich. Contact 205-348-5931, shamill@law.ua.edu.
• Dwight N. Hopkins, theology professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, researches the role of religious practices and spirituality in combating poverty, particularly among African-Americans. He also does cultural comparisons among Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. Contact 773-834-0006, dhopkins@midway.uchicago.edu.
• Guian McKee is an associate professor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia whose expertise includes poverty and civil rights. He is the author of The Problem of Jobs: Liberalism, Race and Deindustrialization in Philadelphia (2008) — which features a War on Poverty-funded job training program that developed out of an African-American church in Philadelphia — and Lyndon Johnson and the War on Poverty: How Policymakers Try to Deliver on Social Promises (forthcoming). Contact 434-243-8856, gam2n@virginia.edu.
• Lawrence M. Mead, a politics professor, teaches courses about welfare reform, politics and public policy at New York University. He co-authored Lifting Up the Poor: A Dialogue on Religion, Poverty & Welfare Reform. Contact 212-998-8540, LMM1@nyu.edu.
• Stephen Pimpare is associate professor of political science at Yeshiva University in New York City and author of A People’s History of Poverty in America (2008) and The New Victorians: Poverty, Politics and Propaganda in Two Gilded Ages. He is working on a book titled A Celluloid Poorhouse: Poverty in American Film. Contact 212-960-5400 ext. 5484, pimpare@yu.edu.
• Anthony B. Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religious studies at Rice University in Houston. Author of The Black Church in the Post-Civil Rights Era, he can discuss the church’s role in addressing poverty. He is also director of the Society for the Study of Black Religion and co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Black Theology Group. Contact through the department, 713-348-2710, pinn@rice.edu.
• Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the City University of New York, is an expert on U.S. poverty and welfare policy and the author of several books. Contact 212- 817-8674, Fpiven@hotmail.com (email preferred).
• Mark R. Rank is the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and author of One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. Contact 314-935-5694, markr@wustl.edu.
• Jeffrey Sachs is one of the foremost experts on the economics of poverty. He is director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and professor of health policy and management at Columbia University. He is also special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002-06, Sachs was director of the U.N. Millennium Project and special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease and hunger by 2015. Sachs is also president and co-founder of Millennium Promise, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending extreme global poverty. He is the author of Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008) and The End of Poverty. Contact through Kevin Krajick (212-854-972, kkrajick@ei.columbia.edu) or Kyu-Young Lee (212-851-0798, klee@ei.columbia.edu) at the Earth Institute.
• Religion sociologist Manuel A.Vásquez, who teaches at the University of Florida, Gainesville, is an authority on Latino immigration/migration’s effects on the United States. His books include, as co-author, Globalizing the Sacred: Religion Across the mericas and, as co-editor, Christianity, Social Change and Globalization in the Americas. Contact 352-392-1625, mvasquez@religion.ufl.edu.

AUTHORS

• Jason DeParle is a senior writer at The New York Times and the author of American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation’s Drive to End Welfare. Contact through Viking Penguin publicity manager Yen Cheong, 212-366-2275, or by email, jason@jasondeparle.com.
• Paul Polak is founder of Colorado-based nonprofit International Development Enterprises and author of Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (2008). Contact through Carrie Barnes at ELISE Communications, 215-239-4643, carrie@elisecommunications.com.
• David K. Shipler is the author of The Working Poor: Invisible in America. A journalist, he has been a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has taught at Princeton University, American University in Washington, D.C., and Dartmouth College. He lives in Chevy Chase, Md. Contact through Random House publicity, 212-572-2301.

Research and statistics

Most of the organizations listed under Organizations provide poverty statistics and research on their Web sites.

GOVERNMENT

The Bureau of Labor Statistics posts unemployment statistics nationally and by state.

The U.S. Census maintains a Web page on poverty that includes numerous links to its research. Contact the Demographic Call Center Staff at 301-763-2422.

OTHER

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count Data Book allows users to search for state-by-state as well as national information on child poverty.

The Journalism Center on Children & Families at the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism posts sources and resources on a variety of issues, including economics and poverty.

RealtyTrac tracks home foreclosures nationally and by state.

OPINION POLLS

PollingReport.com posts opinion polls on national priorities, which include questions about poverty. In several recent polls, half of Americans said that dealing with the problems of poor and needy people should be a top priority for the country.

A December 2008 Gerstein Agne poll about poverty found that more than three-quarters of Americans said the president and Congress should set a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years. Other findings:

• 77 percent said “the negative consequences of poverty affect all of us.”
• 57 percent said “most people who live in poverty are poor because their jobs don’t pay enough, they lack good health care and education, and things cost too much for them to save and move ahead,” not because “they make bad decisions or act irresponsibly in their own lives’”(a statement 25 percent agreed with).
• 47 percent said that “most people who live in poverty are poor because economic conditions outside of their control cause them to be poor,” while 38 percent disagree, saying “most people who live in poverty are poor because they are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty.”

The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2007, found that 62 percent of Americans say the government should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means going deeper into debt.

MEDIA

Journals and blogs on poverty are rich sources of story ideas:

• Poverty News Blog
• Pathways
• Journal of Poverty
• Journal of Children and Poverty
• Poverty & Public Policy
• Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy
• Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal
  

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Aviva Luz Argote is executive director of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Contact 617-496-2422, aviva_argote@harvard.edu.
• Susan Crawford Sullivan, assistant professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., presented a study in 2006 of religion in the lives of low-income mothers in the Boston area. Contact 508-793-2531.
• Stephen Wizner is William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law and Supervising Attorney at Yale Law School in New Haven, Conn. One of his areas of expertise is poverty law, and he has participated in conferences on law and religion. Contact 203-432-4992, stephen.wizner@yale.edu.

IN THE EAST

• The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, N.J., sponsors “Community Action Poverty Simulations,” in which people of different faiths learn what it is like to live in poverty. The organization targets hunger, homelessness and poverty with a variety of programs. Contact 609-396-9355.
• Lisa Sharon Harper is co-founder of New York Faith & Justice, a network of churches, organizations and individuals that work to end poverty and poverty-related violence in New York City. Contact 212-870-1201, lsharper@nyfaithjustice.org.
• John Iceland is professor of sociology and demography at Penn State University. He is the author of Poverty in America: A Handbook and has authored numerous papers and reports on poverty patterns, causes and measurement. Contact 814-867-2821, jiceland@pop.psu.edu.
• Patricia Johnson, associate dean of Nyack College in Washington, D.C., was coordinator for the conference “Loving thy Neighbor: Barriers & Breakthroughs in the D.C. Metroplex,” which took place April 30, 2009, at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Its purpose was to promote collaboration among and the capacity-building of churches and Christian community development organizations to address poverty in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Contact 202-220-1307, Patricia.Johnson@nyack.edu.
• NETWORK is a national Catholic social justice organization that promotes economic justice at the federal level. Sister Simone Campbell is executive director. Contact in Washington, D.C., 202-347-9797.
• The Progressive Interfaith Alliance formed in Delaware in 2009 to focus on finding ways to ease poverty in its area. See a March 3, 2009, Cape Gazette story. Contact the Rev. Michael Smith of the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware in Lewes, 302-645-6334.
• Ezra Rosser is assistant professor at the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C., where he teaches a course on law and poverty. He co-edits and writes the Poverty Law Prof Blog. Contact 571-244-4227, erosser@wcl.american.edu.
• Bradley R. Schiller is professor emeritus in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. His book The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination has been a standard teaching text for two decades. Contact 202-885-6246, bschill@american.edu.
• Alexie Torres-Fleming is founder and executive director of Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice, which rebuilds neighborhoods by developing leaders among youth to work on community issues, including poverty. It’s based in the Bronx, N.Y. She spoke at the 2009 Mobilization to End Poverty event in Washington, D.C. Contact 718-328-5622, atorres.fleming@ympj.org.

IN THE SOUTH

• The Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge initiated new efforts to address poverty in its community in 2009. The federation includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. The Rev. Clint Mitchell is president. Contact 225-267-5600.
• Helen A. Regis is assistant professor of geography and anthropology at Louisiana State University and co-author of Charitable Choices: Religion, Race and Poverty in the Post-Welfare Era. Contact 225-578-6171, hregis1@lsu.edu.
• Kristina Scott is executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project, which builds coalitions among religious, business and higher education organizations to work toward eliminating poverty. The project is based in Birmingham. Contact 205-939-1408.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Doug Ammar is executive director of the Georgia Justice Project, which helps poor people accused of crimes rebuild their lives, whether or not they are convicted. Ammar has been part of several symposiums and initiatives on religion and law. Contact him in Atlanta, 404-827-0027.
• Andrea Bazán is president of the Triangle Community Foundation in Durham, N.C., which connects philanthropic resources with community needs, including those of people in poverty. One of a handful of Latina heads of philanthropic foundations in the country, she is also chair of the board of National Council of La Raza. Contact 919-474-8370 ext. 135, andrea@trianglecf.org.
• Timur Kuran is professor of economics and political science and Gorter Family Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Contact 919-660-1872, t.kuran@duke.edu.
• Harvey Newman is a professor of public administration and urban studies in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. A United Church of Christ minister, he has an extensive background in faith-based nonprofits. Contact 404-413-0112, hnewman@gsu.edu.
• The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy is the state’s oldest faith-based advocacy group and specializes in data analysis, policy research, public education and direct advocacy on a range of issues that address poverty and low-income people. The center is based in Richmond. Contact executive director C. Douglas Smith through communications director Patrick Getlein, 804-643-2474, patrick@virginiainterfaithcenter.org.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Scott W. Allard is an associate professor in the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. He is the author of Out of Reach: Place, Poverty and the New American Welfare State. His research focuses on social welfare policy, poverty and nonprofit organizations in the United States. Contact 773-702-1131, sallard@uchicago.edu.
• Robert Haveman is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and co-author of Understanding Poverty. Contact 608-263-7398, haveman@lafollette.wisc.edu.
• The Inner City Muslim Action Network, a Muslim charity in Chicago, delivers a range of social services, including to those in poverty. Contact 773-434-4626.
• Laura Lein is dean of the University of Michigan School of Social Work and Collegiate Professor of Social Work. She is an expert on poverty and the author of many studies of families in poverty, including Katrina evacuees and people living on the Texas-Mexico border. She co-authored Life After Welfare: Reform and the Persistence of Poverty (2007). Contact 512-471-9248, leinl@umich.edu.
• Marci B. Littlefield, assistant professor of sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis and fellow at the Center for Religion and American Culture, did a study of the impact of religion and faith-based organizations on the lives of low-income families. Contact 317-274-3914, mlittlef@iupui.edu.
• Heidi Unruh is director of the Congregations, Community Outreach and Leadership Development Project and staff associate with Evangelicals for Social Action. She is co-editor of Hope for Children in Poverty: Profiles and Possibilities and co-author of Saving Souls, Serving Society: Understanding the Faith Factor in Church-Based Social Ministries. She lives in Hutchison, Kan. Contact 620-664-7565, UnruhHeidi@aol.com.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• John P. Bartkowski is a sociology professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He co-wrote the book Charitable Choices: Religion, Race and Poverty in the Post-Welfare Era and is completing Faith and Lucre: How Religion and Public Funding Influence Welfare Service Provision, which compares faith-based and secular service provision in three U.S. regions. Contact 210-458-6007, john.bartkowski@utsa.edu.
• Baylor University, a private Baptist university, has an Interdisciplinary Poverty Initiative that focuses on engaging students in the issues of poverty, civic engagement, and social and economic justice. Contact project coordinator Rosemary Townsend at 254-710-4988, Rosemary_Townsend@baylor.edu.
• The Coalition for Compassion and Justice, based in Prescott, Ariz., helps meet the needs of people in poverty. Contact executive director Gerry Garvey, director@YavapaiCCJ.org.
• Jay F. Hein, former director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, is Distinguished Senior Fellow and director of the Program for Faith and Service at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion in Waco, Texas. The Program for Faith and Service promotes cutting-edge approaches to social problems through faith-based organizations. Contact 254-710-7555, jay_hein@baylor.edu.
• Allen Hertzke is Presidential Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The author of Representing God in Washington is an expert on religion and politics and can discuss religious groups’ efforts to put poverty on the national agenda. Contact in D.C. at 202-419-4550 or through the university at 405-325-6421, ahertzke@ou.edu.
• Ruby K. Payne is an author, educator and speaker with a focus on poverty and economic class differences. She is the author of A Framework for Understanding Poverty. She is founder and CEO of aha! Process in Highlands, Texas. Contact 281-426-5300.
• Richard L. Wood is director of the religious studies program at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He wrote the book Faith in Action: Religion, Race and Democratic Organizing in America and has worked to build relationships between the university and faith communities around the state. Contact 505-277-4009, rlwood@unm.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Angela Glover Blackwell is founder and CEO of PolicyLink, a national research institute in Oakland, Calif., that works for economic and social equity. She is a lawyer and well-known advocate on issues of poverty, race and the role of faith. Contact 510-663-2333.
• Greg Duncan is Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of California, Irvine. He has published extensively on welfare and poverty, including (as co-author) Higher Ground: New Hope for the Working Poor and Their Children and (as co-editor) For Better and For Worse: Welfare Reform and the Well-Being of Children and Families. Contact 949-824-7831, gduncan@uci.edu.
• Donald Miller spoke at the 2009 Mobilization to End Poverty in Washington, D.C. The author of Blue Like Jazz founded the Mentoring Project for children growing up without fathers. He lives in Portland, Ore. Contact 503-231-5096 ext. 5500.
• Russell Powell is associate professor of law at Seattle University. His expertise includes jurisprudence, with particular interests in Catholic social thought and Islamic legal theory, and comparative law. He wrote the article “Theology in Public Reason and Legal Discourse: A Case for the Preferential Option for the Poor” for the Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. Contact 206-398-4198, rpowell@seattleu.edu.
• Gregory C. Scott is president and chief executive officer of the Weingart Center Association in Los Angeles, which helps homeless and poor people. Contact 213-627-9000.
• California’s Tri-Valley Interfaith Poverty Forum, founded in 1998 and based in Livermore, focuses on research, education and advocacy. Contact executive director Maurine Behrend, 925-216-2510, povertyforum@sbcglobal.net.
• The West Coast Poverty Center is based at the University of Washington. Marcia K. Meyers is director and principal investigator as well as professor of social work and public affairs. Contact 206-616-4409.