Materials from CHAPA's July 26th Breakfast Forum: Strategies for Breaking the Cycle of Poverty - August 11, 2017

On July 26, 2017, CHAPA sponsored a breakfast forum, "Strategies for Breaking the Cycle of Poverty", exploring three programs that have helped families increase their incomes: The Secure Jobs Initiative; EMPath's Intergenerational Mobility Project; and Compass Working Capital's innovations in the HUD Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program.

Moderator: Soni Gupta, Executive Director, Home Funders

Speakers included:

• Jeffrey Lubell, Principal Associate and Director of Housing and Community Initiatives, Social & Economic Policy, Abt Associates
• Sherry Riva, Executive Director and Founder, Compass Working Capital
• Sandy Guerrier, Direct Service Provider and Family/Youth Stability Advocate
• Nicki Ruiz de Luzuriaga, Associate Vice President of Mobility Mentoring Specialties & Capacity Building, Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)
• Tatjana Meschede, Associate Director, Institute on Assets and Social Policy, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
• Patricia Belden, President, POAH Communities
• Robert Rodriguez, Secure Jobs Participant
• Ashley Brehm, Vice President Housing Stabilization Programs, Way Finders

Click here for materials related to the forum, including more information on the program initiatives, recent program evaluations and proposed federal legislation to strengthen the FSS program. Click here for photos from the forum.

One of the ways that CHAPA plans to support these initiatives is through its advocacy for the passage of H.3020/S.724), An Act Relative to the Economic Mobility and Stability Program, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Vega & Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry.   This legislation creates a commission of stakeholders to study the many self-sufficiency programs that have been created to help households increase their incomes and build assets. The commission will also examine the impact of cliff effects and determine ways to adjust assistance in response to changes in income. For more information, please contact Eric Shupin, CHAPA’s Director of Public Policy, at eshupin@chapa.org or (617) 742-0820