WithinReach AmeriCorps Outreach staff

For over two decades, WithinReach, a statewide non-profit, has helped Washington families take steps towards healthier lives by connecting them with health and food resources while promoting health education and disease prevention among vulnerable populations. Two years ago WithinReach partnered with the United Way of King County to build the Bridge to Basics program – a volunteer effort that trains community members in public benefits eligibility and places them in the community to reach out to their neighbors in need of these services. Over the past two years, Bridge to Basics volunteers and WithinReach’s Community Outreach team completed over 1,200 Basic Food (food stamps) applications and connected with over 6,200 people at places like food banks, Worksources and libraries, linking them with other crucial resources such as utility assistance and low-cost clinics. The story of Lila, a recent US immigrant from the war-ravaged Central African Republic, is a story of just one person who has benefited from WithinReach’s Bridge to Basics Program.

“It was an absolute nightmare.”

Flame-laden batons and spheres of fire – weapons of war – hurled into make-shift shelters smoked villagers out of their dwellings; homes left un-torched pillaged and plundered by enemies and neighbors alike.

These were the manifestations of warfare seen through the eyes of the then 19 year old Lila.

Several decades later, those same eyes stare down at the mounds of job applications and employment brochures. Lila is at Airport Jobs, a job search center within the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where over 50% of job seekers are immigrants or refugees living in South King County.  Lila works at a nursing home as a RN assistant, but spends much of her spare time helping her adult son, Ezra, with his job search. Ezra, who has recently relocated to the US, said to me, “My mom is always caring for everyone else. She came here with me today on her day off… It is a good thing that you are here, because she never would have done this (accessed food benefits) on her own.

What do we do?

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately one in four people eligible for Basic Food are not receiving benefits. Eligible immigrant populations are even less likely to participate in food stamps. In addition, working individuals, such as Lila, are increasingly finding themselves among the hungry. Lila’s situation illustrates that food stamp outreach is valuable for those who are new to public benefits. After all, it is difficult for people to seek out resources if they do not know about them. Consequently, Bridge to Basics fills this access gap by providing in-person support to people in need of food and health care assistance – when and where they need it. By physically going out into the community, Bridge to Basic volunteers and WithinReach staff help those who fall through the cracks access benefits – allowing them to use the money that they would typically allocate for groceries and food for other essentials like housing costs, car payments, and utilities. One of the benefits of having in-person assistance is that clients can get service and support tailored to their situations (such as help gathering verifications, setting up interviews with DSHS, and obtaining translation services). In addition to reaching out to a community that is often met with systemic neglect, the Bridge to Basics program works to eradicate misconceptions about eligibility and citizenship guidelines that prevent some immigrants from applying.

How did the service affect the life of the client?

As Lila and I worked together to fill out her food stamp application, she expressed her hope that food benefits would allow her to resume buying halal meat, or meat that has been prepared in a manner prescribed by Islamic law. (The Islamic practice requiring Muslims to eat exclusively halal meat is similar to Jewish tradition mandating that members of its faith consume only kosher.) Halal items, which Lila had ceased purchasing shortly after her arrival into the states, is typically more expensive than other meat and poultry – making it difficult to access for those on a strict budget. “They don’t carry it at the food bank, so now I hardly eat any meat.” Lila’s experience expounds how access to food stamps may raise living standards of those in need, including working individuals such as Lila, by restoring a participants’ purchasing power and increasing access to healthy and, in Lila’s case, culturally and religiously appropriate food options versus what is solely available at the food bank.

How did the service impact me?

Serving as an AmeriCorps member on WithinReach’s Bridge to Basics Program has allowed me to come into contact with a mosaic of cultures, and most probably, people I would not have otherwise met. Lila, in a very short time, opened me up to a different world by momentarily transporting me out of King County and into the Central African Republic (CAD), her homeland, with stories of her war-torn, arson- ravaged village. A conflict that has displaced an estimated 220,000 of her countrymen, she shared how in the midst of so much civil chaos, she became separated from her husband of 20 years. According to Lila, in CAD, governmental assistance is non-existent while limited foreign aid from private charities runs out far too quickly. To Lila, the food stamp program, an entitlement program that guarantees all applicants benefits so long as they meet minimum requirements, was “unexpected,” a stark juxtaposition to assistance programs in CAD. Lila’s surprise towards food stamp access highlights how outreach is particularly beneficial to King County’s many immigrant and refugee communities – who are not only new to the country, but are often new to public benefit system.

By providing me with a snapshot of her past life, Lila exemplifies how the benefits of service are a two-way street. Much too often, the assumption is made that volunteerism and public service are unilateral – that the advantage is disproportionately collected by the recipient of the service. My experience with Lila shows that this is absolutely not true. Rather, there is something to be gained by both parties involved. In this case, Lila enhances my worldview, and in turn, this broader cultural literacy will help me anticipate and address the needs of diverse populations – enabling me to become a better service provider and a better citizen of the world.

Lila was approved for $84.00 per month in Basic Food benefits.

The Seattle-King County Asset Building Collaborative will be having their annual Financial Fitness day on March 31^st. They have joined with over 40 community partners to be able to bring community members FREE financial services. These services include everything from one-on-one help filling out a tax return, printing and analyzing free credit reports, opening bank accounts, creating a household budget, working with a financial planner, applying for public benefits (food, utilities, child care, health insurance, social security), learning how to start a business, shredding confidential documents, and—new this year—completing a FAFSA application!

Services will be provided by experts, including attorneys, financial planners, housing counselors, credit counselors, public health workers, and volunteer tax preparers. Workshops will be offered throughout the day on a variety of financial topics, such as understanding credit reports, budgeting and money management, first-time homeownership, paying for college, and dealing with debt collectors. More than 40 community groups will offer resources and advice.

To register for this event or to find out more information, visit the SKCABC website. Registration is strongly encouraged for those who need childcare, language interpretation or American Sign Language services.

Interested in volunteering for the day? Check out the positions on the United Way of King County’s website.

A little over a month ago, me and my co-AmeriCorps VISTA, Katherine, visited Providence Regina House food bank near White Center to supervise our Bridge to Basics volunteers, talk to food bank clients, and get those in need in touch with public benefits such as food stamps.  It was their annual Thanksgiving distribution and they were busy making sure clients were set up with enough potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry to celebrate the holiday with their families.  Turkeys were in high demand and not everyone was lucky enough to walk away with one.  Katherine used her excellent language skills to communicate with the Spanish-speaking clients and we both had the chance to see and hear what was happening on the ground: at the food bank, and in peoples’ lives.  We met many kind, modest people – one man who was volunteering at the food bank sweeping the floors and carrying boxes, was also a client there himself.  He expressed how fortunate he felt that the food bank was there, being out of work due to a disability and unable to afford food or health care.  We were able to complete two Basic Food applications for two different families and will follow up and advocate on their behalf, thanks to our partner, WithinReach, and their amazing outreach staff.

There was one person that stood out among the rest, and his story is one I’ve already told to countless people as a true example of the giving spirit.  Near the end of the day, a middle-aged gentleman (we’ll call him Harry) approached our resource table and, noticing the AmeriCorps badge on my shirt, said, “Oh AmeriCorps, is that like the Peace Corps?”  We explained who we were and the kind of work we do, as well AmeriCorps’ & United Way’s shared mission of combating poverty and helping the most vulnerable in our society.  Harry responded, “That’s great.  I’d love to do something like that, you know, give back.  I’m homeless now but money doesn’t mean much to me anymore.  I still want to help.”  All I could think was that this man is homeless – he has no money, few clothes, very little food, nothing; yet he still wanted to “give back.”

What he said has stuck with me ever since then and it was amazing to see the giving and selfless spirit in someone who has next to nothing in material possessions.  It make me wish that those who are critical of the poor or the social safety net system could meet Harry and see that there are many more out there like him.  People who are being helped by places like food banks, shelters, or public assistance are not to be pitied and they aren’t helpless or lazy.  They are human beings who have fallen on tough times and deserve dignity and respect and a little extra help.  What sets people like Harry apart perhaps is that they truly realize the importance of volunteering and serving others because they have been helped in their time of need.  Every single one of us has received help at some point in our lives and we have the natural inclination and the responsibility of giving back or maybe paying it forward.  Either way, for me Harry was a living, breathing manifestation of the giving spirit that exists in all of us.

If you’d like to get involved and give back to the vulnerable in your community you can join Bridge to Basics too and take advantage of a unique opportunity with United Way’s free tax prep campaign.  We still need volunteers to staff shifts once a week at all of United Way’s 16 different Free Tax Prep sites all across King County.  Want to know the best part?  You don’t have to do peoples’ taxes!  Instead, you get to be the friendly face who will greet our clients at the intake desk, help them prep their paperwork for free tax help, and provide the crucial link between them and vital public assistance by screening for eligibility and helping them apply.  We all have the giving spirit within us and here’s an opportunity to share that spirit with those in need during tax season.  Click here to learn more and sign up – hurry!  Some sites are already full and others are going fast.

In the budget that has been approved by Congress, and is expected to be signed by President Obama, we are pleased to share that the majority of programs that United Way has prioritized have stayed intact or even increased in funding. Given the conomic and political landscape, this is good news. Please see below for highlights of FY2012 program funding in our building block areas. Note: There is an additional 0.189 percent across the board cut to all programs not reflected in these numbers.

INCOME

• Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP): $120 million – the same as FY2011. (A special thank you to the nearly 700 advocates who spoke up for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program in the past couple of weeks. Given the 40% cut xperienced last year, we consider it a win that the EFSP maintained funding).
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) matching grants: $12 million – the same as FY2011
• Workforce Investment Act (WIA) adult training, youth training and dislocated worker grants: $2.61 billion – down $55 million (2.07%) from FY2011
• Workforce Innovation Fund (created last year with the input from several United Ways and written testimony from United Way Worldwide): $50 million – down $75 million from FY2011
• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): $3.48 billion – down $1.22 billion from FY2011
• Individual Development Account Initiative: $19.91 million – down $4.07 million from FY 2011
• Child Care and Development Block Grant: $2.28 billion – up $60 million from FY2011
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): $80.4 billion – up $15.19 billion from FY2011 (Passed November 18, 2011 in H.R. 2112)
• Section 8 Housing Vouchers: $17.24 billion – up $474.6 million from FY 2011  (Passed November 18, 2011 in H.R. 2112)
• Community Development Block Grant: $3.3 billion – down $192.9 million from FY2011 (Passed November 18, 2011 in H.R. 2112)

HEALTH

• Healthy Start: $104.78 million – up $415 million from FY2011
• Medicaid total grants to states: $184.28 billion – up $11.14 billion from FY2011
• Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: $760.7 million – down $53.29 million from FY2011
• Women, Infants and Children (WIC): $6.6 billion – down $130 million from FY2011 (Passed November 18, 2011 in H.R. 2112)
• Child Nutrition Programs: $18.15 billion – up $830 million from FY2011 (Passed November 18, 2011 in H.R. 2112)
• Community Health Centers: $1.58 billion – the same as FY2011
• Maternal and Child Health Block Grant: $646.32 million – down $10 million from FY2011

EDUCATION

• Head Start: Funded at $8 billion – $424 million above FY 2011
• Title I Grants: Funded at $14.5 billion – $60 million above FY 2011
• Special Education programs: Funded at $11.6 billion – an increase of $100 million above FY 2011
• School Improvement Grants (SIG): Funded at $534.6 million
• Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program: Funded at $160 million – this is a restoration from FY 2011
• Investing in Innovation Fund (i3): Funded at $149.7 million
• Race to the Top: Funded at $550 million, and continues to allow those funds to be used for the Early Learning Challenge competition
• 21^st Century Community Learning Centers: Funded at $1.151 billion
• Promise Neighborhoods Initiative: Funded at $60 million – $30 million above FY 2011

Phone bank volunteer Emily Ausema is all smiles as she calls clients, describing her Bridge to Basics experience as "great!"

Last week United Way of King County was thrilled to host two special volunteer events, organized in partnership with the City of Seattle PeoplePoint program and our very own Bridge to Basics program. Together we put on two volunteer phone banking nights to call clients who had applied for City of Seattle benefits but were still missing key information from their applications after an initial letter from the City. Without completing all the information on the applications, these clients couldn’t be considered for important City benefits, including utility and heating assistance.

Our 21 amazing volunteers made 500 unduplicated phone calls and were able to reach over 250 clients to update their application information. That number represents a lot of individuals and families in Seattle who will now have a greater chance of accessing important assistance programs. We commend our volunteers for doing a service for the City and helping vulnerable city residents move forward with their applications for vital public benefits! Bravo!

If you would also like to spread the warmth this winter with our Bridge to Basics program, check out our unique Bridge to Basics Intake volunteer position coming to a Free Tax Prep site near you! We need more wonderful volunteers like you to make sure that low-income clients using our free tax service will also be to see if they’re eligible for additional benefits, like food stamps and utility discount programs, that could make a real difference in their lives.

The Rainier Valley Eats! Coalition (RaVE), a community coalition developed under the leadership of Seattle Tilth, Community Kitchens Northwest,  King County Public Health and the United Way of King County, works to reduce food insecurity and promote good nutrition in low-income populations in the Rainier Valley. As part of the effort to expand the coalition, RaVE staff is partnering with the United Way to administer funding for a series of mini-grants for innovative community projects focused on addressing hunger and improving nutrition the area. The approved projects receive UWKC funds allotted to fighting hunger in King County.

It is our pleasure to introduce these important organizations and their innovative projects, all funded in full:

1. City Fruit Stewardship Program, sponsored by City Fruit.

City Fruit will use grant funds to expand its fruit tree stewardship program, which trains volunteers to care for fruit trees around the city and harvest the fruit that would otherwise be wasted. Specifically, City Fruit wants to plant or care for more trees in areas in which the organization already has a presence, as well as explore other potential sites, such as schools, P-Patch gardens, and new urban farms. The bulk of the fruit harvested from these trees goes to community members involved in stewardship and to food banks, with some fruit sold for commercial purposes.

2. East African Senior Farming Project, sponsored by Horn of Africa Services.

This project will use the funds to launch a paid urban farm internship opportunity for eight elders in the East African immigrant community in the Rainier Valley. These eight seniors will receive wages for their labor, organic gardening skills, health and nutrition education, and cooking classes as a part of this endeavor. Additionally, the produce cultivated by participants will be used in the Yesler Senior Lunch Program and in a pilot bulk-buying opportunity for the seniors and their families.

3. Great Gardens, sponsored by the Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse and Teen Center at Rainier Vista, a part of Boys and Girls Clubs of King County.

The Teen Center will use these funds to expand the hours of several staff members and build upon projects related to gardening, nutrition, and youth empowerment. The Nutrition and Gardening Coordinators at this site will work to increase nutrition education, improve the year-round functionality of the center’s garden, enhance outreach efforts to the youth’s families, and put on the yearly community Harvest Festival to celebrate the work of these teens related to food, nutrition, and gardening.

4. Nutrition, Education, Engagement, and Development (NEED) Project, sponsored by East African Community Services (EACS) and The Center for East African Community Affairs (CEACA).

With UWKC funds, East African Community Services plans to hold a series of workshops in collaboration with the Center for East African Community Affairs for the benefit of East African community members. The multi-lingual workshops will focus on nutrition education, how to find and prioritize affordable, healthy foods and produce, and opportunities to enroll in and maximize the nutritional benefits of federal nutrition assistance programs such as Basic Food. The workshops will culminate with a community meeting with community members and local food vendors, supported by interpreters, to discuss concerns and lay the groundwork for a mutually beneficial food system.

5. Seattle Community Farm’s Children’s Program and Work Trade, sponsored by Solid Ground’s Lettuce Link Program

Seattle Community Farm will use some the funds they receive to purchase outdoor cooking equipment for their Children’s Program, which will allow them to expand the program to include cooking and nutrition as well as gardening classes for low-income children. The rest of the funds will go toward improving outreach among immigrant communities to boost enrollment in their Work Trade program, which allows low-income community members to volunteer at the Seattle Community Garden for two hours and take home a bag of fresh produce.

6. Tiny Tots Community Garden and Kitchen, sponsored by Tiny Tots Development Center

Tiny Tots Development Center wants to use these funds to further develop their garden and nutrition curriculum for pre-schoolers. Additionally, TTDC plans to host monthly cooking and nutrition classes and workshops for parents (with childcare provided, culminating with a community dinner to share the food they cooked together. Lastly, TTDC plans to begin a bulk-buying opportunity for local families through a partnership with Full Circle Farms.

What a great list of programs! Please join us in commending these organizations for the vital projects they are beginning or expanding in order to solve hunger among King County’s vulnerable populations. Check back here in the future for updates on how these groups are implementing these ideas and impacting their communities!

Yesterday the New York Times reported a surge in the number of kids receiving free or low cost meals.  Nationally an astonishing 52% of 4th graders are receiving subsidized meals. In some King County school districts, more than 70% of kids are eligible for these programs.  This is no surprise given the ongoing recession, high rate of unemployment and that nearly 250,000 King County residents are food insecure.  While these numbers are alarming, they show that kids are accessing food during the school day.  We should also be concerned with hunger when school is out – after-school, on weekends and during the summer.

Like Ms. Doyle, I believe it is simply unacceptable to have children experiencing hunger in our community. As a community we should be outraged that any child is hungry. It doesn’t make moral or financial sense.  Federal nutrition programs like the National School Lunch Program and Basic Food Program (SNAP/Food Stamps) are critical tools in the fight against hunger.  These programs combined with resources from community food banks, education on cooking low cost meals and opportunities to grow food can help end childhood hunger. As a community we must rally together to protect existing programs, promote access to these programs and find new solutions to address childhood hunger.

United Way of King County is working to create a Hunger Free King County and ensure no child is hungry.  Here are five ways you can join us:

1. Advocate for the State Food Assistance Program: Legislators are in Olympia now for a Special Legislative Session to deal with a projected $1.4 billion deficit. Last year, the state legislature reduced funding for State Food Assistance (a program that provides Food Stamps to legal immigrants who are not eligible for the Federal Food Stamp program).  A court order is in place prohibiting the benefit reduction, however, pending the outcome of an equal protection and due process lawsuit on behalf of SFA recipients. Gov. Gregoire has again proposed to eliminate the program. Of the 31,100 people who either receive State Food Assistance or benefit indirectly from the program by living in a householdwhere another family member receives it, 12,500 are children.  Contact your legislator today and ask them to protect this important program.

2. Encourage your school to participate in the Fuel Up First With Breakfast Challenge sponsored by the Children’s Alliance.

3. Support weekend backpack programs and summer meal programs that provide food outside of school hours.

4. Volunteer at a local food bank, community garden  or with Bridge to Basics a program that connects families with the benefits they are eligible for.

5. Donate to an area food bank.

For the past 10 years, tax volunteers have chosen to spend the cold winter days nestled at tax sites preparing tax returns in lieu of a fireplace and hot chocolate. Last year alone 650 volunteers prepared 13,320 tax returns that helped bring back $19.7 million in federal refunds to our community.  To celebrate our current tax volunteers and inspire future volunteers here are some (hopefully) compelling reasons to join our team.

10. You provide an invaluable direct service to members of your community

9. Learn AWESOME tax skills

8. No experience necessary!

7. Exercise your cheek muscles with all the smiling

6. Meet your neighbors at your local tax site (16 tax sites throughout King County)

5. Unlimited and free access to “Mixed Bags o’ Candy”

4. Everyone loves tax guides and publications- add them to your home library!

3. You can go home knowing exactly how many people you helped and how much money was returned

2. Be a part of an amazing and dedicated team

1. You can have a fascinating 30 minute conversation with somebody you may have never met

A happy group of tax volunteers.

If you are ready to join the team you can learn more about our Free Tax Campaign and sign up to volunteer here!

Also, for those that don’t want to prepare taxes, we have a new Intake Volunteer position that greets clients and helps organize their documents.  Just as rewarding without the taxes.

There truly are many reasons to become a tax volunteer. Please feel free to add your reasons in the comment box below!

Veterans Day is a bit of an anomaly of a holiday. Unlike its fellow Federal Holidays, Presidents Day and Columbus Day, that recognize people who have made important contributions to our country, Veterans Day is unique in that many of those being honored are still alive, and virtually all of us have some connection to them. That’s pretty neat if you think about it. Maybe it’s your uncle who served in Vietnam, or your little sister stationed overseas, or a parent of a child in your kid’s class.  On Veterans Day, we actually have the opportunity to personally thank those being honored. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never gotten to personally tell a past president how much I appreciate what they’ve done for our country.

With over 600,000 veterans in Washington State alone, there is plenty of opportunity to thank, honor, and support the men and women who have served our country. Below are just some of the ways you can honor our vets - on Veterans Day, and throughout the year:

• Volunteer – Support veterans in our community through service. Volunteer to help disabled vets with chores and housework or transport them to appointments, or help a recently returned veteran transition into the workforce. You can find a variety of volunteer opportunities supporting veterans at www.uwkc.org/volunteer
• Run a Supply-Drive – Collect items for Care Packages that will go to homeless veterans in our community. More info at http://www.uwkc.org/ways-to-volunteer/cre/
• Support military families – There are numerous opportunities to support military families, and veterans, during the holiday season by donating holiday meals and gifts. For a list of holiday opportunities, click here.
• Write a letter – Through programs like Operation Honor Cards and Operation Appreciation, you can easily tell active duty military, and military families, that you appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made, and even pledge to volunteer in their honor.
• For even more ideas on how to honor veterans, check out this great post on the HandsOn Network blog – Six Ways to Celebrate Veterans Day with Service

This recession is unique among recent recessions in the overall loss of jobs and revenue as well as the depth of the loss making the recovery not a swift recovery back to “normal”  but an extended period of high unemployment, rising costs of goods, high foreclosure rate and  overall lack of consumer confidence.  To illustrate, Washington has lost 195,000 jobs since the beginning of the recession and regained only 62,000.

The combination of deficits in anticipated revenue collections, caseload growth (reflecting greater needs) and higher than average inflationary costs have resulted in reductions totaling over $10 billion in state general fund dollars in the last three years.  The November 16 caseload forecast and the November 17  revenue forecast are expected to result in more shortfalls in
state revenue.

At an October 10 Senate Ways and Means budget briefing, the budget shortfall problem was described in these terms:  a $2 billion shortfall could be resolved if everyone in the state donated $3-400 or if all higher education and state employee salaries and benefits were reduced by half for 18 months.  Ending support for all higher education or closing the Department of Corrections did not generate enough savings to close the shortfall.

Since two-thirds of the state budget is constitutionally or legally protected (debt service, pensions, K-12 education), the $2 billion plus budget shortfall needs to be taken from $8.7 billion of the state budget resulting in a 23% cut.

Governor’s response

In anticipation of the September 15 revenue forecast, the governor had asked her state departments to submit 10% reductions in 5% increments.  Using that information, the Governor unveiled a Roadmap of $2 billion and $4 billion cuts on October 27.   The Roadmap is a picture of the cuts necessary to balance the budget without any new revenue sources.  This  picture shows how the deep cuts will decimate many of the state’s model safety net programs and includes such egregious reductions as:

Eliminating state support for domestic violence programs (affecting 16,700 people)
Eliminating Disability Lifeline medical (affecting 21,000 people), chemical dependency treatment (affecting 15,000 people), and cash assistance (affecting 15,000 people)
Potentially eliminating in home care for 25,000 developmentally disabled and elderly people
Suspending adult Medicaid pharmacy benefits (affecting 277,000 people)
Eliminating Basic Health Plan (affecting 35,000 people; reducing or eliminating Maternity Support Services (affecting 55,000 pregnant women)
Eliminating State Food Assistance Program (affecting 13,000 people)
Reducing state funding for subsidized child care (affecting between 4-6,000 children)

Susan Dreyfus reminded those attending the Seattle DSHS budget briefing in October that cutting state general fund also results in loss of federal dollars.  DSHS draws down 50 cents in federal money for every state dollar invested.

The governor will be presenting her FY2012-13 budget during the week of November 21 in anticipation of having the legislature back in special session beginning November 28. The Governor has said that her budget could include new revenue to balance the budget if she feels relatively confident that the revenue would be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the legislature.

Advocates meeting with the Governor

A group of human services advocates met with the Governor on Oct 31 to discuss the reductions, priorities and potential revenue responses.  The governor clearly conveyed several themes including: had Congress done its job in August, all states would be in a better financial position buoyed by stronger consumer confidence; she hopes the focus of the special session will be on the budget and the focus of regular session on how to get people back to work; advocates and policy makers need to focus on what services they would most like to save and how those investments/cuts would look 10 years down the road; and she would entertain all viable suggestions about revenue enhancements.  The advocates presented some revenue options and asked to maintain flexibility in use of reduced funding i.e. do not dictate how services would be delivered to vulnerable populations by program type.