Fall 2011A reflective journal about faith and action from Madison-area Urban Ministry

T his is the first part of Madison-areaUrban Ministry’s mission statement.You don’t hear many candidates talkabout standing with the poor.Candidates and elected officials arevery good about promising to standand fight for the middle class. Whatthey either don’t understand or chooseto ignore is that the fate of the middleclass and the poor are inextricablylinked. It is exactly because we haveallowed candidates, political partiesand elected officials to demonize andblame the poor that we now find mid-dle class public employees and unionemployees demonized and blamed forthe woes of the state budget.Corporations have done quite

well in the past decade. Eventhose caught up in the finan-cial and banking collapse of2008 are now sitting on bil-lions of dollars. Many of thoseelected in the fall of 2010 bothto Congress and the WILegislature ran on job creation andthe economy. They have done little ifanything to address those issues.Instead they have selected to attackprograms that assist the growing num-ber of poor in our country, as well asthe middle class. Many of those elect-ed to Congress and the Legislaturehave opted to throw those not drown-ing into the lake rather than pullingthose who are already drowning out ofthe lake, arguing that the sacrifice isthen shared. Except of course thosewho own the boat are still safe anddry. Theologian William Sloane Coffin

wrote “charity yes, always, but neveras a substitute for justice.” Too oftenwe focus on charity and forget aboutjustice. Homeless shelters are not jus-tice, they are charity. They are impor-tant but they do not create socialchange that results in real solutions tohomelessness. Food pantries are cru-cial to the survival of too many fami-lies in our community but they do notcreate social change that results in anend to hunger here and around theworld. Tutoring programs are impor-tant to the success of many children

“Standing with the poor and hurting of Dane County”fair, affordable housing for all people.Charity yes but never as a substitutefor criminal justice system reformsthat end the obscene racial disparitiesand systemic racism in our criminaljustice system. Charity yes but neveras a substitute for access to medicaland dental care for all people. Charityyes but never as a substitute for apolitical process that draws people inrather than actively seeks to disenfran-chise them. In this edition of the Dialogue you

will find information about the pro-posed cuts to human services in theDane County Budget. You will readabout mysterious signs popping upin City and County buildingsdesigned to keep the homelessout. You will read aboutefforts to challenge the statusquo. And as you read pleaseknow that you have a crucialrole to play in that challenge. “Standing with the poor and

hurting of Dane County.” It is whatwe have done for the past forty years.It is what we will continue to do. Itdoesn’t always make us popular. Itdoesn’t always translate into corporateand foundation support. It does makeus true to our calling and to thecovenant we have made with our faithcommunity partners. As we prepare toenter our forty first year we pledgethat we will continue to stand andfight for both charity and justice.

In faith,

Linda Ketcham

Dialogue

“Charity, yes, but NEVER as a substitute for justice.”

but in and of themselves they do notcreate an educational system thatengages every child in learning andovercomes the racial achievement gapin our public schools. Eviction preven-tion funds are important to the imme-diate needs of a family, but rentalassistance does not ensure access tofair and affordable housing. Charityyes, but never as a substitute to jobsthat pay a living wage, provide health-care and paid sick leave. Charity yesbut never as a substitute for access to

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E arlier this year the legislature passedthe Voter ID law designed to disen-franchise voters. While the suggestedrationale for the law was to preventvoter fraud, there exists no evidencethat voter fraud in WI is rampant,wide spread or indeed seen in num-bers over about 20 individuals perelection. Beginning in January 2012 voters

will need to show a valid state identi-fication card in order to vote.

Acceptable forms of identificationare:

� A Wisconsin driver’s license expiring after November 2, 2010

� A WI DOT issued photo ID cardexpiring after November 2, 2010

� U.S. passport expiring afterNovember 2, 2010

� Military ID card expiring afterNovember 2, 2010 MUM is proud to

be a member of

the Wisconsin

Network for

Peace and Justice

Madison-area Urban Ministry Dialogue 2

Dialogue is a reflective journal of faith and action printed by Madison-area Urban Ministry staff. The posi-tions expressed here are the opinionsof the authors and not necessarily theboard of directors or funding sourcesof MUM. All individual members andall faith communities in Dane Countyreceive a copy. Individual membership

in MUM isencouraged.Please mailcontributionsto our addressbelow.

2300 S. Park St. #2202Madison, WI 53713PH (608)256-0906 FX (608) 256-4387mum@emum.orgwww.emum.org

Obtaining an Identification Card to exercise your right to vote:� Certificate of naturalization issuedwithin the last two years

� Unexpired WI driver’s license orstate ID receipt

� ID card issued by a federally recog-nized Indian tribe in Wisconsin

� An unexpired identification cardissued by a WI accredited universityor college that must include anissuance date, student signature,and expiration date within two yearsof issuance. Proof of enrollment isalso required.

State IDs are available for free. If you are eligible to vote but do nothave a WI identification card or dri-ver’s license you are eligible to receivea free state ID for voting purposes. TheDepartment of Motor Vehicle staff hasbeen instructed not to tell you that youhave the right to a free ID so you willneed to check a box on the DMV appli-

cation to indicate that you need the IDfor voting purposes. To obtain an ID you will need to

present documentation. The types ofdocumentation include but are notlimited to:

� Birth certificate, or valid passport, ornaturalization papers

� Social Security card, or militarypapers, or marriage papers.

� Proof of Wisconsin residency: utilitybill, or paystub, or mortgage.

� Proof of U.S. Citizenship

� Social Security number

For more complete information about thenew law go the voting@cityofmadi-son.com; www.cityofmadison.com/election or https://vpa.wi.gov

counters. In 1961 he helped organizethe Alabama Freedom Rides. Despitefire hoses, dogs, and death threatsReverend Shuttlesworth continuedthe crusade for civil rights, mobilizingthousands of others to get involved. Reverend Shuttlesworth’s work

helped light the path for the next gen-eration to continue to work for civilrights. He was a courageous leaderand we honor his memory and legacy.

Civil Rights Leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth MournedOn October 5th Reverend FredShuttlesworth died. ReverendShuttlesworth was a founder of theSouthern Christian LeadershipConference. He marched with Dr.King. He served as pastor of BethelBaptist Church in Birmingham in the1950s where he founded the AlabamaChristian Movement for HumanRights. In 1960 he participated in thesit-in protests against segregated lunch

MUM launches our new and improved website

It has taken awhile but starting in November, MUM will launch our

new and improved website. The site will be more user friendly, more

up to date and you will be able to make donations online. We hope

you’ll visit the site at www.emum.org.

The PhoenixInitiative

The PhoenixInitiative is a struc-tured supportgroup for formerlyincarcerated menand women.Consistent withevidence based

practices that call forgender specific and

responsive programmingfor women there are two Phoenix

Initiative groups, one for men and onefor women. The groups are led by for-merly incarcerated men and womenand are structured to provide mentor-ing, leadership development and fol-low a Restorative Justice model, byoffering opportunities to help repairthe harm done to the community by

Dialogue Madison-area Urban Ministry3

MUM has two new initiativescrime. The Phoenix Initiative for menmeets Thursday evenings 5:00 – 6:30p.m. at MUM. The Phoenix Initiative for Women is

a women’s group based on the needsfor women to connect, share and learnfrom one another. We will have ourfirst meeting on Oct 17th at 9:30-11:30am. The meeting will be held atThe South Side Neighborhood House29 South Mills St Madison WI, 53715.

For more information or to have presen-tation about the Phoenix Initiative con-tact MUM Associate Director BarbaraMcKinney at barbara@emum.org.

Ready to Rent.

Ready to Rent is an educational work-shop based on the Rent Smart curricu-lum developed by the University ofWI Extension. This past summerMUM Associate Director Barbara

McKinney and AmeriCorps MemberLavaisha Terry attended a Train theTrainers event and are now ready tooffer the programs. The curriculumfocuses on budgeting, understandingyour rights and responsibilities as atenant, maintaining your home, land-lord/tenant relationship, and otherareas related to a successful rentingexperience. The program is beingoffered by MUM at the Dane CountyJail and will be offered in various com-munity venues. This is an outgrowthof our Greater Isthmus Group withfinancial support for the programcoming in part from the ApartmentAssociation of South CentralWisconsin.

For more information about Ready toRent contact MUM Associate DirectorBarbara McKinney atbarbara@emum.org.

Since our last newsletter MUM hasbeen involved in number of events:

� MUM provided witness against theLegislature’s Concealed Carry Law.The press event was called byWAVE, a statewide anti violenceorganization. As a follow-up MUM’sdirector had an op-ed in the VoicesNewspaper related to concealedcarry. The piece was in the June-Julyedition.

� MUM’s Executive Director spoke ata press conference held by theWisconsin Council on Children andFamilies. We were there in supportof their “Wisconsin Values Budget”which can be found atwww.wccf.org. The event was cov-ered in an article by Pat Schneider inthe May 19th Capital Times.

� On Tuesday July 19th MUMDirector Linda Ketcham was theguest on WORT’s A Public Affairhosted by Cynthia Lin. The topicwas the hunger strike being held by

inmates at California’s Pelican Bay Prison. To hear the show go tohttp://archive.wort-fm.org/.

� MUM’s Associate Director BarbaraMcKinney was interviewed byMadison Times Editor DavidDahmer in the September 14-20 edition of the Madison Times. It is awonderful interview and a greatway to learn more about Barbara andthe passion she brings to her work atMUM and in the community.

� On Wednesday Sept 28th MUMDirector Linda Ketcham along withRabbi Bonnie Margulis of thePresident of Religious Coalition forReproductive Choice, Reverend PhilHaslanger, Pastor at MemorialUnited Church of Christ inFitchburg, and John Huebscher,Executive Director of the WICatholic Conference took part in apanel discussion on Wisconsin Eye.The program focused on theConcerned Religious Leaders of

Wisconsin’s statement and theGovernor’s budget. To view the 30minute program go tohttp://www.wiseye.org/Programming/VideoArchive/EventDetail.aspx.

� MUM was also a co-planner/spon-sor of the September 11th InterfaithService of Remembrance andHealing held at Grace EpiscopalChurch. Faith community leadersfrom the Muslim, Jewish andChristian communities lead over200 participants in meditation,prayer and song for healing, mourn-ing and hope. Thank you to GraceEpiscopal Church for pulling theevent together.

MUM in the News

Madison-area Urban Ministry Dialogue 4

In January 2011 Madison-area UrbanMinistry (MUM) promoted me toProgram Coordinator for MUM’sMentoring, Family and ReadingConnections programs. All three pro-grams serve children who have anincarcerated parent. Family Connections takes children

and caregivers to visit their moms inTaycheedah Correctional Institution.Reading Connections provides booksfor moms to choose, program volun-teers record the moms reading to theirchildren, and then we mail a letterfrom mom, the book and the DVD totheir children. Mentoring Connectionsis a community based mentoring pro-gram that matches children (4-17years) with volunteer mentors. Allthree of these programs depend oncaring volunteers and we are recruit-ing volunteers.

Growing impactWhen I began with MentoringConnections in 2004, I had the plea-sure of working with the FamilyConnections of WI, Inc ExecutiveDirector Laurie Bibo. I want toacknowledge her many years of careand devotion to the families and vol-unteers in Family and ReadingConnections that helped build a strongfoundation that we continue to buildupon. It is a wonderful experience towitness how happy the mothers are tosend taped readings to their childrenand even more wonderful to see thefaces on both parents and childrenwhen they meet in the visiting room atTaycheedah. MUM has increased its’outreach to children with these threeimportant programs by one third andnow serves approximately 100 chil-dren, caregivers and moms eachmonth.

Interns, sponsors and events makea differenceThis summer brought a student interninto our program, Jacob 15. Jacob andhis six siblings have been participantsin Mentoring Connections since 2005.

Jacob helped us prepare for theUnited Way’s annual MiddletonDay of Caring on Friday, August26. Thank you again to the extra-ordinary sponsor who sent inmoney to give Jacob a token ofappreciation for his service andhelp him earn money this sum-mer. Middleton Day of Caring isalways full of exciting activitiesthat included fishing, arts andcrafts, book and toy give away. Itstarts with matching an adult volun-teer to each child, them eating lunchand having fun together. It ends witheach child getting a backpack full ofschool supplies, their own fishing rodand tackle. If you know of childrenstill needing school supplies, pleasecontact me at MUM. Dean Care onStoughton Road did a later school sup-plies event for MUM and we havesome supplies remaining. We wouldlike to thank both sponsors for helpingour students start off the school yearwith the supplies that they need to besuccessful. We also had a summerintern, Connie Thai, a student at UWMadison, assisted in our office atMiddleton Day of Caring and who hascontinued as a volunteer with ReadingConnections.

Holiday PartyOur Holiday Party is scheduled forThursday, December 1, 5:30 – 8:00 pmat the Lussier Community EducationCenter (previously Wexford Ridge) at

What’s new with Mentoring and Family Connections?By Fabu Carter

55 South Gammon Road nearMemorial High School. The kind peo-ple at TDS have been our major spon-sor for this party. I have already seenthe effects of our worsening economyon the families that Madison-areaUrban Ministry serves. We had a 25%increase in students needing schoolsupplies, and there are increasedrequests for financial assistance fromMoms with keeping lights turned on inhomes, gas cards and asking for gro-ceries. The Holidays are stressful timesfor parents who will often not paytheir rent or other bills in order toassure that their children have holidayfood and toys.

Ways in which you can help are:

� Become a program volunteer, eitheras a mentor or as one of our volun-teers who accompany the children toTaycheedah and help record momsreading to their children.

(Left) Two children and theirmentor havingfun at the MCholiday party.

(Below) UWService Learningstudents enjoyspending timewith children atthe party.

Continued on next page

Dialogue Madison-area Urban Ministry5

Meet our staff

Lonnelle Crosby joined our staff as aResource Specialist in July. Lonnellehas a degree in human resources andhas worked with formerly incarcerat-ed men and women through theEmployment and TrainingAssociation. Lonnelle relocated toMadison from Minnesota, he brings awealth of experience in employmentand focuses on building relationshipswith employers and working on jobskills with program participants.

John Miller joined our staff throughthe CCEP program in July; howeverJohn was not new to MUM. John firstmet us on January 5, 2010 when hewas released from prison and beganworking with our re-entry team. Johnis a Resource Assistant and workswith our Phoenix Initiative, a support

Back row (left to right)

John Miller, Joshua Clauer, John Givens,Antonio Williams, Lonnelle Crosby

Middle row (left to right)

Kristine Shaw, Jackie Austin, ShawnaLutzow, Ida Thomas, Fabu Phillis Carter,Carmella Hulvey Glenn, Lynn Miller, LoriPowell

Seated (left to right)

Linda Ketcham, Director

Barbara McKinney, Associate Director

(Not pictured: Bill Bittner)

group for formerly incarcerated menthat meets every Thursday at 5:00 p.m.here at MUM. John brings a passionfor this work borne out of his own lifeexperience and his desire to build astronger, safer community.

Shawna Lutzow and AntonioWilliams both began theirAmeriCorps term of service with us inAugust. Shawna and Antonio are withMUM through the United Way ofDane County’s Mobilizing VolunteersInitiative. They work with the Circlesof Support and Journey Home programs to help recruit and train volunteers for Circles of Support aswell as assist us in our in-reach intoWisconsin prisons to meet with incar-cerated men and women prior to theirrelease.

(left to right):Shawna Lutzow (AmeriCorps Member)

John Miller (The Phoenix Initiative)

Lonnelle Crosby (The Journey Home)

Antonio Williams (AmeriCorps Member)

Kristine Shaw (Madison College Intern)

Carmella Hulvey Glenn (Windows toWork)

New staff members of MUM’s Re-Entry Team

� Make a financial donation toMadison-area Urban Ministry insupport of these programs. We donot receive any government fundingfor the programs and we rely ondonations and support from localfoundations like the MadisonRotary, Evjue, Capital Kids Fundand others.

� Adopt a family in need.

� Have a book drive for multiethnicand Spanish language books atchurch or work (for book sugges-tions contact Fabu atfabu@emum.org).

� Connect us to resources that MUMmight not be aware of.

If you know children who have amom at Taycheedah Our next Family and ReadingConnections trip will be Saturday,December 17. If you know of childrenin our community who need a free,safe ride to Taycheedah CorrectionalInstitution, please contact me at ouroffice (608) 256-0906 or by email atfabu@emum.org. Thank you and mayyour time with family and friends beblessed.

Mentoring from page 4

Madison-area Urban Ministry Dialogue 6

Everybody has to be somewhere – don’t they? Homelessness in our community.

These numbers come from the City ofMadison Planning and CommunityEconomic Development Department:CDBG Office. These number are com-piled annually and are collected fromagencies that use the WI ServicePoint(WISP) homeless management infor-mation system and those that do not.Use of the WISP system helps to mini-mize duplicative counting of individu-als seeking services.2010 Emergency Shelter Totals: In

2010 a total of 3,136 individuals wereserved in 312 year round and 37 over-flow emergency shelter beds, warminghouse mattresses and volunteer hosthomes. It also includes those servedthrough motel vouchers, but does notinclude those that may have beenhelped through non-shelter providerssuch as faith communities and othernon-profits. In 2010 1,605 individualswere turned away without shelter in2010, of those, 97% were individuals infamilies.Twenty five percent of families with

children seeking shelter were trying toescape a domestic violence situation.Twenty three percent of single womenseeking shelter were doing so as aresult of domestic violence. About onethird (31%) of all those seeking emer-gency shelter and 42% of families seek-ing shelter report that they were“doubling up” or staying with friendsor family prior to seeking shelter.Thirteen percent of homeless familiesreported sleeping in their cars or onthe street prior to entering the shelter. By the third day of school this year

the Transitional Education Programthrough the Madison MetropolitanSchool District had already identified127 homeless children attendingMadison Schools. As homelessnessgrows in our community theMiddleton/Cross Plains district hasinstituted a similar program. Many of our readers likely know

that when individuals are using shel-ter it does not mean that they have a

safe place to be during the day.Individuals leave shelter during theday, many used to find a warm, dryplace to sit in the Capitol cafeteria or atthe downtown library. However theCapitol cafeteria has been closed to thepublic for months with no indicationof when the Governor’s administrationwill re-open it and as the city preparesto close the downtown library for ren-ovations it appears that there will befewer places for homeless individualsin our community to rest, stay warmand to connect with the community. Anumber of faith communities andhomeless services providers are work-ing on adding about 100 spots for peo-ple during the day to stay warm andrest. Bethel Lutheran Church isproposing to expand their availabilityMonday through Friday, the Off theSquare Club located at St. John’sLutheran church, and others are work-ing on this plan. However, the space

will still not be enough to compensatefor the loss of respite once provided bythe Capital cafeteria.

Housing is a Human RightDane County’s Affordable HousingAction Alliance, operation WelcomeHome, Freedom Inc. and Take Backthe Land have drafted the “Housing isa Human Right” Resolution for con-sideration at both the County and Citylevel. Madison-area Urban Ministryhas already signed on in support of theResolution and both the City andCounty are looking at it for passage. Ifyou would like a copy of the resolu-tion you can find it at: www.opera-tionwelcomehome.wordpress.com.The groups are working on another

resolution “Food is a Human Right.”That resolution is still being crafted.MUM is putting together a statementof faith in support of the resolutions.

Longest Night, Homeless Person’s MemorialDecember 21

On December 21st, the longest night of the year, MUM along withCommunity Action Coalition, First Congregational United Church ofChrist, Lakeview Lutheran Church and Christ the Solid Rock BaptistChurch will hold the fourth annual Longest Night Homeless PersonsMemorial Service. The service celebrates the lives of the homeless members of our com-

munity who have died during the past year. The service also offers anopportunity for individuals who are homeless to lift up the names ofloved ones they have lost during the year but perhaps were unable to paytheir respects or grieve. The event will begin at 4:00 p.m. on the Capital Square. We will gather

at the first marble bench at the intersection of East Main Street, SouthPinckney and King Street, near the bench where Dwayne Warren, a mem-ber of our community who was homeless died. At 5:00 p.m. we will conclude the service so that individuals who are

homeless are able to enter the shelter at Grace Episcopal Church when itopens its doors at 5:00.

If you or your congregation would like to get involved please contact MUM at608-256-0906. If you have names of individuals you would like remem-bered at the service contact linda@emum.org.

Dialogue Madison-area Urban Ministry7

The proposed 2012 Dane County bud-get released by County Executive JoeParisi includes over $1.3 million incuts to human services. In accordancewith the County Executives directivethe budget proposed by theDepartment of Human Servicesincluded over 3.1 million in cuts.Dozens of people testified during twonights of public hearings. Amongthem members of the faith communityorganized by MUM and witnessingagainst the cuts to crucial services toyouth, seniors, families, people withaddiction, disabilities, mental healthchallenges and homeless families.MUM was there both nights.Executive Director Linda Ketcham

testified both evenings. On Mondayshe read a statement on behalf ofMUM in opposition to the cuts. OnTuesday Linda and Reverend KenPennings presented a letter/petitionwritten by people of faith, labor lead-ers, non-profit directors and environ-mental groups. The letter/petition

calls for the County Executive andCounty Board to consider alternativesto the funding cuts, including a mini-mal ($15 - $20) vehicle registration feethat would be used to support theroad fund, which is currently fundedby general purpose revenue/propertytax dollars. Having individuals whouse the roads pay for their mainte-nance and infrastructure would freeup general purpose revenue to sup-port human services.

� On Friday Sept. 30th the CountyExecutive announced that his bud-get would put $1.9 million dollarsback into the human services bud-get. It is our position that therestoration of the 1.9 million dollarsis a good start but because over thepast ten years funding for humanservices has remained either stag-nant or has been cut. The safety netcannot sustain the cuts proposed inthe Executive’s budget withoutresulting in a loss of services, longer

� waiting lists (the waiting list atDomestic Abuse InterventionServices – DAIS is 40 days for emer-gency housing for women seeking toflee an abusive partner, theSalvation Army’s Warming House isturning an average of 30 women andchildren away each night). What isneeded is a full restoration of fund-ing for human services, especiallysince the $1.9 million restoredincludes funding for new initiativesand positions at the county level,meaning that those new initiativesand positions are likely being paidfor through cuts to existing pro-grams.

� If you would like a listing of the pro-posed cuts or would like a copy ofthe letter and petition delivered tothe County Health and HumanNeeds Committee contact MUM atlinda@emum.org.

� On June 20th MUM staff met withthe County Executive to discuss thechallenges faced by individuals andfamilies involved in the criminal jus-tice system.

� On May 27th MUM’s ExecutiveDirector along with 14 other non-profit leaders met with the CountyExecutive to discuss the current sta-tus of the safety net and the contin-ued increase in demand for services.

� On Wednesday October 19th MUMwill lead a contingency of faith com-munity leaders to meet with CountyExecutive Parisi’s Aide. We will alsobe requesting and additional meet-ing with the County Executive. Wewant to make sure that, as people offaith our voices are heard, that weare helping to lift the voices of thedisenfranchised, of the growingnumber of struggling families andpeople living in poverty in our com-munity.

� If you would like more information onthe outcome of the October 19thmeeting please emaillinda@emum.org.

Despite restoration of some funds,significant cuts are still proposedfor human services in Dane County

“And the people bowed and prayed

to the neon god they made.

And the sign flashed out its warning,

in the words that it was forming.

And the sign said the words of the prophets

are written on the subway walls, and

tenement halls.”

Sounds o f Silence, Simon & Garfunkel

the discriminatory nature of this bill asit pertains to criminal conviction.

Assemby Bill 286/Senate Bill 207:Hiring and FiringThis bill will allow employers to refuse

to hire, or to terminate fromemployment someonewith an unpardonedfelony and preempt-ing cities, villages,towns and countiesfrom adopting pro-visions concerningemployment dis-crimination basedon arrest or convic-tion record that pro-

hibit activity that isallowed under the state fair

employment law.

The proposed bill further states that:“it is not employment discriminationbecause of conviction record to refuseto employ, or to bar or terminate fromemployment, any of the following:

� An individual who has been convict-ed of a felony and who has not beenpardoned for that felony;

� An individual who has been convict-ed of a felony, the circumstances ofwhich substantially related to thecircumstances of the particular job,and who has been pardoned for thatfelony;

� An individual who has been convict-ed of a misdemeanor or otheroffense, the circumstances of whichsubstantially related to the circum-stances of a particular job;

� An individual who is not bondableunder a standard fidelity bond or anequivalent bond when such bond-ability is required by state or federallaw, administrative regulation, orestablished business practice of theemployer.

It further reads “no county, city, vil-

Recent legislation disproportionatelyaffects minorities and strips local con-trol from cities, counties and munici-palities.Several bills before the state legisla-

ture represent significant changesto current protections undercivil rights ordinancesacross the state. Inaddition these billswill likely dispro-portionatelyimpact people ofcolor in our State,especially AfricanAmerican men.

Senate Bill 107:Tenant RightsSenate Bill 107 which waspassed by the Senate and isawaiting action by the Assemblywipes out decades of tenant protec-tions in counties across the state. Thebill prevents local municipalities frompassing ordinances that would expandprotected classes to fair housing law.The bill will allow landlords to usecredit information, employment histo-ry, level and source of income andcriminal conviction or history to denyapplicants for housing. Of coursewhen we talk criminal convictionrecords in a state that consistentlyranks in the bottom three in terms ofracial disparities in the criminal justicesystem we then recognize that this billwill disproportionately affect AfricanAmericans in our state, especiallysince the bill offers no time limit on theconviction. So, a now 34 year old who was con-

victed of a crime at age 17 but notsince is still subject to housing denialbecause of a mistake 17 years prior.Kudos to County Supervisors Bayrd,Sargent, Hesselbein, and Eicher,Common Council Members Bidar-Sielaf, Brian Solomon and SchoolBoard Member Passman for theirstrongly worded letter to GovernorWalker and the Legislature regarding

Madison-area Urban Ministry Dialogue 8

Several

bills before the

state legislature repre-

sent significant changes

to current protections

under civil rights ordi-

nances across the

state.

Volunteer Opportunities

Board service ::work together tosustain and develop MUM

Mentoring Connections ::mentorthe child of an incarcerated parent

Family Connections :: accompanychildren to visit incarcerated moms

Circles of Support :: Re-connectingformerly incarcerated men andwomen with positive communityrole models who assist in the tran-sition from prison to home

Office Assistance :: helping with avariety of tasks in the MUM office

Returning Prisoner Simulations ::guiding participants as they “takea walk in the shoes” of a newlyreleased prisoner

Re-Entry Simulations :: help MUMconduct “rehearsals for re-entry”for prisoners who are near theirrelease date

If you’re interested in volunteer-ing, contact us at mum@emum.orgor 256-0906.

lage or town may adopt any provi-sions concerning employment dis-crimination based on arrest or convic-tion record that prohibits any activitythat is allowed under this section. The bill has been referred to the

Committee on Labor, Public Safetyand Urban Affairs. In all likelihoodthe sponsors of this bill view them-selves as people of faith and perhapscould be reminded their traditionsviews on forgiveness and redemption.

Recent Wisconsin legislationTrend shows disregard for impact on minorities and revocation of local control

Dialogue Madison-area Urban Ministry9

After a decline in 2009, unemployment in Wisconsin is on the riseAccording to the Center on WisconsinStrategy (COWS), 7.8 percent ofWisconsin’s workforce is currentlyunemployed. At the end of 2007 thestate’s unemployment rate was 4.5%.The rate doubled in 2009 after thelabor market crashed following thefinancial crisis. The rate began todecline in 2009, and at this time lastyear was below 8 percent and contin-ued to decline to 7.3% this past April.Since then it has been increasing. Intheir paper The State of Working WI –Update 2011, unemployment isdefined as an individual who meetsthe following criteria: 1) Has had no employment during agiven week;

2) Was available for work during thattime; and

3) Has made specific efforts to findemployment sometime during thepast four week period.

People who are laid off from a job andexpect to be recalled do not have to belooking for work to be counted in theunemployment count. COWS also found that employment

opportunities are most scarce for thosewho are lower down the ladder in thelabor market. Twenty five percent ofAfrican Americans in Wisconsin areunemployed, four times higher thanthe rate for white Wisconsinites.Younger workers and workers whoare less educated also fare worse, withan unemployment rate of 15% for

workers ages 16-24. The unemploy-ment rate among Hispanics is 10%.Add in the racial disparities in

incarceration rates and some of thepunitive legislation like SB 207 and itis easy to see too why unemploymentcontinues to beleaguer individualsreturning to our community fromprison.

Poverty increases in DaneCountyAccording to the 2010US Census the medi-an income in DaneCounty dropped10% over the lastdecade. The num-ber of people inpoverty and con-sidered living in“extreme poverty”also increased. In DaneCounty the median house-hold income dropped from$64,410 in 1999 to $$58,661 in 2010. Thepercentage of those living in povertyrose from 9.4% to 12.2 percent. Povertyamong children rose dramatically dur-ing that period too. According to theWisconsin Council on Children andFamilies the number of children livingin poverty in Wisconsin increased by43% from 2008 to 2010, a rate that,while behind the national rate, isgrowing at a faster rate than in thenation as a whole. According to WCCFin 2008 Wisconsin had the 12th lowestrate of childhood poverty, two yearslater we’ve slipped to 24th. Our neigh-bors in Minnesota have the tenth lowest rate of child poverty in 2010.

We must ask again, is this really thetime to cut human services in DaneCounty?

An Example of how the StateBudget is affecting the poor andhurting in Dane CountyState health officials have releasedreforms to the State Medicaid pro-gram that tightens eligibility and may

result in thousands ofWisconsin citizens losingtheir medical coverage.The plan in theorywill save more than$500 million by2013 (if you don’tfactor in whatthose of us withinsurance will payin increased premi-ums and hospital bills

to provide emergencymedical care for people

without insurance). The depart-ment is not sure how many peoplewill be affected by the changes buttheir internal documents have sug-gested that more than 50,000 peoplecould lose their BadgerCare andBadgerCare Plus Core coverage andan additional 215,000 could be movedinto programs with reduced benefits.The BadgerCare programs it shouldbe noted are funded jointly by theState and Federal governments andprovide affordable medical insurancefor individuals who are employed butare either not offered insurancethrough their employers or cannotafford the coverage offered by theiremployers.

No surprise: Poverty has been going up with the rise in unemployment in Dane County and Wisconsin

IsNOW reallythe time to cuthuman services

in Dane County?

Be social.Join our group on Facebook where we share the latest news on relevant

legislation, events and news. Simply search for Madison-area Urban Ministry.

We’d love to have you join the conversation.

citizens has led to widespread angerand discontent. The will of the peoplehas been disregarded, citizens’ voiceshave been silenced, the rich have ben-efited at the expense of the poor, andbudgets have been balanced on thebacks of the impoverished, the sick,and our children……”Unfortunately, as has

been the case through-out the last eightmonths, the localand state mediahave, for the mostpart chosen toignore activitiesand events coordi-nated by people offaith that challengethe current approach togovernance. This was trueof a press event in February whereclergy from around the state gatheredat the steps of Grace Episcopal Churchto call on the Governor to propose ajust and moral budget. Indeed, over

Madison-area Urban Ministry Dialogue 10

Madison-area Urban Ministry is afounding member of ConcernedReligious Leaders of Wisconsin. OnAugust 18th the group held a pressconference to introduce our statement“A Religious Witness to the breach inthe Social Covenant for the CommonGood between the People and theState of Wisconsin, January throughJune 2011. Quoting from the statement: “a

truly democratic government acts inaccordance with the wishes of the gov-erned. It has, in the past, been thedesire of the people of Wisconsin –through the social service, educational,and healthcare programs of its govern-ment – to assist its citizens to maintainlives of dignity and honor. And manyWisconsinites pursue this goal becauseof the religious values to which theysubscribe.The biblical book of Genesis teaches

us that humanity was created in thedivine image. We understand this tomean that each person on the planetpossesses some aspect of the divine,and therefore we must treat each per-son with kindness, justice and respect.Many religious traditions share theconcept of the Golden Rule, that is,that we must act toward others, as wewould want them to act toward us.This ethical directive, existing betweenand among all inhabitants of ourworld, forms a ‘social covenant’ thatholds not only between individuals,but also between the citizenry and ourgovernment. It is this social covenant that we

seek to uphold each day in our workas religious leaders. Yet we have seenmany elements of this covenant shred-ded in the recently passed bienniumbudget. As religious leaders ofWisconsin who are heirs to theprophetic tradition of social justice, wecall upon our Legislature to searchdeep in their souls to find a moremoral path to fiscal responsibility.Our state government’s refusal to

maintain this social covenant with its

Concerned Religious Leaders of WisconsinNew group advocates for a moral path to fiscal responsibility

eighty clergy from around the stategathered, there were several hundredpeople at the event, there was nomedia. In early March MUM was a co-sponsor of the People of Faith UnitedFor Justice Lobby Day. Coordinated bythe Wisconsin Council of Churches the

event brought over 600 peopleof faith from around thestate to lobby their leg-islators. No mediacoverage.If you would like

to follow the workof ConcernedReligious Leadersof Wisconsin youcan go to www.conc-ernedreligiouslead-

ers.blogspot.com. Thereyou will be able to read the

full statement and sign on to thestatement. Thank you to RabbiJonathan Biatch for his lead role incrafting the statement and for main-taining the blog.

Thelocal and state

media have, for themost part chosen toignore activities andevents coordinated bypeople of faith that challenge the current

approach to governance.

If we don’t stand up and speak out, who will?

Monday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m.

City County Building, Room 201210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.Madison, Wisconsin

Come at 6:45 p.m. to join a prayer vigil before the hearing.

Come to the Dane County budget hearing to oppose any cuts to human services.

∆

Dialogue Madison-area Urban Ministry11

Support MUM’s work for social justice

� Yes, I’d like to support Madison-area Urban Ministry’s social justice programs!� $175 Sustaining annual � $100 Supporting annual � $65 Household annual � $50 Individual annual � $__________ Student/Low/Fixed Income (Please contribute based on ability)

� Check enclosed payable to Madison-area Urban Ministry: $____________________

Name/s

Address

City State Zip

Phone Email

Please send your contr ibution to : Madison-area Urban Ministry, 2300 S. Park St., #2022, Madison, WI 53713

THANKS!AND MORETHANKS!MADISON ROTARY FOUNDATION for a grant to support MUM’s Family Connec-tions and Reading Connectionsprograms. The programs helptransport children so they can visittheir incarcerated mothers atTaycheedah Correctional Institutionand they record mothers reading totheir young children and provide aDVD of the mother reading, and acopy of the book with a cover letter, are sent to the child to keepthe connection between motherand child.

CAPITAL TIMES KIDS FUNDto support Reading Connections.

ALLIANT ENERGY FOUNDATION for a CommunityGrant.

PLEASANT T. ROWLANDFOUNDATION for their dona-tion to the Dane County SchoolSupplies for Kids project.

Starting in November, you will be able to give your gift online at www.emum.org.

A Fundraiser for Madison-areaUrban Ministry

Save the date!Thursday evening, March 1, 2012

New location:Madison Christian

Community

7118 Old Sauk Rd. in Madison

This event, MUM’s onlyfundraising event of the year,will have a new format and anew location, but you can stillexpect good music, good food,good conversation and merri-ment for a good cause.

Want to help?If you have an item or a serviceyou could donate to our silent auction OR you would considerbeing an event sponsor, contactlori@emum.org.

Come join us and “Beat those Winter Blues”

Madison-area Urban Ministry2300 South Park Street, #2022Madison, WI 53713

mum@emum.orgwww.emum.org(608)256-0906

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Madison, WI

Permit #1991Returning Prisoner Simulation Part of the Wisconsin BookFestival. For more information contact jackie@emum.org. Registeronline at www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/prisonerreentry.

Dane County Board Budget Hearing. Come to the DaneCounty budget hearing to oppose any cuts to human services.Come at 6:45 p.m. to join a prayer vigil before the hearing. CityCounty Building, Room 201, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. inMadison.

Beat those Winter Blues Save the Date for MUM’s 2012Fundraiser. March 1st, At Community of Hope, 7118 Old SaukRoad, Madison. For more information visit our website atwww.emum.org.

Saturday, October 229:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday, October 24Vigil at 6:45 p.m.

Hearing at 7:00 p.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, March 1Save the date