A small loan shouldn’t be a sentence to months or years of deep debt. Everyone who needs to borrow money should have a reasonable pathway to repaying a loan without excessive costs. But in Alabama, high-cost payday loans cost struggling people tens of millions of dollars every year.
As our recent report with Alabama Appleseed shows, the industry profits off financial desperation. Two-week payday loans with annual percentage rates of up to 456% (not a misprint, unfortunately) trap many Alabamians in debt cycles they cannot escape. And Alabama’s lack of consumer protections gives those borrowers no reasonable path out of that debt trap.
There’s a better way. Alabama Arise supports 30 Days to Pay legislation to help the people injured most by these harmful practices. This proposal would give borrowers 30 days to repay payday loans, putting them on a cycle similar to other bills.
This change would make life better for thousands of Alabamians. About one in four Alabama payday borrowers take out more than 12 loans per year. Because the loans are so short in duration – as few as 10 days – these repeat borrowers pay nearly half of all payday loan fees assessed across the state. The 30 Days to Pay plan would give these borrowers a little breathing room to avoid spiraling into deep debt.
Alabama’s 2020 legislative session starts Feb. 4, 2020, and Alabama Arise is excited to keep working to make life better for people across our state. We think Medicaid expansion, untaxing groceries and our other priority issues offer a blueprint for real change in Alabama.
You can help spread the word and build support for these changes. So consider hosting a meeting in your area to inform people and equip them to make a difference in 2020. Our organizers can help folks feel more at ease talking to elected officials. And they have lots of valuable information about issues in our communities and our state.
Contact the organizer for your area or email me at pres@alarise.org if you or your group want to host a meeting. The session starts soon, so take advantage of this opportunity today. Together, we can build a better Alabama for all!
PS: Save the date! Arise’s Legislative Day is Feb. 25, 2020, in Montgomery.
My name is Judy Taylor. I’m proud to serve on Alabama Arise’s board of directors and to count myself as an Arise member and supporter. And I urge you to join me in supporting Arise’s work to help struggling Alabamians through better public policies.
Grant funding will match up to $75,000 of donations that Arise receives by Dec. 31 dollar-for-dollar. This money will help strengthen Arise’s analysis, organizing and advocacy on important issues like Medicaid expansion and public transportation.
Generous supporters like you have already given $23,000 toward our $75,000 goal. With your help, we can reach that goal together.
I support Arise because I experienced firsthand the struggle of a working family who faced economic challenges. Thanks to the GI Bill, my father had a good job as an electrical engineer. But we still faced challenges living a modest life.
As the oldest of 11 children, I remember the pain of wearing hand-me-downs, of carrying a buttered biscuit for lunch, of not being able to afford a 10-cent ice cream sandwich. But even then, I realized I was blessed with a good family, with loving parents who provided a home, food and clothes – more than others around me enjoyed.
As an adult, I try to live by Luke 12:48: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” This leads me to give my time, my talents and my money to support Arise in the fight against poverty and its terrible consequences.
My name is Ana Delia Valeriano. I’m proud to serve on Alabama Arise’s board of directors and to count myself as an Arise member and supporter. I’m writing today to thank you for your support, and to let you know that you can double your impact when you give by Dec. 31.
I personally support Arise because my family and I feel welcomed as part of the membership. And I’d like to take this time to ask for your support for our year-end campaign. Please make a contribution to support Arise’s work today. If you’ve already given during our year-end campaign, I thank you and ask you to share this message with friends.
Our family can give our annual gift knowing that the return will affect us directly, along with many other Latinxs helped by the work Arise does. We give because Medicaid expansion, public transportation and all the other issues that Arise’s membership votes on help us work toward an Alabama that is just, with policies that improve the lives of families with low incomes.
I’m thankful for the support Arise has received this year. And I wanted to let you know about three grants Arise has received to fund important work in 2020. One will encourage higher participation in the 2020 Census, one will engage directly impacted people in Medicaid reform, and one will promote Medicaid expansion.
My name is Kenneth Tyrone King. I’m proud to serve on Alabama Arise’s board of directors and to count myself as an Arise member and supporter. I’m writing today to thank you for your support, and to let you know that you can double your impact when you give by Dec. 31.
Arise and the issues we work on are very personal to me. I previously served time in prison in Florida, my home state. When I got out, despite working hard to restore my place in society, I found so many barriers at every turn.
Since moving to Alabama 11 years ago, I’ve worked hard to build a life for myself; my wife, Diane; and our 8-year-old daughter. It hasn’t been easy. My past has made it hard to find work that pays well. And health problems I’m financially unable to take care of have added stress to our daily lives.
But honestly, all of this makes it even more important for me and my wife to be a part of social change organizing. Since I arrived here in Alabama, I searched for an organization that I could join to make a difference not just in the lives of my family, but also for others across the state.
When I attended my first Arise conference, I knew I had found that group. Policies that Arise champions – like payday lending reform, Medicaid expansion and public transportation – could help hundreds of thousands of families like mine. This is why I serve on Arise’s board, and why I know the importance of your continued support.
I’m thankful for the support Arise has received this year. And I wanted you to know about three grants Arise has received to fund important work in 2020. One will encourage higher participation in the 2020 Census, one will engage directly impacted people in Medicaid reform, and one will promote Medicaid expansion.
Thank you so much for reading this message and for investing in Alabama Arise. I truly believe our work together is transformational, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
The ICN has completed a successful first year of operation with strong help from consumer voices at the policy table. The network seeks to increase the share of Medicaid long-term care patients who receive services in home and community settings rather than in nursing facilities.
In Year 1, the ICN reached its five-year benchmark for this quality measure four years early, thanks to a new approach to care coordination, data analysis and consumer education. Medicaid implemented an accelerated enrollment process Oct. 1, as consumer advisers recommended. That process should further increase the share of home- and community-based participants in Year 2.
More than 15,000 of Alabama’s Medicaid long-term care patients reside in nursing facilities. Another 8,000 receive care in other settings. Because federal Medicaid rules originally targeted long-term care services to nursing home patients only, states must request “waivers” suspending those rules to deliver home- and community-based services. The ICN includes two of Alabama’s waiver programs, both managed through the state’s 13 Area Agencies on Aging.
Alabama Arise has a seat on the ICN’s governing board, along with our partners at AARP Alabama, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and Disability Rights and Resources. We’re also represented on the network’s Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC).
The CAC has a productive relationship with Alabama Select Network, the Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiary that administers the ICN. The committee is promoting consumer choice in care settings and working to lift practical barriers to home- and community-based care.
Alabama Medicaid is at a moment of transformation, opening up opportunities for a new focus on improving health outcomes. And Alabama Arise is working hard to ensure community needs and voices stay at the forefront.
Medicaid primary care is moving from a statewide fee-for-service model to a system of seven Alabama Coordinated Health Networks (ACHNs). The regional, nonprofit ACHNs began offering services Nov. 1, focusing on prevention, care coordination and health improvements. The inclusion of consumer representatives on regional governing boards and advisory committees also allows an unprecedented opportunity for Medicaid consumers to provide input directly to program officials.
Alabama Arise held a community asset mapping meeting on June 11, 2019, in Mobile. We met at the Bay Area Women Coalition and Trinity Gardens Community Civic Club offices. The meeting was the first held as part of a local project to help shape a Medicaid quality improvement project with the Alabama Coordinated Health Network for southwest Alabama.
In a pilot program designed to take advantage of these reforms, Arise has partnered with the Bay Area Women Coalition to enhance the local health system’s ability to promote greater food security in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood of Mobile. We’ve reached more than 100 people over six community meetings this year.
The community engagement effort is producing results. We’ve identified potential leaders and worked with residents to prioritize their ideas. We’re also discussing ways to strengthen community input as Medicaid implements and evaluates quality improvement projects.
Arise is grateful for our partnership with our Trinity Gardens neighbors. And we hope to build similar connections in communities across Alabama.
It’s no secret that Alabama’s prisons are overcrowded, violent and inhumane. Any meaningful solution to this crisis must address two major challenges. First, it must alleviate the abysmal conditions inside Alabama’s prisons. Second, it must help people who are at risk of incarceration or re-incarceration become productive members of their communities. (See the key policy recommendations from Alabamians for Fair Justice below.)
Dena Dickerson, executive director of the Offender Alumni Association, speaks during an Oct. 3 news conference at the State House in Montgomery. Dickerson was one of dozens of supporters of Alabamians for Fair Justice (AFJ) who assembled to show support for reforms to make Alabama’s corrections system more humane and restorative. Alabama Arise is a member of the AFJ coalition.
The missing voices who need to be heard
Alabama Arise has been following the study group’s learning curve on a broad array of criminal justice issues. In four public meetings since July, members have received a flood of statistics from prison administrators, sentencing specialists, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, mental health officials and other experts. They also have toured multiple correctional facilities, becoming eyewitnesses to the shameful conditions they’re charged with improving.
Largely missing from this crash course: the voices of the people Alabama’s criminal justice system affects most. The panel should fill that gap by inviting testimony from inmates’ family members and formerly incarcerated individuals. Many of them have attended the public study group meetings, and the formal recommendations should reflect their lived experiences.
Policy solutions should ease reentry, reduce recidivism
Breaking the cycle of recidivism is a challenge that reaches beyond DOC, or even criminal justice policy. It also requires community partnerships to serve people with untreated mental health and addiction problems. These challenges can undermine successful reentry and often contribute to incarceration in the first place.
By targeting recidivism, the study group is highlighting our state’s overburdened community mental health and substance use services network. Medicaid expansion, at a 90% federal match, would allow Alabama to expand these services tenfold for the same state investment. The study group should urge our state to take this essential step forward.
The study group’s measured, highly visible approach to its complicated challenge is not one it can easily shrug off. The panel has set a high bar for meaningful recommendations, and Arise expects them to meet it. Arise and our partners in the Alabamians for Fair Justice alliance will keep up the pressure for comprehensive, lasting reform.
The path to a better corrections system
Alabama’s corrections system must become more humane and restorative. Alabama Arise and our allies in the Alabamians for Fair Justice coalition have proposed numerous changes to put our state on a path toward dignity, equity and justice for all. Here are a few of these recommendations:
Expand state investments in mental health care and treatment for substance use disorders.
Increase state support for mental health courts, pretrial diversion and reentry programs.
Reduce court costs and give people a reasonable amount of time to begin paying fines and restitution after returning from prison.
End automatic suspensions of driver’s licenses in cases unrelated to traffic safety.
Apply the state’s presumptive sentencing guidelines retroactively.
You may have a list of topics that you consider taboo at holiday gatherings. But I hope that finding ways to help Alabamians living in poverty isn’t on that list. When you’re among friends and family who believe life should be better for struggling Alabamians, I hope you’ll make sure they know about Alabama Arise.
Arise’s membership has grown exponentially in recent years, and we hope to continue that trend. As an inclusive organization, we welcome everyone who wants to advocate for a brighter future for Alabama.
We need to bring together people who support Medicaid expansion, payday lending reform and voting rights. We need to bring together people who want to fund public transportation and untax groceries. And we need to bring together people who are determined to break down policy barriers to shared prosperity across our state.
Gift memberships are another way to introduce friends to Arise. Email us at info@alarise.org with the names and complete contact info for those you’re sponsoring.
The deadline to #GetCovered is one month away! Open enrollment for 2020 Marketplace health coverage under the Affordable Care Act ends Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. Don’t miss your chance to make sure you’re covered in case of accident or illness.
Visit healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596 to explore your coverage options. And be sure to spread the word about this opportunity to your friends and family, too.
Even if you already have Marketplace coverage, we still recommend that you log in and double-check your options. Another plan may better meet your needs in the coming year.
