Springboard to Opportunities
Voting Is An Economic Power Strategy For Mothers
An economic agenda for mothers must do more than help them navigate difficult choices; it must give them a say in how those choices are created.
READ THE FULL FORBES ARTICLE HERE
“Voting is one way mothers exercise that power. It is not a substitute for income, wealth or an adequate safety net. It is a tool for influencing the decisions that determine how much financial security families can build — and how easily they can lose it.”
Taking Our Communities’ Priorities To The Polls
You can read the full October newsletter here
“Our responsibility is to listen, to help remove barriers to participation and to create more pathways for residents to exercise the power they already have. So yes, as we head toward the midterms, I want our communities to vote. I want residents to carry their experiences, their priorities and their expectations with them to the polls.
But the conversation I had recently reminded me that the bigger question comes after Election Day: What are we building that will still be there after the polls close?
For me, the answer has to be people who know that their voices matter, communities with the relationships and tools to advocate for what they need and institutions that understand listening to residents isn’t something we do during election season.
It is how we build power.”
Karlonda runs a business and raises two daughters, but losing after-school care means fewer hours to work and less money to cover the bills.
In a conversation with journalist Annie Lowrey, we discuss her new book focused on the “time tax” imposed by bureaucracy and what it actually costs Americans.
“I have spent years working alongside mothers who are doing everything they can to provide for their families while navigating systems that often make that work harder. Through the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, I have seen how the cost of poverty is not only financial. It is also measured in time, energy, dignity and the endless paperwork required to receive support.
That is why Annie Lowrey’s new book, “The Time Tax,” resonated so deeply with me. In this conversation, we discuss why people with fewer resources are asked to spend so much time proving they deserve help, how the social safety net sucks people into a paperwork vortex and what it would mean for the government to actually place a value on people’s time.”
Dear Springboard to Opportunities Partners,
This month, I am thinking about what families need to build stable, healthy lives — and what happens when the systems we have in place create new barriers instead.
Congress’ H.R. 1, passed last year, is reshaping access to two essential supports: SNAP, which helps families put food on the table; and Medicaid, which helps people access health care. The law expands work-reporting requirements in SNAP and establishes new Medicaid “community engagement” requirements for many adults in the Medicaid expansion population.
The question is not whether people work. Most parents are already working — at paid jobs, in school, caring for children and family members, navigating unpredictable schedules and doing the daily work it takes to keep a household afloat. The question is who gets to define “work,” who has the time and resources to navigate another reporting system and what happens when paperwork, technology barriers or an administrative mistake stands between a family and the food or health care they need.
At Springboard, we believe families are the experts in their own lives. We also believe policy should make it easier for people to pursue their goals, not force them to clear additional hurdles just to meet their children’s basic needs.
That is why the power of the polls matters. The decisions made by elected officials determine whether families have access to affordable child care, nutritious food, health care, housing and real pathways to opportunity. Our voices, our stories and our votes are how we hold leaders accountable for building systems that honor families’ dignity and reflect what communities actually need. I hope we’ll all take that with us into the voting booth come November.
Also, I am happy to announce my new podcast, Bless Your Heart, is officially live! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, and join me for conversations about the people, places and ideas shaping how we understand this moment.
Yours in Service,
Aisha Nyandoro
CEO
An evening with author Jamilah Lemieux
Jamilah Lemieux is a writer, speaker, and single Black mother herself who just released her new book Black. Single. Mother.We hosted alongside the SPLC and Jackson State University an intimate book talk with Jamilah where she shared more of her own story and experience, broke down some of the policy implications that have come from the false narrative we believe about single Black mothers, and encouraged everyone in the room to find joy and community together and own the fact that they are deserving of love, support, and respect.
This special evening was a mix of Springboard moms and fellows and other Black mothers and advocates from across the Jackson area who not only got to be in conversation with Jamilah, but also shared a meal, stories, and conversations with each other helping to build the powerful community of Black mothers in Jackson.