submitted by Jerry Thain; photo by Mike Engelberger
Marah Curtis (left) pictured here with Club President-Elect Stacy Nemeth
Marah Curtis, assistant professor at the UW School of Social Work, addressed the Club on May 15th on the current state of knowledge on addressing homelessness nationally and statewide. She began by emphasizing that housing exists on a continuum from those who have consistent, stable housing to those who are homeless. Most of the homeless experienced poor housing conditions before becoming homeless. Professor Curtis noted that concern about homelessness involves the related issues of labor market success, health and education – not just shelter alone.
In Madison, low income rentals are very hard to obtain for those with poor credit, records of incarceration or inconsistent earnings. There are four approaches to addressing homelessness: Usual Case: Subsidy; Community Based Rapid Relocation and project Based Transitional Housing. A major HUD study indicated that subsidy provides not only housing but lower rates of psychological duress, domestic abuse and number of schools attended by children.
“Housing First” is the most wide-spread program in the world to deal with homelessness and is used in Madison. Studies of the program show that in 11 of 12 widely varied areas using the program, it produced greater housing than other approaches but results differ as to whether the program had a beneficial impact on amount of drug and alcohol abuse and other problems. There was no indication that these problems were any worse than with other efforts to address homelessness. Professor Curtis concluded her remarks by answering a number of questions from members focusing on the situation in Madison.
Her talk left members with much food for thought as well as specific information on one of the major issues of our time.
If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch the video here.
“Amazing Tastes” is how Fellowship Chair Loretta Himmelsbach described the five-course event held at Vignette Dining Club April 15. Owner and Chef Mark Wroczynski introduced each course and completed the evening with a short presentation on risotto. The meal included unusual treats such as caramel seasoned with cinnamon cayenne, pimento goat cheese in a salad, and lavender poppyseed cake.
While 2019 is just starting, economists are already looking at their crystal balls. Steven Rick, CUNA Mutual Group Chief Economist started his Feb 13 Rotary speech with a “five-minute Federal Reserve Board Meeting.” Rick asked, “What is the economy’s most important price?” It’s money, measured by interest rates. The Federal Reserve (Fed) is targeting 2% interest. They also want labor fully employed and capital resources fully employed.
We learned from Dr. Nathaniel Chin that lifestyle factors have a great deal to do with forestalling or preventing cognitive decline leading to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). And positive change takes place no matter your age… if you do physical exercise, eat better foods, lower stress in your life and sleep better.
Joe Parisi, Dane County Executive since 2011, shared information with downtown Rotarians about area lake cleanups; mental health assistance in our schools and an update on airport expansion.
Founding artistic director Jennifer Uphoff Gray of Madison’s Forward Theater Company attributes their growth and success to the strong community involvement, much like the Rotarians gathered to hear about Forward Theater’s first decade. This has been a successful span, but their success was by no means a given in the early days. Gray noted the precarious economic climate in their founding days and how it confirmed their abiding commitment to a sustainable financial model for the theater and especially for the artists they employ.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 