12
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 22-28, 2022 BXR
opinion-editorial
Congress showing ‘lack of foresight’ in not supporting
government programs through Build Back Better
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BY SHANEQUA MOORE
As a social worker running an organization
that helps others, I have been astonished by
the lack of foresight among politicians that are
not rallying behind the Build Back Better Bill
in Congress. And while I am sad on behalf of
my clients — I’ve seen first hand the difference
things like the Child Tax Credit have made in
their lives — I’m mostly sad for the country. A
little bit of help at just the right time can make
a huge difference in people’s lives. Take me, for
example, I was able to get ahead — and build an
organization that gives back — because of services
that now may be denied to others.
I was born into homelessness and lived in
a shelter for the first five years of my life. My
mother was always fighting for me and my
five brothers and sisters, and was able to find
programs to help us get by. We would not have
eaten without welfare, food banks and free
lunch programs.
I stayed busy in the summer through the
Summer Youth Employment Program. If it
wasn’t for the Higher Education Opportunity
Program, I would never have been able to go to
college.
But that program allowed me to get undergraduate
and then master’s degrees in social
work, which have allowed me to give back.
Later, when I was foster mother to my brother’s
three children, I was able to receive child
care subsidies and health care through Medicaid.
Now I own my own company — I Raise Boys
and Girls International — which employs 30
people, provides 50 interns job opportunities,
and another 100 people meaningful volunteer
experience.
But I wouldn’t have been able to build any of
this without the programs that kept our family
afloat and allowed me to get an education.
In our country today, many of us are struggling
to get by even when we work multiple
jobs. It is nearly impossible to find affordable
housing and the cupboards are bare even in
the homes of hardworking people. This is even
worse at a time of rising inflation and rising
prices.
The programs in this bill provide needed assistance
to prevent a spiraling into poverty and
staying entrenched there. Often the help of one
social program in the short-term can reduce the
need for further assistance in the long-term.
The Child Tax Credit, Medicaid expansion
and free universal preschool are just a few of
the many ways that can help people get ahead.
Without them, it’s just not possible to make
enough money at minimum wage jobs to get out
of poverty.
Shanequa Moore is the founder of the I’RAISE
Girls & Boys International Corporation, located
in the Bronx.
Shanequa Moore says that the government assistance programs included in the Build Back Better
plan are crucial for helping poeple stay out of poverty and get ahead. Photo courtesy Getty Images
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