News – Page 2 – The Daniel Society

The Daniel Society Statement on President Trump’s Ban on Refugees

Our country is facing a national identity crisis. In only one week, we have seen our country divided in ways that many of us have never seen. At this historical crossroad, we are questioning who we are as a country and the values that make our country exceptional. One of those values is our belief that all men are created equal, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.

Executive orders signed by President Donald Trump during his first week in the White House call into question our value of equality. These orders severely target immigrants living and working in our neighborhoods and refugees fleeing persecution and war.

The Daniel Society stands with immigrants and refugees. We welcome immigrants and choose to love our neighbors. Our neighbors are immigrants and we are immigrants.

(Photo credit: Genna Martin / seattlepi.com/AP)

Over the coming months, The Daniel Society’s Center for Law and Justice will take steps to support immigrants and refugees, including:

Providing free neighborhood-based immigration legal services to low-income immigrants
Expanding our Central America Asylum Project to represent more children who fled persecution in Central America
Hosting community workshops that educate immigrants about their Constitutional rights
Facilitating roundtable “talks” with immigrants to create action plans for policymakers

However, we cannot do this work alone. We urge you to get involved with us or other organizations that are working to strengthen immigrant communities. Let’s send a message that America still is, and always will be, a welcoming country.

Download our statement here. To learn more about our work and progress, visit us at http://www.danielsociety.org/law-justice-initiatives.

Sub-Saharan Adolescents Are Left Behind in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

The reality is alarming—as global HIV-related deaths have declined among children and adults, adolescent deaths have increased. Approximately 1.8 million adolescents (between the ages of 10 and 19) are living with HIV/AIDS, 80% (1.4 million) of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a 28% increase since 2005. The stark reality is that adolescent HIV rates are projected to continue increasing because of population growth and stalled efforts to combat the spread of the disease.

In Zambia, adolescents face unique challenges when it comes to HIV/AIDS. Many young people are not accessing the services they need because youth-friendly HIV services are not widely available. Testing is also not widely practiced by adolescents; fewer than 30% of them have been tested for HIV. Additional barriers are related to their access to education and health services. For example, adolescent HIV/AIDS services are combined with adult ones. Adolescents are often too shy to show up at health clinics on days when adults are also on site to receive services. For those who do show up at the health clinics, they end up missing a school day. As a result, the number of adolescents receiving treatment has decreased. There is also a lack of youth counselors and spaces in health facilities.

Additional barriers to accessing HIV services and other services include relational and individual factors. Relational factors, such as the attitude of family and peers, serves as a determining factor in getting tested for HIV. Adolescents with high levels of social support from friends, including the ability to discuss whether or not to get tested, were more likely to obtain HIV services. The same is true of adolescents who discussed services with family and their sexual partners.

Even when adolescents are receiving antiretroviral treatment, they face barriers for treatment retention and adherence. One of the most significant barrier is fear of disclosure. Both adolescents and their families believe that one’s HIV status should be kept and treated within the home. This corresponds with reports of adolescents taking and keeping their medication in their homes to avoid being exposed as HIV positive. Social events in school and extracurricular activities tend to interfere with dosing time and results in missed medications. Adolescents also delay taking their medication for hours until they returned home or even missing their dose for the day because they slept over at a friend’s house and did not bring it because of their fear of exposure.

(Photo: UNICEF/SUDA2014-XX166/Noorani)

Zambia has undertaken initiatives to address this gap in services, stigma, and other barriers. To reduce the fear of discrimination for having or being suspected of having HIV, Zambia has started a program that provides free, confidential information to adolescents about HIV. Locate services and nearby clinics were also established. Additionally, a mentorship and support program led by other HIV-positive peers was also implemented. While there is still much work that needs to be done, Zambia has taken good steps to provide youth-friendly HIV services.

Giving Voice and Power to Minority and Immigrant Communities

People are angry, and understandably so. They are concerned about stop-and-frisk

tactics, attempts to dismantle sanctuary cities, and threats to deport two million undocumented immigrants. The impact of these tactics is felt primarily in low-income, minority and immigrant communities. In New York City, for example, African Americans are disproportionately stopped and frisked. In fact, 54% of the population who were stopped and frisked in 2015 were African Americans. Expanding stop-and-frisk tactics on a larger scale could unjustly target blacks and Hispanics, and further strain the relationship between the police and the communities they are obligated to protect.

Furthermore, cutting federal funding to sanctuary cities and deporting two million people are real threats to immigrants. They are causing tremendous fear and uncertainty among the immigrant community. They also raise the question of how to ensure that the voices from these communities are included in the policymaking process. Now, more than ever, residents of these communities need to mobilize, express their shared concerns, and offer policymakers ideas for ensuring fair and compassionate outcomes.

Mobilizing communities, however, is not an easy task. According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, there is a gap in civic engagement among low-income communities. Individuals with higher income and higher educational attainment are more likely to be politically engaged. Furthermore, Hispanics and Asians are less likely to be civically engaged, even when controlling for family income and educational attainment. The civic engagement gap perpetuates the unequal distribution of political power, where political influence is often concentrated within the upper and middle class. Consequentially, the interests of low-income and immigrant communities may not be fully represented when policies that affect them are created.

To address this problem, The Daniel Society’s Center for Law and Justice (CLJ) will launch its civic engagement initiative to include more people from immigrant communities in the policymaking process.

“I recognized how often critical policy decisions are made that directly impact low-income and immigrant communities,” said La Toya McBean, president and founder of The Daniel Society. “Yet, sadly, those communities and their viewpoints were often not represented when such decisions are being made.”

To ensure that the perspectives of low-income and immigrant communities are included in the policy-making process, CLJ established its 4-step approach to civic engagement:

Over the next several months, the Center will facilitate several neighborhood round-tables in the Brooklyn East New York community. Each round-table will bring together 12 community residents to discuss their concerns and ideas to address racial inequality, upcoming changes to immigration laws and policies, and how their communities may better work with local law enforcement to keep communities safe.
From these discussions, CLJ will develop action steps for change.
CLJ will then advocate for these ideas on the local, state and federal level, and collaborate with advocacy organizations with a similar mission to fight injustice.
Finally, CLJ will stay closely connected with the communities by reporting its progress to the community to ensure that residents are kept engaged in the process.

This civic engagement initiative will empower community members with the tools and strategies to continue the civic dialogue and engage others in their neighborhood to join their call of action.

Together, We Can Do Great Things For Others in 2017!

15 years ago when I had an idea to start an organization to help the poor, I never imagined that it would become “The Daniel Society,” a 501(c)(3) organization that brings hope, healing and purpose to people living in extreme poverty. We have made tremendous progress over the past several months to advance our mission. Looking ahead, 2017 promises to be an even more important and exciting year for us because our work will launch in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and low-income communities in the U.S. that are grappling with injustice.

At the heart of our mission is “hope.” Hope means believing in a better tomorrow by envisioning a different outcome for ourselves, family and community. We teach people the practical steps of developing hope because our work will not succeed unless they also decide to believe in a better tomorrow. This is why our Collaborative Hope Building model is so important.

“Healing” is our second mandate. Our Center for Global Initiatives (CGI) is designing a Rural HIV/AIDS Children’s Initiative to provide lifesaving treatment and ongoing medical monitoring to vulnerable children living in the impoverished Western Province of Zambia. We are also establishing The Daniel Society Global Health Fund to raise funds and awareness for this initiative.

Helping people understand a greater “purpose” for their life is our third mandate. CGI will launch The Daniel Society Women’s Economic Development Club of Lusoke Village in 2017. This project will promote the economic well-being of women and families living in extreme poverty in Zambia. We are also developing a rural poverty initiative for implementation in other regions like China.

In the U.S., our Center for Law and Justice (CLJ) is working on exciting neighborhood-based initiatives to confront injustice in New York. In 2017, our Central American Asylum Project will help more children fleeing gang violence by providing pro bono legal representation. We will launch our Advocacy and Civic Engagement work to address justice and immigration concerns facing our country. This work will advocate for fair and compassionate policies impacting low-income communities. To be most effective, we will collaborate with people, organizations and governments.

In 2017, we plan to grow our operations by hiring staff, expanding our donor base and diversifying our resources. My team and I are excited about using our passion to fuel our work, end global poverty and restore justice in communities facing inequalities. I invite you to join our Society today by giving a tax deductive gift in any amount or give $20.00 each month.

Together, we can do great things for others in 2017!

The Daniel Society Statement About the U.S. Election 2016

On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, our country elected Donald J. Trump as our 45th President. The election outcome has led to various protests across the country and has raised concerns about the rights and future of poor and immigrant communities. On the campaign trail and in recent media interviews, President-elect Trump has promised to take aggressive actions to deport 2-3 million undocumented people. Although the target of this deportation plan is what the new administration calls “criminal arrestees,” it is unclear whether this plan will negatively impact other immigrant families. Regardless of who is in the White House, The Daniel Society Center for Law and Justice will continue to vigorously fight for fair and just policies impacting people living in low-income and immigrant communities. We are developing a Civic Engagement Initiative that will give people a voice in public policies that will undoubtedly impact them. Furthermore, our Welcome Home Legal Aid Initiative will help immigrants understand their rights and achieve a status of freedom.
To learn more about our work and to support our efforts, visit us at www.danielsociety.org

The Daniel Society Expands Advisory Board with Five New Advisers

BROOKLYN, N.Y., November 11, 2016—The Daniel Society, a nonprofit organization with a global mission to reduce poverty and confront injustice, has announced five new advisers to its Center for Law and Justice and Center for Global Initiatives. The new advisers to The Daniel Society’s Advisory Board are:
Dr. Towera Loper is an adviser to the Center for Global Initiatives. She is a speaker, life coach, author, licensed minister and guest writer for the Christian Broadcasting Network’s spiritual life section. A native of Zambia, she came to the United States to pursue her education, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northpoint Bible College in Haverhill, Mass., and a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Regent University in Virginia. She served as the director of Strategic Outreach Ministries for a mega church where she organized, trained and led teams to Bosnia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Tanzania and Uganda.

Herbert Murray is an adviser to the Center for Law and Justice. He is a native New Yorker and author. After serving 29 years in prison for a wrongful conviction, he has worked for the Times Square Alliance where he cleans and maintains the Times Square area. While in prison, Murray earned his GED and graduated from Ulster Community College in New York with an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts. He was a model prisoner, served as director of a youth assistance program, worked as a teacher’s aide and received numerous certificates of appreciation. Murray’s book, Standing Tall in Times Square, describes how he struggled to navigate the complex legal system and learned to survive and remain positive while in prison.

Debbie-Ann Paige, BS, BA, MA, is an adviser to the Center for Law and Justice. She is a public historian specializing in local African American history. Paige has worked on numerous local history projects, including “In Pursuit of Freedom” with the Brooklyn Historical Society; “Farm to City” with the Staten Island Museum; and the “Louis Napoleon House” as a site with the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to freedom on behalf of the Sandy Ground Historical Society. She facilitates public history forums throughout Staten Island and lectures as an adjunct professor at the College of Staten Island. She is a policy analyst with the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference. Paige has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Studies from Southern New Hampshire University, and a BA and MA in History from the College of Staten Island, City University of New York.

Dr. Shauna Tonkin is an adviser to the Center for Global Initiatives. She is the education director at Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor. For more than 25 years, Tonkin has worked in leadership roles in academic and museum environments. As education director, she oversees museum education programs and curatorial activities, emphasizing creative, engaging, and relevant experiences for visitors of all ages. She has directed successful local and international programs, and serves as a consultant for leadership and organizational development for non-profits. Tonkin has been a Smithsonian Visiting Professional, and a Fulbright Specialist to Ukraine. She holds a Ph.D. and Ed.S. (education specialist) in Leadership, Policy and Planning from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Regent University, and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Christy Williams, Esq., is an adviser to the Center for Law and Justice. Williams is a native Liberian and an attorney with years of experience representing foreign nationals in various immigration matters, including removal defense, family-based petitions, as well as self-petitions for survivors of domestic violence. Williams has a strong desire for community service. In 2014, she was awarded the Pangborn Pin for providing pro bono services to low-income clients through Legal Aid Detroit’s Private Attorney Involvement Program. Currently, she works for a non-profit organization where she provides nationwide legal and technical support to advocates who work to address state immigration-related legislation. Williams has Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Metropolitan University, St. Paul, Minnesota and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan.

ABOUT THE DANIEL SOCIETY

The Daniel Society is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to reducing poverty, one family at a time, by smart compassionate and sustainable initiatives that empower people to hope again. The organization applies a Collaborative Hope Building Model to tackle the challenges of poverty on a micro family and neighborhood level. For more information about the Daniel Society, visit www.danielsociety.org.