Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
INDIANAPOLIS - Joanne VanCuren stood on the Indiana State Senate floor Tuesday, along with other Walk a Mile participants, while Sen. Teresa Lubbers (R - Indianapolis) read Senate Concurrent Resolution 8, commemorating the program partnering low-income Hoosiers and policy-makers.
VanCuren, of Warsaw, and Rep. Dave Wolkins (R-Winona Lake) learned from each other about how public assistance is distributed and decided. Wolkins accompanied VanCuren to a child care voucher appointment. VanCuren traveled to Indianapolis, sitting in on a committee meeting with librarians from across the state. During the course of weekly telephone calls, they have become friends.
"It's a neat program from my perspective," Wolkins said. "You get to see a face behind the numbers."
Walk a Mile is a nonpartisan national project whose goal is to form a link between policy-makers and their constituents. The program is designed to promote greater understanding of each others' lives by "walking a mile in each others' shoes."
Wolkins and VanCuren met during a kick-off meeting sponsored by Housing Opportunities of Warsaw.
"The program is designed to get rid of stereotyping," said HOW Executive Director Pam Kennedy. "Clients met lawmakers; lawmakers met citizens who receive some kind of assistance."
From Nov. 15 to Dec. 13, Wolkins and his wife, Candice, agreed to spend no more on groceries than what they would receive on food stamps. For the first time, Candice, who likes to make the entire Thanksgiving meal, had to ask family members and guests to bring a dish of their own.
"I'm used to buying certain brands," Candice said. "I couldn't do that in November."
VanCuren had one criticism of the project, that of timing it during the fall holidays, when schedules are so full.
"We didn't get together as much as we would have liked," the Ivy Tech student said. "It's a very busy time of the year. I'm glad the program came to the state. Our representatives need to know what was going on. I found a very good person to call if I need help."
The mother of two girls ages 6 and 5, VanCuren works part-time at Kosciusko County YMCA and at the Basher Home of United Methodist Church in Goshen. She attends night classes. She has one more year to go toward earning an associate's degree in criminal justice and plans to become a juvenile probation officer. Her income goes for rent, utilities, the telephone bill and her children's preschool costs.
"I've always worked," VanCuren said. Currently she receives housing assistance, food stamps, child care assistance and Pell Grants for college tuition. She also participates in Project Independence sponsored by Combined Community Services.
The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development organized Walk a Mile, coordinating the partnerships with local nonprofit organizations and policy-makers.
A luncheon was held at the Hyatt in Indianapolis Tuesday. In addition to Wolkins and VanCuren, state senators Lubbers, Beverly Gard and Earline Rogers and their low-income partners talked about their experiences. Rogers accompanied her new friend Pam to a township trustee office, where the pair waited for three hours.
Gard discovered "a world full of people who don't know how they got where they're at. We sit in committees making decisions, but it's a different story when you actually deal with housing issues," she said.
In addition to Gard, Lubbers, Rogers and Wolkins, other participants include: state senators Billie Breaux (D), Tim Lanane (D) and Sue Landske (R); state representatives Terri Jo Austin (D), Ralph Ayres (R), Mary Kay Budak (R), Sheila Klinker (D), Cindy Noe (R) and John Ulmer (R); and mayors James Bullard (D), James Fleck (D), Sally Hutton (D), Allan Kauffman (D), Gail Kemp (R), Leigh Morris (R), Tony Roswarski (D), Wayne Seybold (R) and Donald Stock (R).
Participating agencies were: Achieva Resources Corp., Affordable Housing Corp., Alternatives Inc., Anchor House, Area Five Agency on Aging and Community Services, Area Four Agency on Aging and Community Action Programs, Catholic Charities, Family Action Network of Lake County, Housing Opportunities, Housing Opportunities of Warsaw, John H. Boner Community Center, LaCasa of Goshen, Lafayette Neighborhood Housing Services, LifeStream Services, Martin Luther King Multi-Service Center, Mental Health Association in Tippecanoe, Noble of Indiana, Partners in Housing Development Corp., Sojourner Truth House, The Center for the Homeless, TRI-CAP and Whitley Crossings Neighborhood Corp.
On the Net:
Walk a Mile in Indiana, www.iaced.org/walk a mile.htm For national information, visit www.walk a mile.org
