The Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley's take on poverty, how it affects our communities, and what we're doing about it.
How embarrassing is it that the World Health Organization has now stated that the United States of America is likely to be the next epicenter of the battle to survive Covid-19? How is it that the most powerful country in …...
There are few people on the planet who have experienced worse. You would have had to be alive before 1918. My life has been about fighting for the folks who keep getting knocked down, helping them get back up and …...
US Senator Pat Toomey, who lives here in the Lehigh Valley, issued a press release calling Mr. Trump’s budget “A Pro-Taxpayer Budget.” Of course, the taxpayers, at least those at the top of the income ranks among us, already got …...
So many Americans were so fed up with politics as usual that you elected someone as far from “usual” as you could get. Tell me, is this what you meant? Did you mean that you wanted someone who would align …...
I have never in my 61 years been more ashamed of my country. I was raised to believe in America. That we were a good people, that our democracy was the greatest political system in the world, that our economic …...
Our president is chastising California for having a very serious problem with homelessness. Now, can anyone truly say, straight-faced and one hand on The Bible, that he is sincerely concerned about homelessness? Come on! This is the same president who, …...
I can remember, and it doesn’t seem so long ago, that there was no way I or, for that matter, the rest of the world would ever see a day this deep into a new century. Hell, I can remember …...
To the Editor: My former dentist and his assistant would talk, disparagingly, about Hispanics and African-Americans during my visits. I’m sitting in the chair having to listen to them, unable to respond. It drove me nuts. Finally, at what became …...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Alan Jennings 610-248-9900 REGIONAL GROUPS COMBINE ON EFFORT TO NEGATE THE IMPACT OF RACISM Multi-year Strategic Plan Will Bring Socio-Economic Justice and “Make the Lehigh Valley a Better Place” An impressive array of Lehigh Valley’s …...
25 September 2019 This is the highest turnout in the history of the agency, even topping the year HUD secretary Henry Cisneros spoke. There are over 250 good people here. Thanks to each and every one of you for giving a damn …...
The County of Northampton is embroiled in a battle over there need to improve their voting machines to protect against voter fraud. CAC LV plans to weigh in at the Council meeting tomorrow evening. Susan Dallandan will represent the …...
“The Contrast Between Right and Wrong Has Never Been So Clear” Donald Trump has issued his proposed budget that eliminates all of the federal funding in the annual budget of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. Alan L. …...
Here is a quick update on some things going on around the agency and the wider community: WEATHERIZATION AND FURNACE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENTAs we slowly work our way through the waning weeks of winter, those who struggle to pay …...
22 January 2019 SHARON’S PANTRY Comments of Alan L. Jennings Executive Director Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley The people who brought us the idea that we as a nation could go as low as to wrench children out …...
CADC Bethlehem Moves the Needle The homeownership rate in the Hayes Street area (specifically block group 112-02) has increased 9.1% from the 2008-2012 period to the 2013-2017 period. Comparatively, during the same time period the City as a whole experienced …...
And, so, another new year has begun. I’m guessing that most of us are more than a little scared of what might be in store for us; optimism seems to be in short supply, anxiety plentiful. Many of us are …...
17 NOVEMBER 2018 OK, I get it that some folks might get bored with the opinion columns. So, as an antidote, here are some briefs on activity around the agency: 1,200 Homeowners Rescued From Foreclosure We just did some math …...
CACLV Executive Director Alan Jennings offers his thoughts on the challenges of finding common ground on the otherwise intransigent issue of immigration in America in the following post. His comments set up the discussion at the Hispanic Center’s Health Equity …...
In 1989, Bill Dedman, a reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles that exposed distressing disparities in mortgage lending between households of color and their white counterparts. This, of course, was no surprise to the …...
One of my favorite comments is, “I’m cynical enough to know what I’m up against but optimistic enough to pick the fight anyway.” Folks, getting results in the public policy arena these days seems almost impossible, especially in Harrisburg. But …...
I’ve always thought of myself as a cutting edge, hipster kind of guy. I’m a fan of the counterculture of the 60s, participated in many efforts to collectively change the world, listened to rock and roll and tried to dress …...
I am, unabashedly, a behavioralist: let’s stop suggesting that people who are poor are in that spot simply because the economy doesn’t or can’t create enough good-paying jobs to support every household in America. Without a doubt, it’s a tough …...
Following are comments made by CACLV’s Alan Jennings at a press conference to discuss fair mortgage lending in this market. The press briefing took place on February 16, 2018. PRESS BRIEFING MORTGAGE LENDING DISPARITY 16 FEBRUARY 2018 In the late …...
I run a nonprofit organization. It is called the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. As anti-poverty organizations go, it is pretty significant in size (95 employees and a $24 million budget). I have been here for 37 years. …...
Tell them you don’t want your money back. Tell them you believe in America, that America’s promise is a level playing field and that public education, infrastructure and not letting a child starve are investments in ourselves as a civilized …...
I have long said that I am cynical enough to understand what I’m up against but optimistic enough to pick the fight anyway. Watching, disgusted and sickened by the presence of the devil in Stephen Pollack, tips the balance …...
Diaspora: the movement, migration or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland. That’s how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it. It’s one of those rarely used words that is almost poetic in its sound and rhythm, …...
These next 25 minutes are the best part of my year as I get to brag about what each of you and so many others in this community helped us make possible over the past year. I am going to …...
Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness, wrote about “fascination with the abomination.” It explains people rubbernecking when driving past auto accidents. It also applies to how I watch the news these days. When this man was elected president, …...
Local Community Lender Has Best Year in its Sixteen-Year History Brian Nguah, owner of Royal Lioness, is one happy entrepreneur. He credits his $25,000 loan from The Rising Tide Community Loan Fund with helping him double sales of his very …...
Proposed Budget Would Shut Down CACLV Donald Trump’s first demonstration of his priorities through his proposed budget makes it very clear that the billionaire whose father set him up in business doesn’t understand how much a few friends can make …...
DCED Secretary Davin to Join Slate Belt Community Leaders to Announce Neighborhood Partnership Program Rural, Multi-Municipal Project is First of its Kind The Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV) will announce the approval of the first multi-municipal …...
What separates us from any other species on the planet is our ability to reason. That ability forces us, too, to consider ourselves in the context of others. How close do we live to one another? How much do we …...
New Home Dedicated to the Late Sharon Gausling The Second Harvest Food Band of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania celebrated the completion of its $3.3 million fund raising campaign to pay for its new warehouse at 6969 Silver Crest Road …...
RENEWLV SMARTH GROWTH SUMMIT 2 December 2016 KEYNOTE Let’s talk about the market place. I know: in our divided, us vs. them, i-won’t-get-mine-if-you-get-yours world, you all have already started the fissure in your minds. On the left: Jennings, you’re …...
I’m shocked. I’m scared. I’m lost. You taught me that we are a great nation. Great nations don’t bully the weak. You taught me to be tolerant. Tolerance is not roughing up people who don’t agree with you.…...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: CHRIS HUDOCK (T) 484.893.1039 (C) 484.553.3171 The Rising Tide Community Loan Fund has expanded its services yet again, announcing today the creation of a first-of-its-kind line of credit for micro-enterprises, start-ups and other businesses that struggle …...
CACLV is, to say the least, a complicated organization. With a budget in excess of $25 million (counting the value of the food distributed by the Second Harvest Food Bank), programs such as the Sixth Street Shelter, Weatherization and Community …...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ALAN L. JENNINGS 610-248-9900 CACLV Challenges Hospital to Respond to Its Own Needs Assessment In the wake of Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Brian Johnson’s evasion of retired judge Robert Young’s challenge of the …...
Over in the goofy world of blogs, I’ve been vilified once again by my friend, Bernie O’Hare. There are lots of weirdos in the shadows, trolls who take strong positions attacking people they don’t know, lying and wishing they …...
I grew up in the church. I’ve considered myself a person of faith for most of my life. That doesn’t mean that I am not challenged by many aspects of my Christian faith tradition. What bugs me the most? Why …...
by Alan Jennings Most people who know me know that I am a diehard fan of the Baltimore Orioles. I am from Hagerstown, Maryland. My family could only afford vacations returning home to visit aunts, uncles, grandparents. I learned racism …...
It feels like I’ve been here before. Actually, I know I’ve been here before. In fact, I am getting tired of having to make the argument that public policy should be used to regulate a market that is cruel when …...
There is something about an approaching new year that leads us to assess where we are with our plans, our expectations, our hopes, and our fears. In my case, I agonize constantly over the human condition. So, I can’t help …...
I hate taking on a friend, but Tony Ianelli’s lip-synch of the payday lenders’ talking points defending a despicable loan product is pretty sad (June 26). Tony is a friend of many years. He has done outstanding work at the …...
I’m not sure how many of us have the time anymore to take a deep breath, clear our heads, and reflect, as we once did, on the year behind us. Maybe we don’t have any interest in dwelling on the …...
Among the changes that the 2012 election will bring is a new representative for Pennsylvania’s 132nd district, long served by Jennifer Mann. Representative Mann was elected at the age of 28 and served seven terms. She has lots to say …...
[embedplusvideo height=”365″ width=”450″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/WnedzYLfuX0?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=WnedzYLfuX0&width=450&height=365&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep4785″ /]…...
[embedplusvideo height=”281″ width=”450″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/arQbCs6zX5g?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=arQbCs6zX5g&width=450&height=281&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep8574″ /] …...
If, indeed, children are our future, as so many like to say, what might that future look like, given the many challenges our children face: declining resources for education, for intervention when they are victimized by predators, for nutrition programs, …...