Thursday, March 15
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Reception to follow
Subotnick Center
250 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn
Online registration is now closed. Please call the Office of External Affairs at 718-780-7904 if you would like to attend.
About the Forum
Since the recession began in 2007, unemployment has nearly doubled and 46 million Americans live in poverty. While most of these families have at least one person working, they are frequently underpaid or underemployed, making as little as $14,500 a year at a minimum wage job. To make ends meet, low-income individuals and families often have to borrow, paying unreasonably high interest rates and charges, which erode their already limited resources. Together these pressures have forced more New York City residents into homelessness and hunger than ever before.
This Forum will explore the causes of poverty and the impact of the recession on low-income individuals and families and examine how advocates use the law and other disciplines to address these problems. Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Political Science, CUNY Graduate Center, and national expert on poverty and social movements, will be the keynote speaker and place today’s struggles in historical perspective. Leading advocates from legal and non-profit organizations currently developing innovative strategies will comment and discuss their work.
Keynote Speaker
Frances Fox Piven
Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Graduate Center, City University of New York
Speakers
Edward De Barbieri ’08
Urban Justice Center
Richard Blum
Legal Aid Society
Jennifer DaSilva
Start Small Think Big
Sarah Ludwig
Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP)
Brooke Richie
Resilience Advocacy Project
Click here to learn more about the Sparer Fellowship