WFA Grantee Spotlight: POWER (Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights)
Redefining Welfare and Poverty
The isolation of poverty can be devastating. For single mothers, who often slip into poverty after saving themselves and their children from a violent spouse, the isolation that results from negative stereotypes and discrimination can lead to hopelessness and depression, ultimately preventing them from reaching their full potential.
Thanks to organizations like POWER, no woman needs to face these challenges alone.
With a $15,000 economic opportunity grant from WFA, POWER is shifting engagement on welfare and poverty by empowering low income women to advocate for their own needs in Olympia. In 2010 45 POWER members visited legislators, and 10 members testified at state and federal hearings on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The culmination of POWER’s efforts was the passage of legislation (HB 3141) that increased the stability of childcare for low-income working parents.
Monica Peabody, Executive Director of POWER, believes dispelling the myths about poverty is critical to their mission. "Low income women don't have money for a myriad of reasons. They are not different from the rest of us...they are fierce advocates for their children and are doing their best to make a good life for their families."
Building on this fundamental passion, POWER is also using WFA funding to shift definitions of poverty by highlighting the voices, struggles, and triumphs of low-income women on the POWER Hour Radio Show on Free Radio Olympia and educating the public on poverty issues in their statewide workshops.
Angie Kelly can attest to the impact that these critical shifts have had on low income women’s lives. Starting as a POWER client and ultimately becoming an employee and board member, Angie says "I was just amazed that there was an organization dedicated to organizing on behalf of poor people…it was such a relief to find an organization that respectfully works with women and helps them become their own best advocates."
