BETTER WORK Co-hosts A Job Fair To Support Gwinnett Families Facing Housing Crisis

by Corey Burres | Sep 17, 2021

BETTER WORK Co-hosts A Job Fair To Support Gwinnett Families Facing Housing Crisis

GCO partnered with the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry to help displaced families

Today we’re witnessing an unprecedented labor market, with a record-high 10.9 million unfilled job openings across the country in August. One of the key challenges we are facing is matching workers with the right opportunities in the labor force.

With that goal in mind, BETTER WORK Gwinnett recently partnered with the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry to create a job fair in the local community. The event served people who were displaced by the pandemic living at a local extended-stay hotel. The aim was to open up job opportunities for these people and get them back into fruitful employment with an upward career trajectory.

Watch the video to hear from workers and employers themselves on the importance of this job fair at this key moment.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s BETTER WORK project provides valuable resources and community collaboration bringing the dignity of work to local communities.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BETTER WORK

Working-class Americans’ Views on Family Policy | GLOBE NEWSWIRE

by Corey Burres | Sep 15, 2021

Working-class Americans’ Views on Family Policy | GLOBE NEWSWIRE

A new report on the work and family policy preferences of black, Hispanic, and white working-class parents reveals that their opinions often cut against the agenda of Washington, D.C., insiders on both the right and left. The report, Working-Class Americans’ Views on Family Policy, is written by Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow Patrick T. Brown and co-sponsored by the Institute for Family Studies, Braver Angels, the Georgia Center for Opportunity, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The findings are based on three different focus groups comprised of about a dozen parents each, representing different slices of life in working-class America: white parents in southwest Ohio, black parents in the Atlanta region, and Hispanic parents around the San Antonio area.

Read the full article here

Anti-Poverty Leaders to Biden: Child Allowance Cash Payments Will Not Give Low-Income Americans True Opportunity | DAILY SIGNAL

by Corey Burres | Aug 12, 2021

Anti-Poverty Leaders to Biden: Child Allowance Cash Payments Will Not Give Low-Income Americans True Opportunity | DAILY SIGNAL

Policymakers who are concerned about low-income Americans should reject the Biden administration’s plan to make new unconditional cash payments permanent in the form of a child allowance. Policymakers should not support this ill-advised attempt to expand safety-net benefits without making them conditioned on work or preparation for work.

All congressional leaders should know: this policy could set back the progress this country has made against child poverty and leave low-income Americans behind…

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Letter: Reimagine how children stay connected to school | THE ROANOKE TIMES

by Corey Burres | Jul 19, 2021

Letter: Reimagine how children stay connected to school | THE ROANOKE TIMES

The June 8 Roanoke School Board meeting addressed student learning loss and post-pandemic reorganization.

As a Hollins University student and member of the Roanoke community, I care about access to education.

In my research, I found a study from the Georgia Center for Opportunity, illuminating that while white students have fallen one to three months behind, students of color nationwide have fallen at least three to five months behind in their education during the pandemic.

These results are almost identical to the learning gaps that result from student suspension and barriers to accessing academic support services, including the disproportionate impact on students and families of color…

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Inflation is running wild — poor and low-income Americans will be hurt the most | QUAD CITY TIMES

by Corey Burres | Jul 16, 2021

Inflation is running wild — poor and low-income Americans will be hurt the most | QUAD CITY TIMES

How can we help working families the most? Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is a popular solution, but it’s a short-sighted one given the reality that inflation — the silent assassin of Americans’ livelihoods, particularly for the poor — is now running the hottest it has in decades.

The Consumer Price Index has increased 5.4% since last year, as announced on July 13 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly rate was 0.6% in May but 0.9% in June. If this rate persists, our nation will experience double-digit inflation. A 0.9% monthly rate translates to an 11.4% annual rate, a level not seen since the 1970s….

Read the full oped here