Women In Action: Events

Through the Walk a Mile in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, public assistance recipients will be matched with participating legislators to provide legislators with an up-close and realistic opportunity to understand what living on public assistance means. Simultaneously, the experience will provide participating public assistance recipients the opportunity to become engaged in the policy making process. Legislators and recipients will maintain at least weekly contact with each other for one month and legislators will be asked to feed their families on a food stamp budget for one month.

Originally called "Walk a Mile in Your Sister's Shoes", the Walk a Mile program began in Washington State in 1994. Walk a Mile has expanded beyond Washington state into Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and now in California in 2001.

The success of Walk a Mile in the greater San Francisco Bay Area is dependent on the endorsement of statewide organizations, the support of local organizations and the participation of legislators and public assistance recipients. Endorsing organizations will encourage legislative support to the project. Local organizations will participate in training by the Walk a Mile staff to assist in the task of participant recruitment and provide continuous support. This initiative has great potential to increase dialogue about poverty and to encourage awareness of the relationship between policy and poverty for all participants.

For more information on Walk A Mile in the Bay Area, call 415-412-7617. For information about the National Walk A Mile project, go to http://depts.washington.edu/nwicf/WalkaMile.html.

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