July 6, 2020
On June 26, 2020, California’s Central District Court ruled that ICE should release children from the country’s three family detention centers, two in Texas and one in Berks County. “There is no more time for half measures,” Judge Dolly Gee wrote, citing unsafe conditions at the centers and the dangers the coronavirus pandemic poses to...
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June 29, 2020
Applications for $175 million of state funding for rental and mortgage assistance are now available, and the funds will be distributed in counties on a first-come, first-serve basis. The program is managed by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). Visit www.PHFA.org for details and eligibility criteria. PHFA recently shared implementation details for the new state...
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June 29, 2020
Our thoughts and prayers inform our actions. Join us on Thursday, July 9, from 12:30 – 2 p.m. for an online training event “Advocacy Tools for Loving Your Neighbor”. This online training event, designed to equip you, is jointly hosted by the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Both Presiding Bishop Michael...
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June 25, 2020
Keystone Counts recently shared an update on the 2020 Census in Pennsylvania. LAMPa is one of the more than 100 coalition members of Keystone Counts, a statewide coalition of advocacy groups, service providers, and community organizations joined together to build an education and outreach effort for a fair and accurate 2020 census. The nationwide response...
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June 24, 2020
June 24, 2020 “ELCA social teaching supports human rights for all people, regardless of their sex (biological), gender, or sexuality. This stance is rooted in respect and welcome for all people as created in the image of God and evident in the ELCA’s longstanding commitment to protecting civil and human rights” (Faith, Sexism, and Justice:...
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June 23, 2020
During a time of physical distancing when policy makers are less able to be out in their districts, it is important that constituents take opportunities to communicate their experience and opinions about the heightened public health and economic challenges. There may be something invigorating about walking up to a pillared building in your best business...
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June 18, 2020
June 18, 2020 This church urges “flexible and humane ways for undocumented persons who have been in this country for a specified amount of time to be able to adjust their legal status.” — ELCA social message, “Immigration” (1998) Today I rejoice in the renewal of dreams and the transformation of heartbreak into hope that...
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June 12, 2020
The Pennsylvania Partnership for Children (PPC) released their 11th annual State of Child Welfare report – a five-year analysis of how Pennsylvania fares with practices around child safety, placement and permanency – that outlines policy recommendations aimed at improving the child welfare system and includes county-level data and statewide and geographic trends. This report recommends...
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June 5, 2020
June 5, 2020 “Out of my distress I called on the Lord” (Psalm 118:5). We are a nation in distress. We are a church in distress. The coronavirus has killed 103,000 of us. The virus of racism has taken hundreds of thousands more throughout our history. Now these two deadly viruses converge. Under this distress...
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May 30, 2020
Governor Wolf signed legislation allocating a portion of the federal CARES Act funding, which included a $175M allocation for a COVID-19 Relief Mortgage and Rental Assistance Program and an additional $10M for Homeless Assistance Grants. The funds appropriated will support communities in preventing evictions for tenants, stabilizing landlord small businesses, and ensuring that adequate support...
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