New Initiative in Virginia

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy has teamed up with the Half in Ten Campaign to create a statewide campaign that aims to cut poverty in Virginia in half over the next 10 years.

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy is already mobilizing local advocates and opinion leaders to make reducing poverty in our state a priority. It will host the “Real Change for Real People” regional event series this month as a part of the partnership with Half in Ten Campaign. The series will address unemployment issues and alternatives to predatory lending.

High unemployment and predatory lending practices keep low-income borrowers from escaping debt in the short term, and they also limit the borrowers’ ability to save for their futures. This curbs their perception of what is possible. Unemployment and predatory lending practices and the poverty they create also severely hamper low-income families’ potential to create better lives for their children, which in turn diminishes state economic growth. In our current economic recession these problems are only getting worse.

The Interfaith Center’s series of regional economic justice workshops addresses the injustice of poverty from the United Methodist Church’s perspective. The workshops will feature presentations on unemployment insurance, alternatives to predatory lending, and provide advocacy tools and resources. They will also include an opportunity for advocates to analyze and discuss deficiencies in Virginia state laws and discuss strategies to empower United Methodists to become more effective in advocating for systemic change.

It is our hope that Virginia activists and elected officials will take steps to end poverty in our state this fall. We would like to invite you to join this effort and attend the “Real Change for Real People” events series:

September 11, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., in Roanoke
Trinity United Methodist Church, 305 Mountain Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA



September 18, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., in Newport News
Parkview United Methodist Church, 912 Briarfield Rd., Newport News, VA



September 25, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., in Woodbridge
St. Paul United Methodist Church, 1400 G St., Woodbridge, VA