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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.
Featured Resources
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]