Position Statements

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, and simultaneously exposed the reality of deep, persistent poverty in America. Last year, the Sargent Shriver National Center On Poverty Law’s “Rebuilding the Lower Ninth Campaign” highlighted the anniversary of this event with media outreach and a week of teach-ins. We solicited declarations of support for a federal call-to-action to end poverty in the United States. The campaign’s broad coalition added momentum to the anti-poverty movement—but without continued appeals to our leaders, we can only hope for real change. It is time to pressure our potential new leaders and form alliances with those who believe we must bring increased equality and opportunity to those 36.5 million Americans that live in poverty. The Shriver Center has drafted a letter to all presidential candidates, offering our voice of expertise on taking action against poverty, as a guide to leaders as they work their way into the white house.