Ruthie's Experience

Last week I joined some of the ladies at Time for Change Foundation to speak to criminal justice students at the University of Redlands. I had a great time sharing my experience with the students. Not only was I able to provide them with useful information, but I was inspired and learned new and useful information. I was motivated to keep trying, to not give up. Searching for a job after incarceration has been really hard, and doing so with a felony seems impossible. My felony is looked at and judged, which leads to me never getting a call back, but with this experience I am encouraged and want to someday help others with helping themselves; what I am doing now for myself. 

I participated in a panel where we discussed and learned more about AB 218 Law, Banning the Box on employment applications and how to be sure that any employers are in compliance with the law. It ensures that public employers provides a chance to hire on individuals that qualify for the position and eliminates discrimination due to their past mistakes.

We also discussed Prop 47, which reclassifies 6 petty crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. As a group, we talked about the barriers of finding employment as a felon, or just having a criminal background in general.

I am thankful to be a part of something so important and I cannot wait for the next opportunity to share with others what it is like for us. I am learning how to use my voice and it feels so empowering!

Ruthie Roys

February 23, 2015   

April Action Days

My name is Amanda and I am a product of Time for Change Foundation where I have also become a leader in my community. I recently had the opportunity to attend April Action Days in Sacramento with other organizations like California Partnership and Hunger Action L.A.  to raise our voices about bills that affect low-income communities and women's economic security.

Senate Bill 935, authored by Senator Mark Leno, which would increase the minimum wage to $13 by 2016 really resonates with me because  I am a recovering addict who comes from a life of dysfunction and chaos and now I have a job and the opportunity to bring my daughter home with me; raising the minimum wage would reunite me with my daughter and help us to live a better life. 

I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to visit the capitol, it was actually my first time being involved in something like this and it was so empowering not only to be a part of it, but to know that my voice really does matter. I never knew that I could be a part of something much bigger than myself. I became a part of the process in determining society’s future.

Time for Change Foundation Leaders from left:
Crystal, Jeannine, Cecilia, Amanda

My name is Crystal and my experience at the State Capitol was exhilarating! I felt so empowered as a constituent. Seeing other people like me using their time to speak on behalf of their families and communities gives me hope that more will find the courage to raise our voices and remind our representatives that we are the ones who put them there. 

I went to advocate for SB 1029, authored by Senator Loni Hancock, which would lift the lifetime ban on CalWORKS and CalFresh for people that have been convicted of any offense classified as a felony that has an element the posession, use or distribution of a controlled substance.

Being a part of Time for Change Foundation's transitional housing program I have met many women that are out of prison or jail and ready to move forward with their lives but continue to hit this brick wall. 

Removing the lifetime ban would help women like myself give our children the opportunity to thrive and have successful lives.  

This experience has taught me that we can change the laws and injustices that our communities face on a daily basis, but only if we stand up and use the strength of our voices. Together we can!

Maria Shriver returns to Sacramento to discuss women and poverty

After more than three years away, former First Lady of California Maria Shriver returned to Sacramento Thursday to deliver a new report on women and poverty to the governor and legislators.

Her afternoon kicked off with a discussion of the report's findings at the California Museum, attended by dozens of the capital's most powerful women, including Secretary of State Debra Bowen and U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento.

Shriver emphasized that women's empowerment efforts must broaden from the "1 percent" and "talking about getting the corner office" to include the one-third of American women living in financial insecurity.

"They are looking for some help to give their family a life that's better than theirs," she said during the 45-minute conversation, part of Dewey Square Group's quarterly She Shares speaker series.

Calling on the government to get creative in how it helps women, Shriver said her work on this subject is largely influenced by her father, Sargent Shriver, who headed the War on Poverty in the 1960s. Shriver affectionately referred to him as "Daddy" as she spoke about initiatives like Head Start and low-income legal services.

When they're funded, Shriver said, "Those programs work."

Even as she spoke about raising a family, Shriver conspicuously avoided mentioning estranged husbandArnold Schwarzenegger. His name only came up once, when Shriver urged more bipartisan cooperation in the state and federal governments.

Having grown up a Kennedy, she joked, "I think the first Republican I met was Arnold."

With veteran U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman announcing his retirement earlier in the day, buzz also surrounded whether Shriver, a resident of his Los Angeles district, might enter the family business and run for his seat.

"No. Nope," she told The Bee after the event.

PHOTO: Maria Shriver meets event attendees before speaking about women and poverty at the California Museum on January 30, 2014. The Sacramento Bee/Alexei Koseff

via: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/01/maria-shriver.html

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/01/maria-shriver.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/01/maria-shriver.html#storylink=cpy

More than 20,000 California teachers pink-slipped

More than 20,000 public school teachers in California opened their mailboxes over the last few days to find a pink slip inside as districts met the state's Thursday deadline for dispensing the dreaded news to the educators that they may not have a job in the fall.

The layoff notices are preliminary, the districts' best guess at the amount of money they will get to educate kids next year after the Legislature concludes its annual budget fight this summer. But a proposed tax measure on the November ballot offers more uncertainty than usual.
Districts won't know until two months into the new school year whether voters will approve a tax increase that would prevent a $4.8 billion trigger cut to education funding, as proposed in the governor's budget.

That cut would be about $807 per student, the equivalent of 55,000 teacher layoffs or 17 days of school, according to The Education Coalition, representing 2.5 million teachers, parents, administrators, school boards and other school employees.

"Though the very future of our state depends on California's teachers ... (they) will now spend months in limbo, worrying about their futures and the future of their students," state Superintendent Tom Torlakson in a statement.

The layoff notices were sent to teachers, librarians and others in schools all over California. Not many districts found a way to skirt the deadline.

San Francisco sent out 500 layoff notices.

In Los Angeles, 11,000 were sent.

About 700 were mailed in Sacramento.

Every school librarian in Union City got one, along with 100 teachers, administrators and other school staff.

Oakland Unified avoided having to send out the notices because administrators found a way to balance its budget through attrition, prior elimination of adult education, across-the-board cuts at school sites, school mergers and closures, as well as other program cuts.

Disgruntled public

As the pink slip deadline approached, the mood in dozens of districts across the state reflected a growing public impatience with budget cuts to education. Parents protested, teachers rallied, and three students in San Leandro held a weeklong hunger strike to draw attention to the cost to classrooms.
In years past, many of the layoff notices issued by the March 15 deadline have been rescinded because of concessions from labor unions, changes to the state's revenue outlook or successful parcel tax measures.

This year, the tax measure in particular makes it unclear how much wiggle room districts will have.
In the meantime, there are tough decisions to make.

At Sherman Elementary School in San Francisco, parent Crystal Brown said the school had to choose between losing a reading specialist to help struggling students or all the paper, pencils, erasers, paper towels, toilet paper, paint, scissors, crayons and other supplies the school would need next year.
"We were making decisions that were ridiculous," said Brown, president of Educate Our State, a parent group formed to support public education in California.

Banding together

Brown's group organized a Thursday morning protest called "This budget blows." Parents and children at 60 schools in 40 cities blew bubbles to illustrate their point.
"Parents from all different cities and towns across the state are saying we're not happy," Brown said.
Educate Our State also launched a letter-writing campaign to ask legislators to make education funding a top concern. Within six hours Thursday, 1,500 letters were sent.
The voices for the schools across the state are getting louder, Brown said.

Union City layoffs

In Union City, parents and teachers wore pink T-shirts this week in solidarity with the 100-plus teachers, custodians, librarians and other workers who received layoff notices.
Since 2008, the district has lost 14 percent of its teachers, 23 percent of administrators and 13 percent of other staff.

Another 100 would be unimaginable, district officials said.

"Much of what teachers, parents and this community have worked to build up the past 30 years - the magic and the promise of our schools - will be gone when students return to their classrooms in the fall," said Charmaine Banther, president of the New Haven Teachers Association in Union City.
She said the number of school employees who received notices is numbing. "There are students behind every one of these folks."

Jill Tucker for SFGate.com

Female senators push to reauthorize Violence Against Women Act

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) (Elaine Thompson - AP)
Keying up what could become the next chapter in a weeks-long fight over women’s rights, six Democratic women senators — and one of their Republican female colleagues — urged colleagues Thursday to quickly reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
The landmark 1994 measure is up for renewal this year and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has said that he expects to hold a vote in the coming weeks. Democrats see the debate over the bill and potential amendments as an opening to continue accusing Republicans of “waging war” on women’s rights. In recent weeks, the

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has used the issue — and the 11 Democratic women running in Senate races this year — to raise money from supporters.

The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last month on a party-line vote after Republicans opposed new elements of the legislation that provide protections to immigrants and same-sex couples and raised concerns about accounting for the effectiveness of federal grants it authorizes.

Republicans hope to introduce amendments to the law and some of the seven women who spoke Thursday said they would welcome those proposals.

“This one shouldn’t be about politics. Protecting women against violence shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

But Democrats are making it a partisan issue, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) charged Thursday.

Responding to reports that Senate Democrats hoped to slow debate on a bipartisan jobs measure and capi­tal­ize on the reauthorization of the domestic violence measure, McConnell said Democrats were
“manufacturing fights — and 30-second television ads” instead of approving a jobs bill.

“If you’re looking for the reason Congress has a 9 percent approval rating, this is it,” McConnell said.

Indeed, Congress remains deeply unpopular, but women view it more favorably than men. A higher percentage of women approve of congressional Democrats, 39 percent, than Republicans, 26 percent, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. A separate survey by pollsters Peter Hart and Bill McInturff found recently that 51 percent of women favored Democratic control of Congress; only 36 percent wanted to see the Republicans in charge.

On Thursday the seven women urged their colleagues to join them in reauthorizing a law that expanded sentencing guidelines and provides billions of dollars in funding to law enforcement agencies, municipal agencies and nonprofit groups to help the victims of domestic violence.

During a series of speeches by the women, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) directly addressed the concerns regarding immigrants and same-sex couples: “If the victim is in a same-sex relationship, is the violence any less real? Is the danger any less real because you happen to be gay or lesbian? I don’t think so. If a family comes to the country and the husband beats his wife to a bloody pulp, do we say, sorry, you’re illegal you don’t deserve any protection?”

Feinstein added: “When you call the police in America, they come, regardless of who you are.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — one of four GOP cosponsors, but the only one to speak about it publicly Thursday — said she believes the Senate should be primarily focused on economic issues but that she hopes for “an overwhelmingly bipartisan deal” to reauthorize the law.

“This is too important an issue for women and men and families that we not address it,” Murkowski said.

By Ed O'Keefe for Washington Post

Trio of Bills Take Aim at “Buy Here Pay Here” Car Dealerships

by Damien Newton

A trio of state legislators have introduced legislation aimed at “Buy Here Pay Here” dealerships in California.  These dealerships, where used cars are sold at a marked up price with loans that have abnormally high interest rates, are often used by people of lesser means as a last resort to get a car.   These dealerships not only sell cars, but provide their own financing, creating two ways to benefit from the overpriced sale of a used car.

Last year, Ken Bensinger at the Los Angeles Times wrote a three part series exposing some of the business practices of these dealerships that create extra hardship for disadvantaged car buyers.  This year, he has continued to follow-up on the issue as these bills were introduced and begin to move in the legislature.  Here is a brief explanation of each piece of legislation:

A.B. 1447, Introduced by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-LA)

A.B. 1447 would actually change three parts of the business strategies of Buy Here Pay Here dealerships.  First, dealers would be required to post the selling cost of the vehicle on the body of the vehicle.  This would prevent dealers from setting prices at the negotiating table based on their estimate of what the seller could afford.  The legislation also prohibits Buy Here Pay Here dealers from harassing references for the buyer after the sale, requiring cash payments in person from drivers and disabling and tracking cars with GPS systems of payments are late.


“This industry preys on people who have no other options for getting a car,” said Feuer.  “In many parts of our state, auto travel is the only way for parents to get to work on time, or to pick their kids up from school.  Instead of helping Californians get back on their feet by providing needed transportation, these dealers are promoting an endless cycle of debt and joblessness.”


Critics of Feuer’s legislation either argue that instead of passing laws to regulate the entire industry the state should focus on supporting existing laws or that the law is written so broadly that it applies to legitimate car dealerships who include LoJack with their car sales.  Bensinger talked to several opponents in his piece for the Los Angeles Times on A.B. 1447.


S.B. 956, Introduced by Senator Ted Lieu (D-LA)


Senator Lieu’s legislation focuses on the lending practices of the dealerships instead of the car sales.  By handling financing in house but being licensed as a car dealer, Buy Here Pay Here dealerships were able to get around many state financing laws and consumer protections.  Lieu’s legislation would:

• Impose regulations on dealers offering Buy Here, Pay Here installment loans by requiring them to obtain a California Finance Lender’s license, which would provide consumers with an array of protections.
• Limit used-car installment loans to a maximum 17.25 percent interest, which would give California the strongest cap in the nation.
• Change the way Buy Here Pay Here used car dealers are able to repossess vehicles to include grace periods and make it easier for buyers to reinstate a repossessed car.

“Unscrupulous dealers are pushing these types of previously unregulated loans to sell cars for far beyond market value, at interest rates as high as 30 percent,” explains Lieu.  ”They need to either find a conscience or display a sign: Rip-offs R Us.”


Representatives of the industry are arguing that Lieu’s legislation will make it difficult for dealers to sell to people with bad credit.  To here their argument, read the bottom of Bensinger’s article on S.B. 956.


A.B. 1534, Introduced by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont)


Wieckowski’s legislation seeks to reduce the amount that dealers would mark-up their vehicles by arming buyers with information outlining the real value of the vehicle.  A.B. 1534 would require dealers list a value for the car based on a third-party valuation source, such as Kelley Blue Book or the NADA Guide.  The value would take into account the car’s model year, condition and mileage.  While it would provide knowledge to the buyer, it wouldn’t place any restrictions on what the car could be sold for.


This legislation is receiving the same argument from Buy Here Pay Here representatives, that any restrictions on their industry will reduce people of lesser-means’ ability to have access to a car.  It’s also receiving some more credible blowback from dealers worried that the wording of the law would require all dealers of used vehicles to be constantly updating stickers and signage to reflect the new prices.


The automobile industry is expected to weigh in on all three pieces of legislation, but all three bill authors remain optimistic that some legislation regulating this vampire industry will make it to the Governor’s desk.  That’s the value of having a paper with the reach of the Times shine the light on an industry that is doing more harm than good, no lobbying effort will ever be able to turn that light back off. 

by Damien Newton for latimes.com

Intel Inspires Young Women to Change the World

Last week the world celebrated International Women’s Day and this past weekend, the Women in the World Summit took place in New York City. The summit offers the opportunity for women from around the world to get together and discuss the importance of educating girls throughout every corner of the earth, and what it takes to break down the barriers preventing some girls from receiving an education.

We sat down with Shelly Esque, Vice President and Global Director of Corporate Affairs at Intel, who also participated in the “Girls Can Change the World Panel,” at the Women in the World Summit. Between Intel’s Classmate PC project, the Intel Science Talent Search program, we have known for sometime that the company is heavily invested in education. But Shelly spoke to us more specifically about Intel’s continued efforts to bridge the gender and technology divide. During our conversation together, Esque brought up an interesting point, and that is that technology is gender neutral, yet it really has the potential to unleash a woman’s confidence.

In the U.S. we take internet access for granted, but in places like the Middle East, women are just a minority of online users. And this is a shame, because access to information leads to more empowered women. For example, Esque spoke of one Turkish woman who was at first only allowed to dust the computer in her home. Then Intel created a women’s education program in her local community center. After enrolling in the program, the woman not only learned some valuable computer skills, but she also gained the confidence she needed to apply those new skills to her business. Today her business has become so successful that she is going global. And because she is making money, her male family members no longer seem to be bothered with her using a PC.

Intel believes that technology brings young girls more opportunities for education. Of course, once girls have the opportunity to get an education, they also gain the ability to make a difference in the world. To that effect, Intel has been working with non-government organizations like Room to Read, which is an organization that creates libraries in places that don’t have any. Organizations like this one has helped bring more educational opportunities to young women in developing nations. Furthermore, since 1995, Intel has set-up over 100 Intel computer clubhouses around the world where girls can learn from mentors, as well as from each other.

Intel also has a special Hackathon event coming up soon at their head-quarters Oregon. This 2 day event brings together Intel’s software engineers with groups of young women. The Hackathon will start out with the software engineers coming up with app ideas to solve the girls problems. There will also be opportunities for young women to learn how to create their own apps. All in all, Intel’s goal is to move people to action to help empowering women and girls through education and technology.

http://www.chipchick.com/2012/03/intel-inspire-change-world.html

Homeless Empowerment Project: Volunteers Wanted!

Time for Change Foundation is currently seeking volunteers who are willing to be a part of our Homeless Empowerment Project as focus group leaders in our training workshop designed to empower homeless people.  Currently, we have two upcoming dates where we need your help: When: March 1st & 3rd, 2012 Time: 9am - 12pm Place: Perris Hill Park, San Bernardino, CA (1001 E. Highland Ave, 92404) PLEASE NOTE that we will be conducting a focus group leadership training session prior to the actual workshop dates on Wednesday February 29th, 6:00pm at 1255 East Highland Avenue, San Bernardino, CA.  Please call 909.886.2994 for additional information. We look forward to hearing from you! Sincerely, Time for Change Foundation