Earlier this week the Trump Administration announced a major shift in policy related to one of the nation’s key safety net components, the Medicaid program.  On Thursday, the Administration issued guidance to states which will allow them to compel people to work or train for work in order to be eligible for Medicaid’s health benefits. In the 50-year history of the program, there has been no such requirement as the country has recognized its responsibility to ensure that ALL of its citizens are able to live HEALTHY and productive lives. 

The Administration defends its actions by alleging that work requirements will enable individuals covered by Medicaid to “break the chains of poverty” and “live up to their highest potential.” However, several studies confirm that work requirements do not help people escape poverty, but rather often lead to individuals and families being worse off and risking their health or family’s well-being by having to decide between working or going without health insurance and needed medical care.

At PolicyLink, all of our work is grounded in the conviction that equity – just and fair inclusion – must drive policy decisions.  We believe that an equitable economy is one in which everyone can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. A just society requires that everyone have the opportunity to thrive and do well.  A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, estimates that 60 percent of the Medicaid recipients whom the federal government considers to be able-bodied adults are already working. These individuals are often working in low-wage jobs and rely upon Medicaid for their well-being and economic security.  With this extreme policy shift, the Trump Administration is ensuring that those at the lowest end of the economic spectrum will be left behind, and handicapped in their pursuit of a better life.  Instead of working to ensure that every American has access to health care and is able to pursue greater opportunities, this Administration continues to advance an agenda which is an all out assault on those members of our society who are most in need.  

Join us at Equity Summit 2018, taking place in Chicago on April 11-13! 

True to our vision of a more just and inclusive future for America, the Summit speakers and programming have been carefully curated so that attendees feel emboldened to step into their power, activate their imaginations, and help set the national agenda.
 
With just under five months to go, Equity Summit 2018 may just be our most powerful Summit yet! Here’s why! 

1. Powerful Movement Voices
 
In this present moment of challenge and uncertainty, there are key voices from across the movements for equity and justice who continue to instill hope for a brighter future. Equity Summit 2018 will host some of today’s most esteemed policymakers, thought leaders, and advocates, setting the stage for continued movement and solutions building at the Summit and beyond. They include:

• Patrisse Cullors, Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter 
• Rashad Robinson, Executive Director, Color of Change 
• Jose Antonio Vargas, Founder & CEO, Define American
• Linda Sarsour, National Co-Chair, Women's March on Washington 
• Vanita Gupta, President  & CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Kent Wong, Director, UCLA Labor Center
• Mayor Michael Tubbs, City of Stockton, CA
   

As you can see, these individuals represent a diverse intersection of communities and issues that are crucial to unlocking our nation's promise. To see additional speakers confirmed for Equity Summit 2018, go here!

2. Dynamic Discussions and Strategic Spaces
 
If you've attended previous Equity Summits, you likely know that plenaries are the cornerstones of our programming. Featuring conversations with visionary leaders, these plenaries are both inspiring and instructive, establishing the tone for ongoing discussion, and motivating attendees to push the boundaries of their work. Plenaries at Equity Summit 2018 include “Our Power: Radical Imagination Fueling Change”; “Our Future: The Leading Edge of the Equity Movement”; and “Our Nation: Transformative Solidarity in a Divided Nation.”
 
In addition to the plenaries, Summit attendees will have access to workshops that offer opportunities to engage in smaller group settings with experts who are pioneering change within specific issue areas. Immigration reform, protecting renters’ rights, climate resilience, alternatives to policing, and decriminalizing poverty are just a few of the topics that will be explored in the workshops available at Equity Summit 2018. Find an overview of our programming here.
 
3. Chicago’s Transformative History
 
The city of Chicago has a rich legacy of activism and action around some of the most urgent civil and human rights issues of our time. Throughout its history, Chicago has left an indelible mark on the nation — including its status as a destination city during the Great Migration, association with the activism of Pullman porters, and the pivotal role of South Chicago’s Mexican-American community in organizing the United Steel Workers in the 1940’s. Chicago also served as the site of the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the Chicago Freedom Movement (which is largely credited with inspiring the 1968 Fair Housing Act), and is where organizations like Advancing Justice-Chicago, Asian American Alliance and the Association of Asian Construction Enterprises (AACE) fought for the inclusion of Asian Americans in the city’s Minority-Owned Business Enterprise program in the early 2000’s. Of course, Chicago is also where a promising community organizer named Barack Obama launched his political career, eventually becoming America’s first Black president.
 
Today, the city continues to be an epicenter for revolutionary organizing and movement building led by grassroots leaders like BYP100 National Director (and Equity Summit 2018 speaker) Charlene Carruthers, and other  Chicago-born-and-bred leaders and artist-activists like Common, Jesse Williams, John Legend, Hebru Brantley, Chance The Rapper, and others. 

For information on where to stay in Chicago, visit here. 

4. The Moment and the Momentum

Next April marks the 50th anniversaries of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death and the subsequent Chicago uprising. April 12th will also be three years since the killing of Freddie Gray by Baltimore law enforcement, an incident that further ignited the local and national movements for police and criminal justice reform — two of the key issues to be explored as part of the Summit’s Just Society Workshop Series.
 
Most urgently, 2018 kicks off the midterm election season, which, according to Vox, would be “the first nationwide referendum” on the current presidency. With Equity Summit 2018 happening at such a crucial time — and with civic leaders like Voto Latino Executive Director Maria Teresa Kumar and NAACP President Derrick Johnson among our key speakers — attendees will have the chance to connect and share strategies for maximizing civic engagement, ensuring that the issues impacting America’s diverse communities and demographics are adequately represented.
   
5. Your Voice and Leadership
 
We believe that solidarity across social movements, cultures, races, and ethnicities is essential to resistance and the antidote to oppression, hate, and racism. We also believe that the key to a better, more prosperous tomorrow for America lies in the work being driven by people like you, whose tireless efforts on the ground represent the best of what’s working in our cities and communities. As champions for just and fair inclusion, your participation at Equity Summit 2018 will ensure that those closest to the nation’s challenges remain central to finding the solutions.
 
Whether you are a youth activist, grassroots/community organizer, elected official, or nonprofit leader, your voice and contributions matter. Register today and join the cross-section of leaders at Equity Summit 2018 who are radically shaping the nation's future and our collective role in it.
 
Get news and updates on Equity Summit 2018 in real time. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter using the hashtag #EquitySummit2018! You can also sign up here to receive PolicyLink email alerts.

By Diana Turoff, President and CEO of Finance Fund Capital Corporation

For nearly four years, the only option for over 13,000 Vinton County residents to buy fresh produce, meat, dairy, and other healthy foods was to travel many miles to another county. That obstacle has been remedied by the long-awaited grand opening of Campbell's Market, a new full-service grocery store located at 630 W. Main Street in McArthur, Ohio.

The new store is the result of a collaborative effort among many partners, including local community members, the Campbell family, Finance Fund Capital Corporation (FCAP), The Food Trust, and representatives from local, state, and federal governments. FCAP, a statewide community development financing institution, provided funding for the project through its Healthy Food for Ohio (HFFO) program. The HFFO program is Ohio’s first ever statewide healthy food financing program and provides flexible financing to eligible rural and urban healthy food retail projects in low-income, underserved areas throughout the state. Through this program, Campbell’s Market received nearly $1.6 million in financing to build a 12,000-square-foot full-service grocery store.

The HFFO program was created by a statewide coalition of nearly 50 health, grocery, business, civic, and economic development leaders who joined together as the Ohio Healthy Food Financing Task Force.  One of the key recommendations coming from the task force was the creation of a financing program such as HFFO, to help grocers overcome the unique barriers they face to open and remain open in underserved areas.

FCAP received over $2 million from the State of Ohio to fund healthy food retail projects statewide through the HFFO program. To date, the HFFO program has invested nearly $5 million for nine healthy food projects, creating almost 200 jobs and providing close to 70,000 Ohioans with much-needed fresh food access. 

Campbell’s Market in McArthur celebrated its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 4. U.S. Congressman Steve Stivers exclaimed, "Today, we get to declare the food desert in Vinton County OVER!"  He thanked a gathering of community members as well as the Campbell family, FCAP President and CEO Diana Turoff, State Representative Ryan Smith, and State Senator Bob Peterson for their impactful contributions that made this project possible. This store has already attracted additional businesses, created over 30 jobs for local residents, and improved the quality of life for this community.

For over 30 years, Finance Fund has connected underserved communities with public and private sources of capital to help spark community development and create jobs in distressed communities statewide. Learn more about Finance Fund at http://www.financefund.org/about-us/ and the Healthy Food for Ohio program in the View Policy Efforts by State section.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Healthy Food Access Portal.