PathWays PA Policy Blog

Philadelphia could be the next city to win paid sick days! Here's the sobering truth of what's at stake: For a family without paid sick days, just 3.5 days of missed work because of illness is the equivalent to an entire month's groceries for the average family. That's bad for families, and it's bad for the city's economy. PathWays PA has been leading the charge for earned sick days in Philadelphia since 2010, and recently served on the Mayor's Task Force on Paid Sick Leave. Join MomsRising and PathWays PA by raising your voice and sharing your thoughts with Philadelphia City Council members! Share your story! Interested in PathWays PA blog posts on similar topics? 1/23/15 - NEW DATE! Join us on February 3 for the Hearing on Earned Sick Days in City Council! 12/11/14 - The Importance of FAMILY 9/19/13 - #OurAmericanStory: Low-Income Families Share Their Stories to Bring National Attention to Poverty Issues

Half in Ten and the Coalition on Human Needs are thrilled to announce the next phase of our work to collect and deploy personal stories to shape the national debate around poverty issues! As you may know, Half in Ten and the Coalition of Human Needs began collecting stories in 2011 from low-income families and service providers to illustrate the human cost of reckless budget cuts and highlight the need for proactive investment strategies to promote economic security and opportunity. Now, these groups are announcing their new name "Our American Story: A Storyteller Network." This rebranding effort reflects their renewed focus on the community of advocates, low-income families and service providers who have shared their stories about the American Dream as a way of shaping public policy. With attacks on vital programs like nutrition assistance set for this fall, and in advance of the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty in January 2014, Our American Story is looking to...

The holiday season is upon us! It is a time of great joy as families gather to create lasting memories, the warmth of the season filling their homes. But for many homeless women and children in our community, the holidays are like every other day - filled with uncertainty and fear. David At this special, gift-giving time of the year, we are asking for your help. Please assist us in supporting the women and children in our care, who will spend the holidays without a home or loved ones to keep them warm . Many of our clients have been neglected, abused and have nowhere to go. PathWays PA gives them the stability and security they need to begin to rebuild their lives and care for their children. Often, young moms with babies and small children come into our program broken, scared and confused. Our caring staff promotes education, teaches parenting and life skills, fosters self-esteem and moves the women towards attaining their life goals, family well-being and self-sufficienc...

On Sunday, September 12, PCN's monthly television program "Agenda for Action" included a story on HB 1830, including a story from Tiffany Lomax about her need for earned sick time.  That video will be rebroadcast on September 26, but it is now available online as well. In addition, WITF's Radio SmartTalk featured an hour-long segment on earned sick days on September 13.  You can listen and leave your own comments at the Radio SmartTalk page .  You can also download the podcast through iTunes for free . (photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/locomotion/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 )

In Pennsylvania over 2.2 million workers do not have the ability to earn paid sick days. These are some of their stories. To listen to these and other stories please visit the Working Families Story Bank . A special thank you to WOMEN'S WAY , a member of the Coalition that put this video together.

For those of you interested in reading the testimony from the hearing, you can find it all right here! Carol Goertzel, President/CEO, PathWays PA E---------------, Affected Worker Department of Health Robert Drago, Ph. D., Research Director, Institute for Women's Policy Research Rebecca Foley, Director of Education & Advocacy Initiatives, WOMEN'S WAY Kate Etherington, Senior Program Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility Sam Denisco, Director of Government Affairs, PA Chamber of Business and Industry Carol Tracy, Executive Director, Women's Law Project Testimony submitted for the record: Richard Bloomingdale, President, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Donna Levitt, Manager, Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (San Francisco) Dr. James Plumb, Professor, Thomas Jefferson University K.C. Moylan, Chief Operation Officer, Pei Wei Asian Diner, Inc . Susan Kavchok, Childspace Management Group, Inc.

Below is the story of a PathWays PA client that was featured on our website : A few years ago Evette Braswell was in a tough situation. Young, scared and with a family to care for, Evette was on the brink of losing everything. How would she take care of herself? Her children? Without skills or education, she was unable to find good work that would give her family any sense of security. Desperate for help and with nowhere to turn, Evette’s caseworker referred her to PathWays PA’s Supervised Independent Living Program (SIL). Once at PathWays PA, Evette found the security she was looking for, as well as the tools to help her provide for herself and her family, and to Evette nothing could have been more important. At SIL, young pregnant and parenting teens are provided a place to live while they learn essential life, parenting and educational skills. They are coached toward meaningful education and/or career paths, and are encouraged to follow their game plan. Because many of the girls...