Other

Poverty in Alabama has many structural causes and symptoms. Arise has worked hard for decades to identify these challenges and propose policy solutions to them. We believe strongly that better public policy is the key to reducing and eliminating poverty, and that belief fuels our research on a whole range of issues facing our state.

Resources

VIDEO: The path forward in Arise’s work to untax groceries

On Labor Day weekend in 2023, Alabama’s state grocery tax reduction finally became a reality. The 1-cent decline in the sales tax on food brought welcome news to Alabamians who are struggling to make ends meet. And it marked a milestone in Alabama Arise’s work to build a more just and equitable tax system for [...]
Issues
Budgets, Tax Reform, Other
Date
August 30, 2024
Author
Matt Okarmus
Fact Sheet

What are the benefits of a universal school breakfast program in Alabama?

Alabama should do more to equip schoolchildren and teachers for success. Our state consistently ranks among the bottom five states for educational outcomes. And one essential school supply missing from several Alabama schools would immensely improve said outcomes: universal school breakfast. Below are a few of the positive effects that universal school breakfast would have [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Other
Date
August 26, 2024
Author
LaTrell Clifford Wood
Fact Sheet

Universal school breakfast helps Alabama children learn and thrive

School breakfast helps kids learn: Children who start the day with breakfast learn better. They have better classroom participation and are less likely to skip school than kids who don’t get breakfast. But tight family budgets and stressful mornings mean many children arrive at school hungry. School breakfast can help fill this gap. School, bus [...]
Issues
Budgets, Health, Other
Date
August 26, 2024
Author
Carol Gundlach
Fact Sheet

CHOOSE Act will further hurt Alabama’s public schools

Many Alabamians think of public education as a natural part of growing up and of community life. Public schools are at the center of hundreds of communities across our state. And their calendars often set a rhythm for the flow of the year: football games in the fall, band concerts and theater productions in the [...]
Issues
Other, Budgets
Date
August 22, 2024
Author
Carol Gundlach
Member Resources

Alabama Arise + Organized Labor = People Power!

Workers’ rights are human rights. Labor unions uplift workers and our communities. When we work together, we can have a louder voice in Montgomery for working-class Alabamians. Working together, we can fight for an Alabama where all people have resources and opportunities to reach their potential to live happy, productive lives! Click here to download [...]
Issues
Other, Economic Opportunity
Date
July 31, 2024
Author
Adam Keller
Fact Sheet

Universal school breakfast would benefit Alabama’s children in many ways

Universal school breakfast would improve areas such as child hunger, chronic absenteeism, adolescent mental health and standardized testing.

Issues
Health, Other
Date
February 1, 2024
Author
LaTrell Clifford Wood
Fact Sheet

A dire need for reform: How Alabama’s constitution is holding our state back

The 1901 Alabama Constitution is overreaching, poorly written and harmful to many of the people it governs. Its authors intentionally disenfranchised people of color, women and people with low incomes in an effort to silence them politically. The document also created barriers to governance for local elected officials. More than a century later, these barriers [...]
Issue
Other
Date
September 22, 2022
Author
Mike Nicholson
Member Resources

We still make change: Advocating in Alabama in the time of COVID-19

The voices and needs of people matter. And engaging those voices in the policymaking process is key to building the better, more inclusive Alabama that we envision. Alabama Arise remains committed to informing and equipping our members to influence policies that affect their lives and communities. As we look toward the Alabama Legislature’s 2021 regular [...]
Issue
Other
Date
January 25, 2021
Author
David Stout
Fact Sheet

How to get involved in Alabama’s legislative process

Most people recognize the vital role that voting plays in a democracy – even if they don’t vote. But fewer understand the citizen’s role in lawmaking. Using your power as a constituent to influence legislators is called lobbying. Alabama Arise promotes its interest – the well-being of Alabamians with low and moderate incomes – not [...]
Issue
Other
Date
December 12, 2019
Author
Jim Carnes
Member Resources

2020 Alabama Arise issue priorities brochure

Alabama Arise members have chosen the following issues as policy priorities for 2020. The first two are permanent priorities. The remaining five reflect this year’s member voting. The Arise board also may approve action on other emerging issues during the year. To view our full 2020 issue priorities brochure, click here or click the Download [...]
Issue
Other
Date
November 13, 2019
Author
Alabama Arise
All Issue Resources