Poverty, Income Security and the Safety Net

All persons deserve the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. And because people in poverty lack sufficient resources to provide for their families, Catholic Social Teaching says that they deserve our attention and help.

NETWORK believes that all human beings should have the right to an education, living wage, a safe and healthy environment, and all that is necessary to live a life of dignity.

NETWORK has a long history with two programs that provide security to families through income and supports—TANF and refundable tax credits. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), formerly welfare, provides a block grant to states to help low-income families become self-sufficient through income assistance and support services. Refundable tax credits provide incentives for work and give extra income to those families and children with the least opportunity.

Poverty levels continue to be shockingly high. Click here for more information about recent trends.

And watch this video response by Sister Simone Campbell, NETWORK's Executive Director, to a forum entitled "Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity." We need a new way of thinking!