Catholic Charities seeks policy changes to keep youths out of poverty

Published: 2008-04-16

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic Charities USA is urging members of Congress and other leading policymakers to support efforts to ease the challenges young people and their families are facing as a way to reduce poverty in America. Using the forum of a Capitol Hill briefing April 15, Catholic Charities officials from New York and Connecticut as well as Catholic Charities USA outlined a range of ideas to help teenagers avoid the cycle of poverty as they move into adulthood. "If we are to reduce poverty in America, we must develop creative public policy proposals and new initiatives and a collective change of heart to prevent another generation of children from growing up poor," said Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA president. "That requires the collective will and wisdom of our leadership and all of us to address these issues and to propose effective solutions today so this generation will be included in the American dream." The briefing was the latest effort in Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. Introduced last year, the campaign seeks to halve poverty in the country by 2020.

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