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TANF, Poverty and Violence Against Native Women

Women are Sacred ConferenceOakland, California

What are WE What are WE going to do?going to do?

• What the big picture looks like

• Biggest challenges addressing poverty - for survivors, for advocates

• Scenario to raise issues and explore approaches

• Identify resources

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Challenges of Challenges of working with working with public benefitspublic benefits

• When we say “public benefits” -- what do you think of?

• What kinds of challenges do you face as an advocate?

• What happens for survivors?

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ScenariosScenariosDeana is 24 years old, with two young children (4 and 6 yrs), and left their abusive father about 8 mo ago. (He works in construction on/off, she doesn’t want contact with him). Deana got her GED after she had her son, took a couple of nursing classes at the community college, and is currently working as a waitress - uneven hours and uneven pay.

Deana thinks she’ll maybe make between $5,000 - 10,000 this year. She pieces together childcare (sister, mother, friends). She is currently living with her sister, but not really a great situation. She is often late with rent and utilities.

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QUESTIONSQUESTIONS

• What is Deana concerned about?

• Where is she feeling the most pressure?

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QUESTIONSQUESTIONS

• What might her hopes be?

• What personal resources can she drawn on?

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QUESTIONSQUESTIONS

• What public benefits might she or her children be eligible for?

• What would be the “benefit” to her or her children?

• What challenges would she likely face accessing these benefits?

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QUESTIONSQUESTIONS• How do we prepare to be

helpful to Deana?

• What do we need to understand -- as coalitions, as local advocates, as community partners?

• What will be the most hard for us?

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Resources Resources Online information about key low-income benefit programs•Links to Policy Manuals, Descriptive Information, and Applications for State Food Stamp, TANF, Child Care, Medicaid, and SCHIP Programs

– www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1414

ResourcesResources

• National Congress of American Indians – Welfare Reform/Employment

Training• http://www.ncai.org/Welfare-Reform-

Employment-Trai.46.0.html

04/12/23 PowerPoint slide layout by Red Wind Consulting, Inc. 10

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Resources Resources

• Economic Justice on a Shoestring, developed by the Women of Color Network

• Qweesta:– Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for

Families curriculum– Meeting the NEED:  Native Enterprise and

Entrepreneurship Development Model

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Resources Resources VAWnet - Domestic Violence Public Policy &

Systems Advocacy• Special Collections which focus on

economic advocacy issues impacting domestic violence survivors– www.VAWnet.org