Linda Forsberg is an ELCA pastor and a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women this week. The Commission on the Status of Women is an annual gathering that seeks to evaluate progress on gender equality. The 2013 event is exploring the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women.

Click on this image or click here to listen to the Rev. Forsberg discuss why she came to the Commission on the Status of Women, her own experience of violence, and how all individuals — boys and men included — share in one prayer of preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls.

By Sarah Dreier, Legislative Representative of International Policy for the ELCA and The Episcopal Church

Maria spoke very little English, and I speak no Korean. But the wisdom that shone in Maria’s eye instantly inspired my trust. So I climbed into her van, along with two of her employees (sex industry survivors) and her young son, and the five of us drove into the heart of one of Seoul’s red light districts.

“Stay alert — we will need to run if the men catch us!” Maria conveyed to me in broken English.

As I stepped timidly out of the van (which Maria had parked in a narrow alleyway), I watched Maria scamper from one window to another, each of which displayed a young woman. She handed each prostitute a hair barrette with the phone number for Maria’s women’s shelter hidden inside. Maria and her phone are inseparable; she knows that she may only have one chance to connect with the sex workers who call her, eager to escape the indentured servitude of the red light district.

The next day, Maria welcomed me into her home. It was a safe haven she shared with those she has rescued from the sex industry, and with the newborn baby who had been abandoned by his mother. (Like many women and girls, this little baby’s mother had been broken by the confluence of forced drug addiction, physical abuse, and emotional degradation; she disappeared shortly after her son was born.)

Maria and I sat in a quiet little room and prayed together. We held hands and meditated in silence, even as the sounds of a crying baby and a busy house swirled around us. Maria looked profoundly content and grateful.

And I thought of another Mary, the mother of Jesus, amid the hustle and commotion of Jesus’ birth: “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Like Mary, Maria is a nurturer, dedicated to caring for the women and girls who have suffered the tortures of gender-based violence and abuse.

I’ve met many other nurturers in my travels: the sisters of a Lutheran friend and colleague who generously welcomed me into their crowded Nairobi home; the women of the Episcopal Church of Cuba who cared for me when I fell ill; the former Sudanese refugee — herself expecting a child — who shared her own challenging refugee story with me and with members of Congress in hopes that we may protect those who remain in conflict zones. These generous women have nurtured me, a stranger, and it saddens me that our world does not afford them the same courtesy of safety and support.

Gender-based violence is a pernicious global phenomenon that takes many forms, including domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, forced prostitution and sex slavery, female genital mutilation, forced child marriages, assault on the basis of sexual orientation, dowry crimes and honor killings, infanticide, and gender discrimination. An estimated one in five women experiences rape or attempted rape and up to 70 percent of all women will experience gender-based violence from men in their lifetime (for more information, click here). Women in developing countries experience particularly high levels of violence, where cycles of poverty, hunger and insecurity make them more vulnerable to violent assault and abuse.

Next week, world leaders will convene in New York City for the 57th Annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. This year, they will focus on eliminating and preventing all forms of gender-based violence. Activists will call on world governments to commit to ending violence against women and girls through translating international promises into concrete national action, and by strengthening norms that combat violence.

“We all must do better to protect women and prevent this pervasive human rights violation,” says Michelle Bachelet, executive director of UN Women, announced in preparation for next week’s gathering.

This year during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, I will remember the women Maria has saved and supported, and how their lives have been affected by gender-based violence. The Commission on the Status of Women can serve as a reminder that we must all work together to nurture those who have nurtured us and to protect those women and girls who, like Maria’s survivors, are in desperate need of care, support and safety from violence.

Maria and her family of survivors crowded around the entrance to their shelter. Watching their smiling faces as they waved goodbye, I was amazed that something as nurturing and life-giving as this community of women could conquer something as abhorrent as the sex industry.

Sarah Dreier

By Sarah Dreier, Legislative Representative of International Policy for the ELCA and The Episcopal Church 

The discipline of yoga has taught me to realize that I am whole in God, regardless of what goes on around me — that no experiences I encounter in my worldly life will adulterate that godly wholeness. Drawing on this notion of spiritual wholeness, I have developed and redefined what it means to be excellent in my work as the legislative representative of international policy for the ELCA and the Episcopal Church, even as I tackle worldly injustices that seem utterly impassable.

Every day, I work with Congress and the Administration to challenge them to address and abate global injustices, including hunger, malnutrition, lack of development, violence and other human rights violations. I advocate for U.S. policies that will help eradicate extreme poverty, increase child and maternal nutrition, combat HIV and AIDS, address the atrocities of human trafficking, and hold multinational corporations accountable to the taxes they are so adept at evading. I urge Congress to pass an annual federal budget that is consistent with our church’s commitments to address poverty and support those who are most vulnerable in the United States and around the world.

And I am not alone. I work with a network of professionals in Washington, D.C., and New York — and with engaged Lutherans and Episcopalians all over the country — who are committed to speaking reason to partisanship, justice to power, generosity to profane greed; to confronting poverty, racism, sexism, violence, climate change and all other forces that subjugate rather than emancipate God’s people.

Even working together, these enormous objectives seem insurmountable, impassable.

But this should not intimidate us to respond to worldly impasses by surrendering or lowering our standards of success. Instead, through, with and for God, we may be driven by a different kind of excellence — a spiritual excellence that enables us to overcome even the most challenging worldly impasses.

What does it mean to be excellent servants of God as we face and try to overcome these worldly impasses? Surely, we must not misinterpret Jesus’ warning that the poor will always be among us (John 12:8) as permission to surrender to these impasses of injustice. We are instead commanded to open our hands to the poor and needy in our land (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Two principles have guided my own understanding of excellence, within these worldly constraints:

First, take a leap of faith, and trust that God is working through us to overcome the impassable.

Last week, I heard a representative from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ruminate on the global fight against AIDS in the last few decades — how unbeatable the pandemic seemed at so many critical junctures, and yet the unthinkable progress that our world has seen in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Today, scientists and politicians agree that if countries and international actors maintain a strong commitment to treating and preventing HIV and AIDS, the end of the pandemic is within our reach. Talk about surmounting impasses!

This is just one example, and we have seen, time and again — around the world — that through God, nothing is insurmountable.

Second, redefine excellence, oriented not only toward large accomplishments or measurable changes, but focused instead on the “least of these” — the poor, vulnerable, excluded and weary among us.

When we redefine our own excellence in terms of our service to “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40) — the poor and weary among us — we begin to recognize the unseen vulnerable whose lives are better because we engage them and work with them to lighten their burden (even when we do not overcome the big-picture obstacles), or the contributions that our diverse body of Christ are making to a public dialogue and an evolving public ethic.

We in the church are counter-cultural, tasked to uplift an ethic that prioritizes and exults the “least of these” in a Wall Street, partisan, radically individualistic world. When we remember that we are made in the image of God, this spiritual wholeness frees us from being restricted to worldly impasses. We are freed to reorient our notion of ethics toward those whom society has cast aside. And this leap of faith and redefining of excellence — I believe this is what makes us truly excellent in the eyes of God.

We close this chapter of the “Advocating on the Road” series (where we explored Lutheran responses to HIV and AIDS in Washington, D.C.) with this blog piece.

Like ELCA members we’ve heard from in Washington, D.C., ELCA members across the United States — and Lutherans around the world — are working for an HIV and AIDS-free society. Lutherans everywhere share a hope that this virus, which has now claimed over 25 million lives worldwide can and will be defeated.

Lutherans are actively working to halt the spread of HIV (through effective prevention, treatment and care), eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by those who are HIV-positive, and reduce the conditions of poverty that contribute to the spread of the virus. Many ELCA congregations hold an annual Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. Bishops of various ELCA synods organize educational programs for members in their area. Lutherans have discussed the pandemic and response at multiple ELCA Global Mission Gatherings and HIV and AIDS-specific regional events. Many congregations use ELCA World Hunger resources — like this one — to educate themselves on the connections among poverty, hunger and diseases, like HIV and AIDS. Church partnerships and support from ELCA World Hunger assist many HIV and AIDS-related ministries in African and Latin American countries, and the ELCA also funds significant work through The Lutheran World Federation (a global communion of 140 churches — including the ELCA — and 68 million people that are grounded in a common Lutheran faith). And this month alone, hundreds of ELCA members have written their member of Congress, asking them to prioritize investment in maximizing HIV infection prevention as well as the impact of HIV and AIDS treatment, at home and abroad.

As advocates, we cannot tire of this important work. While it’s understandable to feel discouraged by the severity, we must remember that advocacy efforts have spurred victories in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. U.S. travel restrictions on persons living with HIV and AIDS have been lifted; substantial progress has been made in prevention education; drugs can now prolong contraction of AIDS, giving millions of parents, children, partners and spouses, siblings and friends more precious time with their loved ones. Yet we know there is significant work left to be done.

On numerous occasions, Scripture lifts up Jesus as a healer. Even today, Jesus’ healing includes curing, but also saving, forgiving, reconciling and triumphing over the grave itself. As Christians, we need to continually proclaim this healing presence of Christ, while working — with our hands and our voices — to alleviate suffering and restore peace and dignity. Lutherans must be fervent advocates for policy that funds both research and relief, and addresses the underlying poverty that contributes to the perpetuation of HIV and AIDS in many parts of the world. Lutherans must be outspoken voices of welcome and inclusion in our congregations and our larger society. As Lutherans, we must tackle the virus — and its stigma — wherever it exists, looking past the disease and seeing a valued, important, beloved neighbor and child of God.

Below are links to blogs written by young Lutheran (ELCA and Lutheran World Federation) delegates at the International AIDS Conference.  Click to read their thoughts on HIV and AIDS and their reflections of the Conference.

We’re grateful for each of their unique voices.

– Ryan Thoreson, Trinity Church in Boston.

Dignity, Health, and Justice at the Interfaith Preconference: http://elcaworldhunger.ning.com/forum/topics/dignity-health-and-justice-at-the-interfaith-preconference
 

– Jessi Erickson, Faith Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia

The Untold Story: Part One- Youth Reflection from the IAC: http://elcaworldhunger.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-untold-story-part-one-youth-reflection-from-the-iac?xg_source=activity

Part Two: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/31/the-untold-story-part-two/

– Victora Mumbula, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia

Let Us Put an End to HIV Stigma!- Victoria’s Story: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/26/let-us-put-an-end-to-hiv-stigma-victorias-story/

– Aina Sheethini, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nambia

People of faith, take action!  Twitter for Access to ARV: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/26/people-of-faith-take-action-twitter-for-access-to-arv/

– Hannah Ball-Brau, Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C.

HIV status just one part of someone’s identity: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/29/hiv-status-just-one-part-of-someones-identity/

The Lutheran delegates at the International AIDS Conference.

This piece is part of the Washington, D.C. installment of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series.

By Kati Miller-Holland
Director, Church and Community Ministries
Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area  

A text message popped up on my phone recently:
Hey Kati!
Hi, Carla. How are u doing?
Ok, bored.
Are you taking any classes this summer?
No.
What’s new?
Nothin. [pause]
It’s my birthday tomorrow.
Wow, I remember last year, Carla. A lot of memories. Hugs.

Last year, Carla had just graduated from high school here in D.C. and was excited to turn 18. HIV-positive from birth, shy Carla had become a regular participant in our Youth Haven camps and retreats. Last spring, she seemed to have found her niche after serving as a junior counselor at our spring Family Retreat, playing with the younger children. Two weeks after her birthday, however, her mother died. And Carla and her brother were alone and afraid.

Her Youth Haven mentor answered that anxious call and stood by her and her brother. I got involved raising funds for the funeral and burial, brokering some peace with estranged relatives, and helping the kids move in with some cousins. At least once a month, Carla drops me a line to say hi and, in her quiet way, say thanks. It’s been a tough year since her mother’s death, but Carla knows that she has friends to talk with and adults who believe in her.

At our recent Teen Retreat, a camper asked Dara, our camp director, “What made you want to work with kids with HIV?” It was an honest and important question, because we’ve heard it plenty of times from our kids that they don’t want pity. Dara answered, “Actually, the job found me. I wasn’t actually looking for something like this.” I would answer the question the same way, too.

In 2004, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area called me to develop its AIDS camp program because I had quite a few years of experience in outdoor ministry and engaging church members in community service. I knew a lot about children, youth, organizing trips and retreats, and wrangling volunteers . . . but I didn’t know much about how HIV impacts the lives of kids in our urban centers, like Washington, D.C., here in the United States.

In 2004, 90 percent of our campers, like Carla, were HIV-positive. That’s about all I knew, mostly because the program was, frankly, pity-based. We rounded up these kids once a year, gave them a week of fun in the Maryland mountains, and then disconnected from them until the following year. I learned about the impact that stigma was having on their lives, about the linkages between poverty and the explosion of HIV cases in the African American community, about the “aging” of maternally infected youth unprepared to live-and-not-die. I became convinced that we were called to do more; we were called to do better by these young people.

These days, we work year-round with a variety of community partners to help our kids achieve goals that will help them live-and-not-die: to feel healthy and strong, to feel good about themselves, to have strong, healthy peer friendships and relationships with caring adults, to identify and develop sparks of interest that will give them career direction.

Last year, only 47 percent of our campers were living with HIV/ AIDS. (There has not been a baby born with HIV in D.C. since 2009 because of better testing and treatment of HIV-positive mothers.) The rest are “affected” — living in a household with an HIV-positive parent, or orphaned because of AIDS. We’re doing some new programming with kids and parents together. And we’re spending most of our time with youth between the ages of 14 and 21, who are proving to be particularly vulnerable to homelessness, crime and health relapses.

As we meet and collaborate with our partners, we continue to learn and be challenged to fight AIDS stigma and walk with young people who are looking for hope and a future. Our kids teach us to be compassionate, not pitying; to know them by name and not by a label.

I learned a lot of things, but the most important thing I learned came from an activist’s slogan: “HIV — you’re either infected or affected.”

That central truth rang a bell with me, because it’s the kind of thing that I’ve always known about Jesus’ compassionate ministry. Jesus approached the suffering and evil around him with this same attitude: Poverty. Demons. Oppression. Illness. Sin. We’re all either infected or affected. We’re in this together, whether we like it or not. For the “infected,” Jesus has compassion. For the “affected,” Jesus calls them to repentance and reconciliation.

These days, it means we need to come to terms with our participation in stigmatizing people who live with HIV/AIDS, and change our ways. The good news is that Jesus offers healing for everyone, and he extends open arms of unconditional love and mercy.

Kati Miller-Holland at camp!

This piece is part of the Washington, D.C. installment of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series. 

By the time the Centers for Disease Control first used the acronym AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) in the fall of 1982, the disease was already heavily stigmatized in the United States. Reports of the disease were mounting weekly, and the public was becoming increasingly aware of the linkage to gay men and intravenous drug users — groups that were already stigmatized. While the medical community searched for definitive evidence on what caused the disease and how it was transmitted (and elected officials, including President Reagan, remained silent in the face of a growing epidemic), many Americans responded to the disease with fear and judgment.

It was during this uncertainty that Karin Klingman — a member of Christ Lutheran, an ELCA congregation in Washington, D.C.—was beginning her medical career as a resident physician. Now an infectious disease doctor and involved in clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, Karin felt compelled to work with HIV and AIDS patients in the early 1980s when “nobody wanted to touch them and yet somebody needed to be caring for them.” She says, “I’ve always had a great deal of compassion for these patients — they were always a marginalized group: the gay men whose families didn’t come to visit them; the IV drug users whose lives were a mess; and other people who were shocked to be dealing with the life-threatening disease they didn’t expect to get.” Since then, Karin has devoted her career to working with HIV and AIDS patients and, since coming to the National Institutes of Health, being involved in research that focuses on treatments for HIV-infected people.

Outside of work, Karin engages members of her congregation and other Lutherans and Christians in D.C. to tackle stigmatization and serve those living with the disease. “The D.C. area has a special need to focus on HIV and AIDS and try to get the prevalence rate down,” she says. “We can do a lot as a church to welcome marginalized people, make them feel whole.”

Most recently Karin has been a leader within Lutheran Grace, a group of Lutherans in the D.C. region who are committed to reducing the stigma of HIV and AIDS, as they participate in the 2012 International AIDS Conference currently taking place in Washington, D.C. They are a strong Lutheran presence at the Global Village, and the only church denomination with a booth in this diverse space where people from all over the world meet, share and learn from one another. Through the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod, Lutheran Grace has recruited volunteers and church members from all over the synod and other regions to create prayer cards for their booth in the Global Village. “It’s been phenomenal the way people have embraced this. We never expected this response, and I couldn’t have expected more than what they’ve done,” Karin says.

When asked what she has learned about working with HIV and AIDS professionally and within her congregation, Karin responds, “I’ve seen that people don’t realize they should worry about HIV unless they’ve been personally affected. Once you start talking about it, they start to understand stigma and how that makes living with the disease so much worse. I think the church should commit itself to being inclusive and welcoming to people with HIV and AIDS and not judge what they’ve done or why they’ve gotten the disease.

“Unless we’re compassionate about the disease, it’s never going to go away — people won’t be tested and people won’t take drugs because they’re scared of being identified. We won’t be able to combat the disease. We have to keep talking about it; people in the church are receptive to learning. I think the church is a good place to talk about it — we are supposed to welcome all people.”

Keep checking back for more updates on the “Advocating on the Road” series.  Look for more blogs on HIV and AIDS in Washington, D.C. and beyond in the coming days.

The Bishop of Metro D.C. Synod, Rev. Richard Graham and Lutheran World Federation delegates to the International AIDS Conference join Karin and other volunteers with Lutheran Grace at their booth in the Global Village.

This piece opens the Washington, D.C. insallment of the “Advocating on the Road” series.

This month the “Advocating on the Road” series stops in the District of Columbia, where we look at Washington, D.C., not solely as the nation’s capital, but as a community in which more than 600,000 people build their lives.

More than a patch of land holding majestic monuments and palatial museums, Washington, D.C., is a real community with real people facing real problems. One does not have to travel far from the grand symbols of our Republic and the recognized centers of power to see the effects of disease, poverty and crime here. This “real” D.C. faces many challenges, among them being the rampant spread and heartbreakingly high rates of HIV and AIDS within the District. In fact, health official and activists have labeled Washington, D.C., as an epicenter of HIV and AIDS in the United States.

Last month, the D.C. Department of Health released the 2011 annual report on HIV and AIDS in the District. Although there was progress made in providing access to care and improving long-term health outcomes, HIV and AIDS remains a grave problems for D.C. residents and the mayor’s administration. The report found that 2.7 percent of D.C. residents (nearly 14,500 people) are living with HIV — a percentage that exceeds the World Health Organization’s definition of 1 percent as a generalized epidemic. While all racial/ethnic groups in the District exceed the 1 percent rate of infection, Washington’s African American population is disproportionately impacted — 4.3 percent of African Americans in D.C. are HIV positive. The report also found that men having sex with men and heterosexual contact are the two leading transmission modes of new HIV cases in D.C.

In the face of this health crisis, Lutherans in Washington, D.C., are actively responding with compassion. ELCA members and congregations (some of whom we will hear from in this month’s blog series) work to serve and welcome their neighbors living with HIV. On National HIV Testing Day in June 2010, several ELCA congregations were joined by area Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches in a campaign called, “God’s People Are Tested” in which adults and youth learned about the epidemic and were tested.

Participation in these types of events is important, explains Karin Klingman, a member of Washington’s Christ Lutheran Church, because it reduces the damaging stigma associated with HIV. “When being tested, people have to learn about the disease, opening them up to more compassion with those coping with HIV. Testing helps normalize discussion about AIDS.”

Through similar testing events, participation in the International AIDS Conference later this month, advocating for better services for those living with HIV, and welcoming all people into their congregations, ELCA members in the District are sharing Christ’s love in their communities. Seeing the person and not the disease, not judging their past but acknowledging their dignity and individuality, these Lutherans are working to restore and reconcile communities in Christ’s name throughout Washington, D.C.

Keep an eye on the “Advocating on the Road” blog series throughout the next few days — we will hear more from Karin Klingman and other Lutherans on HIV and AIDS in Washington, D.C.

We close the Minnesota chapter of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series with this reflection by Kate Gaskill, ELCA Washington Office. 

“We are all beggars.  This is true.”    – Martin Luther

In 1546, a dying Martin Luther scribbled this sentence on a piece of paper.  It turned out to be one of the final missives Luther would physically write himself.  The man who transformed Christianity and altered the course of world history with his pen ended his career and life with these words.

“We are all beggars.”

In the final days of Luther’s eventful (and often controversial) life, he united all people by saying that before God we are all sinful, in need of God’s grace. Theologians debate the intent and meaning behind this heavily studied statement, but  it is interesting to note that  Luther made this point of common need by identifying all of us as beggars.  He aligned us all as  poor, as outcasts.

Alone we are all beggars in the eyes of God, yet the risen Christ justifies us, lifts us from “beggar” to “child”, from “outcast” to “beloved.”  Through Christ, we are free to live joyfully in God’s grace—and we are free to serve… free to tear down the walls of poverty and inequality that divide our society.  “For he is our peace,” reads Ephesians 2:14, “in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.”

It seems so often through our rhetoric and public policy, we distance ourselves from the beggar and we often reinforce walls.  How reluctant are we to unify with all people, and especially the person who is in need?  We often seek to do the very opposite of what Luther acknowledged  on his deathbed.  We don’t want to be thought of as lowly, poor, or in need of help.

Today people who use government assistance—no matter how temporary—are often vilified.  We’ve all heard the rhetoric, and sometimes it even comes from our elected officials.  Parents who rely on state and federal hunger programs for meals are often deemed “lazy.”  Families who must transition to government assisted housing are part of the “problem.”  Children who rely on programs, like the Minnesota Family Investment Program—or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) “threaten” our nation’s financial solvency.

Therefore, life-saving programs are cut.  Proven effective ways of aiding direct need and creating self-sufficiency are abandoned.  We don’t seem to see the people behind policies… or if we do, we immediately separate ourselves from them.  “They are different than me”, we might say, “They are a beggar.”  We build a wall between ourselves and the others.

But Luther reminds us that in the eyes of God, “We are all beggars.”  How can we separate ourselves from this commonality?  Regardless of socioeconomic status, race, or gender, we are alike in our need for forgiveness and grace—given to us through Christ.  And because of our freedom in Christ, how can we reject Christ’s example of breaking down the divisions between us and our neighbors?

Governments, at their best, can help tear down walls between people. They can be a gift that enables nations to live peacefully with one another and help cycle people out of poverty.  Government programs can aid immediate need all over the world, and government policies can help shatter cycles of homelessness, conflict, and hunger.  But this good government requires participation and direct advocacy from constituents.  It requires action from ELCA members—and our partners—to speak out for just government that serves the common good.

As Christians in the United States, we have unique opportunities to speak out for policies—like the Minnesota Family Investment Program, or SNAP and WIC—that help restore lives.  We also have the duty to reject harmful rhetoric that vilifies, and may even dehumanize, those living in poverty.  We are called to align ourselves with the beggar.

“We are all beggars.  This is true.”

This piece is part of the Minnesota installment of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series.

By Inyene Ekah,
Senior director for employment services,  Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota

I love helping people and was drawn to employment services, because in addition to helping, employment services also empower people to provide for themselves.  At Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, our goal is to move people from public assistance to self-sufficiency.   I have spent the last five years working with this population and have seen the impact of various public policies both at the state and federal level on these individuals and their families.  Through advocacy, we can help shape these policies that meet immediate needs, help people reach self-sufficiency, and shatter cycles of poverty.  

When provisions of the Minnesota Family Investment Program and related programs were recently highlighted for changes at the state legislature, our office saw first-hand how women, men, and children would suffer if assistance were restricted or impeded. 

Some lawmakers called for routine drug screenings for participants to be eligible for Minnesota Family Investment Program assistance.  While many of the people who come to Lutheran Social Services do not have a drug history, there are those who do have this  history some more recent than others and with varying severity. 

One woman comes to mind — she was a middle-class individual living the American Dream, until her personal issues interfered with her professional life.  This woman was working in a hospital as a registered nurse and had some problems with prescription drugs.  This resulted in losing her job and her house, and soon she was applying for Minnesota Family Investment Program assistance.  She was a single mother of three children. Because of the assistance through the Minnesota Family Investment Program, she was able to move to an apartment with her family and use the cash benefit to pay for rent and the food portion to feed her family.

If this mother had been denied this assistance, as a result of a positive drug test, the impact on her family would have been even more devastating. She was able to keep a roof over her head and feed her family in spite of the personal challenges she was experiencing because the program works.  Her life will be restored because of the temporary assistance given to her and she is on her way to working again and leaving assistance. 

Public programs, like the Minnesota Family Investment Program, should serve as a safety net for people in need, no matter how the need came about.  The need exists, therefore assistance must exist.  My experiences have led me to believe that these types of programs should be available for all who need it.