PathWays PA Policy Blog

PathWays PA is heartbroken over the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton this weekend. We send our love to all those affected as we hold our own loved ones a little tighter. In El Paso, 22 people died and more than 2 dozen more were wounded in an attack. In Dayton, a gunman killed 9 people and injured another 14 in an attack that only lasted 30 seconds . More than 20 others were injured trying to escape. Take Action - your voice can make a difference: Contact your members of Congress to let them know what you think they should do. Call Congress at 202-224-3121. You can also send some of the following messages or use them as talking points in your phone calls From CHN: Enough is Enough - We Need Real Change.  From MomsRising: Ban the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition From Everytown for Gun Safety: Demand smarter gun laws now  supporting gun violence research Visit the CeaseFirePA Issue Action Center for PA specific actions. V...

Last week, two mosques in New Zealand became the sites of terror attacks. At least 50 people were killed and another 50 wounded in Christchurch, New Zealand. The main suspect in the shooting may have posted a manifesto containing "anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim" sentiments minutes before the attack. PathWays PA sends our thoughts and support to families in New Zealand and to all those affected by gun violence and xenophobia. Please read on to learn more about what you can do to support families and stop violence and hatred. How You Can Help Victims The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh set up a fund for Christchurch victims . Last year, Muslim communities in Pittsburgh and across the world raised money for victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. CNN recommends supporting the New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups , which has launched a crowdfunding campaign .  As always, please research any organization carefully before donating to them How You C...

On Saturday, Pittsburgh became one of the latest sites of gun violence in our country. At the Tree of Life Synagogue, 11 people were killed and 6 people injured  after a shooter opened fire. Online postings that are being attributed to the shooter include rants against refugees, the Jewish community, and the organization HIAS , among others. PathWays PA mourns for all those in Pittsburgh and all those affected by this shooting. We also stand with communities that support refugees, immigrants, and diversity.  Our partner in Pittsburgh, the Women and Girls Foundation , wrote a beautiful letter which we encourage you all to read . They also suggested a number of actions which we've listed below.. Finally, they - and we - encourage you to use your vote to make a difference on November 6. Take Action and Find Resources (from the Women and Girls Foundation and others) If you have immediate needs, contact the Jewish Federation . Family Assistance Center at the JCC Squi...

As word continues to filter out about another school shooting , this one in Maryland , legislators and students are debating new gun legislation. While Congress does not have anything scheduled for a vote, Pennsylvania is examining a law that would require the subjects of Protection from Abuse orders to give up their guns. Meanwhile, students and their supporters across the country are getting ready to march against gun violence this weekend. As of Tuesday, March 20, 829 events against gun violence are scheduled worldwide on March 24. Take Action: PA state legislators are considering a bill that would require people under a Protection from Abuse Order to surrender their firearms to a sheriff or judge within 48 hours of receiving the order. Please call your legislators to share your thoughts. The Bucks County Women's Advocacy Coalition has put together an Action Alert with sample language. If you do not live in Bucks County, please visit the PA General Assembly website t...

UPDATE (10/16/14 1:27 PM) - HB 1796 has passed the Senate unanimously and is on it's way to the Governor's desk! Thanks to everyone for their support! Last night, Senator Hughes made a motion to revert HB 1796 to a prior printer’s number, eliminating the preemption amendment. The motion passed 26-22 . Please take a moment to thank everyone who voted to help end the threat of preemption! Thank you to everyone who made calls and spoke to their legislators, and a special thanks to our anti-domestic violence advocates and PCADV in particular. The saga of HB 1796 continues, however. This bill, which passed unanimously in the House and was set to sail through the Senate until the preemption amendment was attached, is now marked as "over" for the day. In other words, the Senate doesn't plan to vote on it today, and since this is the last day of the session, it is the last day for votes. Unless we take action now, we will have to start over with this bill in Januar...

It's the last day of planned voting in the PA Senate, and HB 1796, a common-sense bill designed to protect domestic violence survivors from being evicted from their homes, is about to be amended to include pro-gun legislation. We probably don't need to tell you that a gun is the most common weapon used in domestic homicides. This legislation is being added to a bill that has already been amended to include anti-paid sick days language, yet another provision that would harm domestic violence survivors as well as many families across Pennsylvania. Please call your Senators NOW and ask them not to approve HB 1796 with these amendments! They are in session as we speak and need to hear from you RIGHT NOW. What is HB 1796? From our friends at  The Women's Law Project : Sponsored by Rep. Todd Stephens, HB1796, titled "Protection for Victims of Crime from Certain Municipal Ordinances" was drafted in response to a situation so outrageous that it  gained natio...

Physicians for Social Responsibility and CeaseFire PA will hold a discussion on Wednesday, March 27 beginning on 7PM at the Friends Center located at 1501 Cherry St. in Philadelphia. Speakers will focus on the public health and social crisis that America faces from gun violence. Speakers include: Shira Goodman -Executive Director of CeaseFire PA David Keller Trevaskis -Esquire Henry D'Silva -MD C. William Schwab -MD, FACS, FRCS Professor of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Division of Traumatology and Surgical Critical Care

Weekly Newsletter Week of January 22, 2013 Join Us Online! Join PathWays PA at City Council on Thursday! We are pleased to announce that on January 24, 2013, Philadelphia City Council will be honoring PathWays PA for being named the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's Non-Profit Organization of the Year!  Please join us for the citation presentation at 10 AM in room 400 of City Hall. This Week's Issues to Watch ::  Join PathWays PA at City Council on Thursday! ::  Support Earned Sick Days in Philadelphia! ::  Vote for PathWays PA's DoGooder Video Today! ::  FMLA Extends Care to Adult Children ::  Join CeaseFire PA to Take a Stand Against Gun Violence Support Earned Sick Days in Philadelphia! You may have noticed that this flu season has caught the attention of the news media. CNN Money, 6ABC,  Business Finance Magazine , and  The Philadelphia Inquirer  are among those repo...

This post is from our friends at MomsRising .  Our thoughts at this time are with all those affected by the shooting in Connecticut, and with all those whose lives have been changed by violence.   We are beyond heartbroken as we think of the kindergarteners and others that died today in Connecticut. Today is the 3rd day this week when there's been a mass shooting in our nation. We are parents. Many NRA members are parents. And none of us want to live in a nation where children are gunned down. #Todayistheday for the NRA and for Congress to step up and start proposing laws that protect children and all people. *Sign on to our open letter to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and to Congress urging them to make today the last day that they block common-sense gun regulations that protect all of our families: http://action.momsrising.org/letter/newton_shooting1/?amp=&rd=1&t=2&referring_akid=3753.197376.BpXLjl It's time to put kids and common-sense fir...

1. Number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq: 6,614: 2. Number of women, in the same period, killed as the result of domestic violence in the US: 11,766 3. Number of people per minute who experience intimate partner violence in the U.S.: 24 4. Number of workplace violence incidents in the U.S. annually that are the result of current or past intimate partner assaults: 18,700 5. Number of women in the U.S. who report intimate partner violence: 1 in 4 6. Number of men in the U.S. who report intimate partner violence: 1 in 7* 7. Number of women who will experience partner violence worldwide: 1 in 3 8. Order of causes of death for European women ages 16-44: domestic violence, cancer, traffic accidents 9. Increase in likelihood that a woman will die a violent death if a gun in present in the home: 270 percent 10. Number of women killed by spouses who were shot by guns kept by men in the home in France and South Africa: 1 in 3 Read the Entire List Here

According to a new report by the Children's Defense Fund, The State of America's Children , the percentage of children living in poverty showed a dramatic increase between the years of 2008 and 2009. Child poverty increased by nearly 10%, amounting to the largest increase in a single year since data has been collected. Between 2000 and 2009, child poverty increased 28%, a distressing change in direction from the 27% drop in poverty levels that occurred between 1992 and 2000. In 2009, 15.5 million, or one out of every 5 children lived in poverty, defined as having an annual income of less than $22,050 for a family of four. Nearly half of these children live in extreme poverty, with an annual income of less than $11,025 for a family of four. The report highlighted the wide gaps in levels of child poverty based on race. While in 2009 17.7% of white children were poor, 35.7% of black children and 33.1% of Hispanic children lived in poverty. In addition, the report shows that chi...

Federal Policy Update FINAL FY2011 BUDGET DETAILS RELEASED Late last week, details were released on the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 continuing resolution (CR) negotiated by the White House and Congressional leaders. The bill, which will fund the federal government through September 30, includes $38.5 billion in cuts below current funding levels—$78.5 billion below levels requested in the President's FY 2011 budget proposal—and includes $13 billion in cuts to programs under the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. Cuts under the final CR are less severe than anticipated, with job training programs at Department of Labor facing just under $1 billion in cuts, including: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding is cut by $307 million, but $125 million for a new "Workforce Innovation Fund" is included in the bill, resulting in a net reduction of $182 million in WIA formula funding; $125 million in FY 2010 funding for the Career Pathways Innovati...