By Terry Hartnett
Special to the HERALD
(From the issue of 11/13/03)

As Christmas season approaches, hundreds of mothers and fathers in the Arlington Diocese find themselves, like Mary and Joseph, looking for a place to rest and call home. Too many cannot find it.

Advocates from Social Action Linking Together (SALT) recently gathered for their annual Fall Leadership Conference to discuss a plan to close the gap between work and home for these families. Addressing the group were two Catholic legislators from Northern Virginia — Vincent Callahan from St. John’s Church, McLean, and Jeannemarie Devolites from Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Vienna. Laura Brierton Granruth, MSW, with the Virginia Organizing Project and Sue Capers with the Virginia Coalition for the Homeless also spoke at the meeting.

Both Callahan and Devolites said they would favor a reassessment of Virginia’s tax code to meet the changing needs of citizens. Devolites said she would propose a special legislative session to discuss tax restructuring.

Callahan, the chairman of the House Finance Committee, explained the reasons why he believes the current tax code must be changed. The school age population in Virginia is growing with more than 60,000 students in the last 10 years alone. The number of Medicaid recipients is growing as well, primarily elderly who are in need of nursing home care. Despite these needs that he says the government has a responsibility to meet, Callahan said the state’s tax code simply does not produce the adequate revenue to cover the needs of citizens. "One of the disturbing things that has come out of the tax commission studying restructuring is the misnomer that this can be revenue neutral. That still leaves us with the same amount of money and the same inability to meet needs," he said.

Callahan said he would look closely at a proposal to raise the cigarette tax in Virginia (currently the lowest of all 50 states). New revenue might be increased as much as $350 million, he added.

Devolites also said she favored an increase in the Virginia tax on cigarettes. "I think we will see an increase in the cigarette tax and this will free up some revenue for TANF," she added.

Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) is the federal program formerly called welfare. Money from TANF must be spent for programs related to the needs of TANF recipients. SALT is advocating several programs that can be fully funded using TANF funds. Callahan and Devolites told SALT advocates they would patron several of these bills.

The non-custodial parenting program initiative would promote parenting skills training, anger management and literacy skills training to non-custodial parents who are currently in a Virginia prison but schedule for release. The goal is to promote effective parenting and to help reintegrate the prisoner back into the community. Prisoners in the program must re-establish and maintain family ties and communication.

Other SALT-sponsored initiatives for the 2004 Legislative Session are a rental assistance program for the working poor, a refundable earned income tax credit (EITC), and a cost of living increase for TANF payments. SALT will begin its annual "Home for the Holidays" campaign beginning at parishes in Advent. The card writing campaign asks parishioners to write to their legislator in favor of the refundable EITC and the rental assistance program.

Most of the families in Virginia’s homeless shelters are working but cannot afford the cost of housing, said Capers. Rental assistance is half the cost of shelters, she explained. National standards suggest that no more than 30 percent of gross income should be spent on housing costs.

In Northern Virginia, the fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1218, said Capers. A full-time worker would have to earn nearly $20 an hour to afford this rent. Analyzing data on median wages and annual salaries for works in this area, Capers found that middle school teachers, paralegals, dental assistants, construction laborers, file clerks, truck drivers, security guards, hotel desk clerks, retail salespersons, teachers assistants, janitors and housekeepers, cashiers, cooks, waiters and waitresses would all be unable to find affordable housing here in Northern Virginia.

To find out more about SALT’s Home for the Holidays and how you can participate visit the website at: www.S-A-L-T.org. SALT also reminds high school students that Dec. 1 is the deadline for the first SALT Essay Contest. Visit the website for details.