Press Releases
Statement From United Ways on Golden State Stimulus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Contact:
Peter Manzo (323) 309-8522
Anna Hasselblad (916) 317-4997
Golden State Stimulus, Eviction Protections, and Rent Relief Urgency Budget Proposal Announced by Governor Newsom with Legislative and United Way Leaders
The stimulus will reach low-income Californians, including undocumented households that file taxes with Individual Taxpayer Identification Number; local leaders note urgency and readiness to connect families to relief
(Los Angeles, CA) — Statement from United Ways of California and Local United Way Leaders:
“Today marks a critical moment in California’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic with Governor Newsom’s Budget Proposal to provide a much needed $600 state stimulus check to low-income residents via the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) structure. This combined with extending eviction protections and providing rent relief funds comes at the right time as so many households struggle to stay afloat financially,” said Peter Manzo, President and CEO of United Ways of California, (UWCA). “Local United Ways throughout California are on the frontlines of connecting communities to services and assistance, raising and disbursing millions of dollars in 2020 alone to help tens of thousands of families grappling with the devastating impacts of COVID-19. 2021 will require a similar commitment to getting aid where it is needed most, and we are ready to partner closely with the Legislature and the Newsom Administration to see this budget proposal through with urgency.”
Urgent Action Required as Number of California Children Without Healthcare Coverage Skyrockets
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Contact: Unai Montes, 213-476-8742, (Bilingual) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
California United Ways Sound the Alarm as the Percentage of Children Without Healthcare Coverage in California Continues to Rise
Despite Medi-Cal Expansion and Investments in Covered California the Number of California Children Without Health Care Coverage Has Ballooned by 11 Percent
(Los Angeles, CA) – According to a new report released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, at least 334,000 California children lacked healthcare coverage in 2019. The number of Americans without health insurance has risen, writ large, since 2016. Yet, Georgetown’s reports confirm the worst fears of California United Ways, and the many anti-poverty and child welfare organizations that joined together to draft, pass, and implement Covering All Children, and Health 4 All Kids, policies less than a decade ago. After making tremendous inroads, and achieving coverage for 95% of California’s children, the percentage of California children without health insurance rose steeply, by approximately 11 percent, between 2016 and 2019. Experts agree that federal actions, such as the change to the public charge rule, are influencing caregivers to either not enroll newly eligible children, and to disenroll, or not-renew coverage for, children already enrolled in publicly subsidized healthcare plans.
Governor Newsom Makes History By Making Immigrant Workers and their Families Eligible for the State's Anti-Poverty Tax Credits
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, September 18, 2020
CONTACT:
Unai Montes, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 213 476 8742 (Bilingual)
California United Ways and Statewide CalEITC Coalition Laud Governor Newsom’s Expansion of the State's Earned Income and Young Child Tax Credits to All Californians Who File Taxes, Not Just Those With Social Security Numbers
[Sacramento, Calif.] – The California Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, made up of over 60 anti-poverty, immigrant rights, and community-based organizations, applauds Governor Gavin Newsom’s historic decision to sign AB 1876 (Arambula AD-31) into law. Both non-citizen immigrant households, as well as mixed-status families in which one tax filer has a Social Security Number while the other does not, will directly benefit from the expansion of California’s anti-poverty tax credits.
Governor Newsom’s elimination of the arbitrary exclusion of Californians who file their taxes with a federally-issued Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the up to $2,982 California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) Tax Credit, and the up to $1,000 Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC) is historic. California is only the second state in the country to take action to address this inequity.
The CalEITC, including the YCTC, is one of the most powerful, immediate, and critical tools that the state has to help lift families out of poverty. Yet for several years, those who file their taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) have been left out. Including ITIN filers in the CalEITC and YCTC will provide critical support to over 600,000 individuals, including over 200,000 children, and will target resources most effectively while reducing inequality, stimulating the economy, and counterbalancing recessionary impacts that hit immigrant communities and communities of color the hardest.
United Ways of California Champions Voting Rights Through Statement of Principles and Text VOTE to 211 211 Campaign to Empower Eligible Voters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
CONTACT: Unai Montes, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 213.476.8742
United Way Affirms Voting as a Bedrock of Our Democracy and Means for Achieving the Common Good, and Urges All Those Who Are Eligible to Text VOTE to 211-211
Excerpt from statement by United Ways of California’s President and CEO, Peter Manzo:
[Los Angeles, CA] – United Way mobilizes the caring power of communities for the common good. Today, our role is even more critical than ever. We know that it takes engaged citizens, working in good faith, from all sectors – community, business, labor, government and charitable – to improve the quality of life in our communities. This is why we are committed to expanding participation in our democracy. There is a deep connection between participating in community life and voting. Voting is how we express our hopes and dreams for our shared future. It is also the most fundamental right for all American citizens, upon which all other rights and liberties depend.
That is why ahead of the 2020 General Election, we launched Text VOTE to 211-211, a campaign to provide voters in the Golden State – accessible to voters all across the country – the verified information and accessible resources they need to safely cast their ballots, and have their voices heard. Our mission to fight for the education, health, and financial stability of every person in every community, and the fight to protect the voting rights of every eligible voter in every community, are as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asserted, “interrelated, and tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Digital Divide Coalition Calls-Out ISPs and Government Officials, and Issues 10-Part Call-To-Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Contact: Unai Montes, (Bilingual) 213 476 8742, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">
50 Member Coalition Calls on California’s Leaders to Address the Digital Divide as a Constitutional Crisis and Demand Transparency and Accountability from Internet Service Providers
Organizations Across the State Demand Specific Changes to Private Sector Practices and Public Sector Policies to Connect Every Student In Every Community to Distance Learning, but Caution That Those Who Live in Once Redlined Communities, and Those in “Last Mile” Areas Face Additional Barriers
#DigitalRedlining #DistanceLearning #StudentsRights
[LOS ANGELES, CA] – As students across the Golden State commence the 2020-21 academic year in a near 100 percent distance learning environment, a statewide coalition of 50 education-mission-driven organizations is making direct calls to action to both Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and elected officials.
In a letter addressed to Governor Newsom, Superintendent Thurmond, Senator Leyva, and key lawmakers; the coalition spells-out how ISPs, local education agencies, and decision-makers in the public and private sectors can and should rectify the status quo, and identifies specific policies and practices that should be introduced, as well as ones that must be abolished. For example, the letter illustrates how the free- and reduced-price school meals program already in place can and should serve as a vehicle to connect low-income households without delay. No further action should be required on the part of any student or caregiver for a home Internet connection and hardware to arrive in that student’s hands.
More Articles ...
- United Ways of California Denounces the Federal Decision to Halt the 2020 Census Count Made in the Wake of an Executive Order that Seeks to Skew Apportionment
- While Taxes are Due Today United Ways of California Says ‘It May Not be Too Late to Do Your Taxes, for Free, with Expert Guidance’
- United Ways of California Helps Californian Families Count Down to July 15 Tax Filing Deadline: ‘You May Qualify for Additional Credits; Ask Free Tax Experts’
- United Ways of California Helps Californians Count Down to July 15 Tax Filing Deadline: ‘Know the Facts; File for Free’
