Quad Citians who are concerned about homelessness, poverty and a dearth of affordable housing are invited to attend the 2023 Rooting Out Poverty Conference on Thursday, April 27.
The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All three morning sessions are open to the public and are being held in the Grand Ballroom at Rock Island Holiday Inn at 226 17th St., according to Project Now.
A $35 ticket available for purchase here includes the panel discussions, a continental breakfast and lunch that features a keynote by Dalitso S. Sulamoya, the board chair of the National Community Action Partnership. (Afternoon sessions are for staff only.)
Registration is open until Wednesday, April 19.
In urging Quad Citians to attend the conference, Project Now said: “Join us to look back at 55 years of working to eliminate poverty in Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties and learn about the vision to move forward.”
The panel session topics and panelists scheduled include:
Anchoring Opportunity
The following experts will discuss urban and rural solutions to end homelessness, provide affordable rental housing and expand home ownership:
- Ron Lund, Project NOW, will discuss the Continuum of Care for homeless individuals.
- Leslie Kilgannon, QC Housing Cluster, will talk about the crisis in affordable housing.
- Kris Downey, Quad Cities Project NOW, will share information about unique housing opportunities including Honor Homes, R-3 (re-entry homes), & DeLaCerda.
- Retired 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Carol Pentuic will address Rock Island County’s successful Eviction Diversion program.
- James Jones, Economic Growth Corporation, will discuss home ownership.
The Justice Network Panel
These experts will focus on building a coalition to end permanent punishments, confront mass incarceration and expand opportunities for returning citizens:
- Willette Benford, Fully FREE.
- Professor Sharon Varillo, Augustana College Prison Education Program, and her guest.
- Paul Fessler, program manager, Highway Construction Careers Training Program, Black Hawk College.
SharedProsperity: City of Dubuque panel
This group will discuss an anti-poverty plan being implemented in the City of Dubuque, which created a city department to run it. Quad Cities Project NOW has said it hopes to do something similar in the QC:
- Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh.
- Anderson Sainci, the Dubuque Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Outreach.
- Bryan Moose, data analyst.
- Temwa Phiri, Dubuque community engagement coordinator.
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