Cathy Keenan, VLJ Executive Director
We Hate Poverty – A Call to Action by VLJ Executive Director Cathy Keenan
Are you tired of seeing poverty in America? Are you fed up with the fact that poverty is considered a routine social ill? Something that has come to be expected and accepted. At VLJ, we are tired of seeing poverty and we are fed up with accommodating it, generation after generation, broken promise after broken promise.
Cathy Keenan, VLJ’s Executive Director, recently attended a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and sociologist, Matthew Desmond, in advance of his new book, “Poverty, by America.” Desmond’s talk left Cathy energized and reinvigorated, and now she has a call to action for the larger VLJ family:
“In his book, Matthew Desmond sheds light on the national disgrace that is poverty in America. He calls for an end to accommodating poverty and urges us to think bigger to abolish it. He likens the fight against poverty to the abolitionist movements against slavery or mass incarceration. It's time for us to view poverty not as a ‘routine or inevitable social ill, but as an abomination that can no longer be tolerated.’
At VLJ, we are in a unique position to effectuate change, because we know how to make change happen. We do it by preventing evictions, which we know cause poverty. We do it by expunging and vacating criminal records that limit our clients' employment opportunities and stigmatize them into perpetual poverty. We do it by ensuring that children get the education to which they are entitled, opening up opportunities for them and raising up the next generation. We do it by addressing debt that destabilizes and stresses our clients even further. We do it by providing family law services that support families and prevent physical, emotional, and socioeconomic trauma. We do it by working to help communities of clients like veterans, survivors of human trafficking, and families in the South Ward so they move further from the grip of poverty.
We are also going to do it by thinking bigger and focusing on systemic issues that keep people in poverty. And, we are going to do it by activating a community of volunteers, funders, and partners to make real change. I know we are all with Desmond; we hate poverty. All of us at VLJ have dedicated our careers to combatting it.
VLJ’s challenge to you is simple: Join us in the fight against poverty! Let's work together to create a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, to realize their best selves without barriers, without burdens on their existence. There are many ways to join VLJ, whether you want to donate your time, talent, or financial support, we have opportunities for you. Because at VLJ, our mission of ensuring access to justice for people experiencing poverty comes down to ‘Taking cases and changing lives.’”
To answer Cathy’s call to action and join VLJ in the fight to end poverty, volunteer with VLJ, and serve a neighbor in need, please click here.
To financially support VLJ so we can serve even more neighbors in need, please click here.
If you’re interested in reading Matthew Desmond’s March 16, 2023, New York Times opinion guest essay, America Is in a Disgraced Class of Its Own, please click here.