Organizing Resources

Support our work with a
tax deductable donation:
LINC is a project of
the National Center for Law and Economic Justice.

In Dallas, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) reports that more than 700 welfare recipients have authorized ACORN to represent them. Organizer Kimberly Olsen says that an initial round of demonstrations at intake centers captured the attention of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and won commitments to begin opening welfare offices on time and to post client rights in the welfare centers. A remaining service issue is the lack of bilingual reception and intake personnel. (One Hispanic women was told that she would have to come back with her own translator before she could receive an application.) Another problem is the lack of evening or weekend hours at centers for food stamp recipients who work.


On a citywide level, members are fighting for major improvements in informing recipients of their rights to transitional childcare. (One woman went nine months with no assistance and lost her job before services were made available.) ACORN has begun running public service announcements on local radio stations and recruiting members by helping them apply for childcare benefits.


Prepared by John Beam for the Workfare Organizing Support Center, a Welfare Law Center project.

-- from the March 2nd 1998 issue of Welfare News