Human Services News

Northwest Institute for Children & Families:

January 28 - 29, 2008 Walk a Mile Coordinators' Training Opportunity

Start the New Year off involving policymakers, low-income constituents, and youth in foster care in the Walk a Mile experience.

Walk a Mile is an educational one month experience where policymakers and either a low-income parent or a youth living in foster care are paired together so the pairs can learn about each other's lives through conversations and personal experiences.

Since 1994 Walk a Mile (WAM) has helped communities in 36 states, open the eyes and hearts of policymakers and the general public to the real-life challenges facing people living in poverty. WAM provides the venue for a non-confrontational, up-close, hands-on educational opportunity for policymakers.

Each policymaker is paired with either a low-income constituent or a youth living in foster care. During one month, they talk one-on-one and gain new perspectives on poverty and our government. Pairs learn, first-hand, a real and tangible understanding of the responsibilities and challenges both lawmakers and participants are confronted by in their daily lives by meeting, sharing experiences and having personal conversations.

WAM is looking for community organizations working with low-income constituents or youth in foster care to coordinate 2008 projects.

There are two kinds of projects: state-wide projects (all state legislators are invited to participate and any that agree are matched with constituents in their districts) or local projects (a project in a city, county or several counties that include policymakers and their constituents from that geographical area).