Named for the prophet who calls us to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God," MICAH stands for the Mobilized Interfaith Coalition Against Hunger. Comprising over 400 religious & lay leaders from more than 270 congregations and agencies, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Unitarian Universalist, Sikh and Baha'i congregations, MICAH is an interfaith advocacy campaign to address the root causes of what keeps the working poor hungry and trapped in a cycle of poverty.

MICAH's mission is to provide advocacy for actions and public policies to end hunger & poverty Island-Wide. The three goals that MICAH is working toward this year are:

1. To ask towns and villages to create a plan for affordable housing that will create more housing options that people can actually afford.
2. To engage in food recovery efforts in schools so that extra food is not wasted or thrown away, but goes to feeding hungry children and families in local communities.
3. To preserve local access to health care while advocating for universal health care.

Although Long Island is one of the wealthiest suburbs in the United States, it is one of the least affordable places to live in the country. One fifth of its households earn less than $40,000 a year - a more realistic "poverty level" for this region. The lack of affordable housing is the most crushing burden working poor families face on the Island. Each month these households must make Sophie's choices: "Do I feed my children or pay the rent?"

It also explains why a shocking 259,000 Long Islanders seek help at a food pantry each year- of whom nearly 93,000 are children and 39,000 are seniors. Over the past year, due to the economic downturn and record unemployment, these rates have risen. Paul Pachter, Executive Director of Long Island Cares/The Harry Chapin Food Bank recently reported that Long Island Cares has seen demand for donated food increase from 30 to 50 percent; that as many as 130,000 more Long Islanders could be going hungry in this troubled economy. These percentage increases are in keeping with reports from food providers across the Island.

Long Island's faith community also has a rich tradition of social justice values and teachings. When mobilized, it can become a powerful public policy advocacy voice for affordable housing and related issues affecting working poor people, and a potent force for policy reforms that address the root causes of their neighbors' homelessness, hunger and poverty. They can become a constituency of conscience on behalf of marginalized and politically powerless poor people on Long Island.

The LICC/MICAH is partnering with the Long Island Progressive Coalition (LIPC) to conduct advocacy for our region's poor and for those who have fallen into poverty. LIPC has the ability to train and organize groups and potentially expand networks of people to mobilize for political action around social justice issues, and MICAH has the diverse faith based congregation membership embodying a commitment to social justice issues. MICAH has been specifically engaged in the housing, hunger and health care priorities throughout the year. Our methodology is to organize faith based congregations and, through our partnership with the Long Island Progressive Coalition, train them to mobilize and take action around these issues, resulting in more access to affordable housing choices and better access to food and health care.

Highlights of MICAH's accomplishments to date are the following:

Affordable Housing: MICAH convened four regional town meetings during the months of November and December of 2008 at the following host congregations: Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, Central Synagogue in Rockville Centre, First Baptist Church in Riverhead and Smithtown Presbyterian Church in Smithtown. Between 20-30 clergy and social justice/outreach congregation lay leaders from all communities of faith attended each lunch meeting to learn about MICAH and YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard- an LIPC affordable housing campaign) and participate in an affordable housing strategy chart workshop, leadership development and the organizer's tool-kit training. YIMBY and MICAH staff led these leadership development and skill building trainings to inform congregation leaders how to create a database, how to turnout people for an event, organizer's math, the affordable housing strategy chart, volunteer recruitment and message development.

MICAH is currently working to mobilize its members in the Town of Islip in support of affordable housing for the Heartland Town Square Development. This includes petitions, collection of hand-written letters, and turnout for press conferences and town hall hearings. MICAH is also working with its members in the Town of North Hempstead in collecting hand-written letters to demonstrate support for more affordable housing options.

Hunger/Food Recovery: MICAH has forged a collaboration with the organization Rock and Wrap It Up! (http://www.rockandwrapitup.org) a national, independent anti-poverty think tank based on Long Island. MICAH is supporting the Rock and Wrap It Up! (RWU) School Program model in which cafeteria food that is prepared but not served or sold, is directed to soup kitchens and food centers instead of being wasted in already overflowing landfills and dumpsters. Touro Law Center is already participating, and we have introduced the program to congregations in Huntington, Amityville & Garden City that are currently working with their school districts to consider the program. The Town of North Hempstead school recycling program has also been introduced to partner with this school food recovery model and is under consideration.

Also in collaboration with RWU, MICAH prepared a bulletin insert to support the RWU letter writing campaign to state governors asking for state buildings to engage in food recovery efforts, based on the Federal Food Donation Act that recently became law.

MICAH has partnered with Long Island Cares' Hunger Advocacy Project (HAP) to conduct community awareness and legislative advocacy as "hunger relief allies." Sample letters/ information were prepared for MICAH bulletin inserts to engage the faith community in writing letters about the hunger crisis to local media outlets and elected officials.

Access to Health Care: A Health Care sub-committee of the MICAH Steering Committee has been set up to develop goals for preserving access to health care during MICAH's third year. MICAH bulletin inserts on access to health care issues have been created and distributed for the months of February and March to highlight the connection between poverty and lack of access to appropriate health care. Locally we are working to preserve access to health care, and nationally we are advocating for universal health care.

MICAH was also prominent in prodding the Suffolk Department of Social Services to implement evening hours so that working poor clients have access to apply for badly needed benefits.

MICAH Bulletin Inserts for publication in congregational and agency newsletters prepared for:

• September 2008 - Labor Day/Domestic Workers - (in collaboration with LI-Jobs with Justice)
• October & November 2008 - Affordable Housing
• December 2008 & January 2009 - Hunger - (in collaboration with Rock and Wrap It Up! (RWU) & Muslims Against Hunger Project)
• February & March 2009 - Access to Health Care - (in collaboration with Empire Justice Center & Nassau University Medical Center)
• April 2009 - Hunger -(in collaboration with RWU & L.I. Cares Hunger Advocacy Project)
• May 2009- Unions as a path out of poverty - (in collaboration with LI-Jobs with Justice)

MICAH Co-Sponsorships:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Prayer Service and Choir Concert, January 2009
• Local business food drive to supply regional food pantry, Spring & Fall 2008-2009
• L.I. Jobs with Justice/L.I.Wins/MICAH press conference in support of Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, April 2009

MICAH Presentations and Informational Talks:

• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Bellport
• LICC Convocation, First Baptist Church, Riverhead
• Islamic Center of Long Island Ramadan Iftaar, Westbury
• Presbytery Community Church, Massapequa
• Muslim Students Association Fast-a-thon event, SUNY Stony Brook
• Sufi Circle, Dix Hills
• Garden City Community Church, Garden City
• Conscience Bay Quaker Monthly Meeting, St. James
• Bay Shore Interfaith Council, Bay Shore
• Suffolk County Legislature in support of DSS Evening Hours
• Long Island Cares, Hunger Advocacy Project Meeting
• Touro Law School Muslim Law Students Association
• West Hills United Methodist Church, Huntington Station
• First United Methodist Church, Amityville
• Adelphi University School of Social Work Social Action Day
• Jobs with Justice/L.I.Wins/MICAH press conference

MICAH representation at Conferences/Trainings/Meetings:

• Long Island Progressive Coalition Leadership Conference and 1:1 training
• Annual Keys for the Homeless Conference, Nassau/Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless
• Bread for the World Dinner
• Accessory Apartment public hearing, Town of North Hempstead
• Public Forum, Brookhaven - State Budget Cuts
• Long Island Housing Partnership - Inclusionary Zoning Law
• YIMBY community meeting at public library in support of Heartland development
• Candlelight Vigil for the Homeless, Nassau/Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless
• Touro Law Center Public Interest Government Job Fair
• Legislative Education & Advocacy Day, SUNY Stony Brook
• Long Island Cares/Island Harvest Meeting to discuss Hunger
• Health & Welfare Council of L.I. Hunger Forum
• YIMBY Press Conference to support Heartland Development

A $100,000 grant from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock's (UUCSR) new Large Grants Fund is sustaining MICAH for the second year, which began July 1, 2008. The grant will end on June 30, 2009, and we urgently need additional funding of approximately $100,000/year from all sources to continue this ground-breaking project. We seek funding for MICAH from individuals, congregations, denominations, foundations and businesses.