United Way launches year-long series to create community blueprint for change

BOSTON (June 5) – Is the dream of educational, social and economic opportunity getting harder for working class and low-income families to achieve? To answer this and other questions, United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB), in partnership with sponsor Bank of America and research partner Northeastern University, is today launching Living the Dream. This year-long effort aims to jump-start the dialogue, engage the citizenry and begin creating a community blueprint charting the action steps and community groups necessary to make social, economic and educational opportunities available to everyone in Greater Boston.

“The American Dream was certainly alive for past generations of Bostonians, fed by a tradition of industry, opportunity and progressive reform,” said Milton J. Little, Jr., president and chief executive officer at United Way of Massachusetts Bay. “But the “ladder” to security and prosperity that folks have been using to climb up is coated with more slippery substances today – high housing costs, jobs that demand highly-skilled workers and an increasing hopelessness among our youth. We must take action to improve the pathways of educational, social and economic opportunity for children and families. We need to talk. We need to act. And we need to hold ourselves accountable.”

A study of indicators of economic, social and educational advancement over the past 30 years found that today’s low-income Americans are less likely than low-income individuals in the 1960s and ‘70s to graduate from high school, climb out of poverty or own a home. Social mobility is now lower in America than in many other industrialized nations. We’ve actually lost ground.

“Across two centuries of American history, access to the American Dream always grew” said Citizen Schools President Eric Schwarz, author of Realizing the American Dream: Historical Scorecard, Current Challenges, Future Opportunities. “But for the past 30 years, that is not the case. We’ve just finished the first generation in American history in which poverty has grown and social mobility has declined. For many poor and even middle class families, the American Dream of home ownership, a good education for their kids, and a secure retirement seem out of reach or at risk as never before.”

Living the Dream is kicking off this morning at the Old South Meeting House in Boston with an inaugural panel featuring high-profile regional experts in key issue areas that impact the ability of low- and middle-income people to attain the American Dream in Greater Boston. Milton J. Little, Jr. and Eric Schwarz presented the keynote address. NECN and 96.9FM Talk’s Jim Braude moderated a panel of experts that provided a 360 degree view, coloring the problems and challenges, and framing the work that needs to be done. Panelists included:

• Barry Bluestone, Director, Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University (Housing)
• Ian Bowles, President and CEO, MassINC (Employment)
• Beverly Edgehill, President, The Partnership Inc. (Diversity)
• Howard Friedman, Civil Rights Attorney, The Law Offices of Howard Friedman (Justice)
• Rey Ramsey; President, One Economy (Access to Technology)
• Blenda Wilson, President and CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation (Education)
• Ellen Zane, CEO, Tufts-New England Medical Center (Health Care)

“Effective solutions do exist,” said Bob Gallery, Massachusetts Market President, Bank of America. “We need to harness the vast talents and resources of the community to create a new platform for connection and collaboration. We need to put our priority on applying all of our resources to create the will and the means to ensure our community prospers. Today is only the beginning. Together, we can make a great deal of difference.”

Over the course of the year, United Way will hold a series of individual panels, each focused solely on one of the seven issue areas. Preceding each of these more targeted conversations, a “framing paper” will be created by Northeastern University to outline the issues and the challenges, charging each of the seven panel discussions with generating clear action items to help drive progress. Similarly, following each panel, there will be an “outcome paper” that details the agenda, highlights, and strategies for next steps detailed at that program.

"As a university that works to support urban and regional progress, we're proud to join with United Way and Bank of Boston and provide the research that will drive this effort," said Richard M. Freeland, President of Northeastern University. "This discussion is long overdue. We hope it will lead to action."

“We will not let history define this as an opportunity for change that we simply didn’t have the resolve to take up,” UWMB’s Little said. “We are hoping all sessions, but this one in particular, will help create the public will to tackle these issues. Our measure of success will be our ability to engage the community in the development of a blueprint and a shared vision of what we can do to make life better for all of us.”

At the conclusion of the series of specific panels, Living the Dream will become an annual community event. Each year, this forum will serve as a time to report back on progress on providing access to the American Dream. For more information, please visit www.uwmb.org/livingthedream