CAJE

Update:

CONGREGATIONS ACTING FOR JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

Nehemiah Action

Monday, May 5 at 6:00PM

BOSSE HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

What is “affordable housing”?

Affordable Housing is defined as no more than 30 percent of a family’s gross income for rent/mortgage, utilities, taxes and insurance. The average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Evansville is about $1030 per month and utilities are about $200. To afford this, a family needs an annual income of $49,000. If two people in the household are working, their combined wages need to be at least $30/hour.

What we must do now.

On Monday, May 5, at 6:00 pm, we will publicly ask our city’s leaders to ensure that our city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund is replenished and strengthened with a dedicated revenue stream for annual, incremental increases. Research shows this is a crucial step for a long-term and sustainable effort to make housing more affordable for low-income families.

How we will bring this forward.

Following the example of Nehemiah, who called a great assembly and demanded that the money-lenders end the usury that had forced the Israelites into slavery, we will assemble as one with our member congregations in CAJE. We need you to stand with us. The more people in attendance, the more powerful our insistence becomes, and the more likely our city’s leaders will take the necessary action.

Questions?

Talk with Tom Moor or Gordon Hartig on Sunday after the service. Or call Tom at 812-746-6671 or Gordon at812-430-9117. https://www.greaterevansvillecaje.org/

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The Unitarian Universalist Church of Evansville is a member of CAJE.

Congregations Acting for Justice and Empowerment (CAJE) is a nonprofit group of 26 local faith communities, representing people from all walks of life in Vanderburgh, Posey and Warrick counties in southwestern Indiana.

We’re Protestants, Catholics, Hindus, Muslims, and Unitarian Universalists, working together to create a more equitable community for all people.

We are process-driven. We work methodically to identify problems and research their causes. We develop practical, evidence-based solutions to systemic injustice. And we empower people to hold officials accountable for true, long-lasting change.

We’re not simply advocates for needed change—we are change-makers. And we’re making a difference.

Mission Statement

The mission of the CAJE organization is to draw together people of faith to act powerfully to address local community issues through processes of relationship building, direct action, and negotiation with decision-makers.

History

CAJE was founded in 2003 and held its first action on February 23, 2004 with 700 people in attendance. At that meeting, Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel agreed to work on ways to improve housing code enforcement. He restructured the department so that the entire city is now being inspected and he increased the number of housing code enforcement inspectors from five to eight.

A few years later, the organization got the Vanderburgh County Council to include a new community dental clinic in their 2006 health department budget. This clinic opened on June 26, 2006 and has an annual budget of $285,000. This clinic supplies dental services to all persons with limited resources for dental care.

As CAJE enters its third decade of working for systemic change, we give thanks for the wins we have achieved… and for the people who came together from different faith traditions to found our organization.

Source: Greater Evansville CAJE