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Hicksville — When people talk about bills in the legislature or government programs, attention
often focuses on the “how.” How can the bill get passed, how can the proposal get paid for, how will it work?
“The
‘how’ is important,” acknowledges Richard Koubek, administrator of the Public Policy Education Network for
diocesan Catholic Charities, “but we can never forget the ‘why?’ Why have this law or this program? What
impact will it have on people’s lives?”
For more than 10 years, Koubek, working with other Catholic leaders
and other social justice advocates, has tried to help public officials and ordinary Catholics understand the “why”
of public policy. His work has included advocacy of “living wage” laws, a push to expand office hours for county
departments of social services, and efforts for affordable housing.
“I see my job, first of all, as one of raising
awareness of the people in the pews regarding poverty on Long Island, particularly the working poor. Then, I hope to help
people see the issues through their faith — in particular through the lens of Catholic social teachings,” Koubek
said.
Catholic social teachings
Next, he tries to mobilize Catholics to advocate on behalf of those
in need.
He cites one “success story” for helping people make that three-part connection. Several years ago,
as one way to help Long Islanders reflect on poverty on Long Island in light of the Gospel, Catholic Charities began printing
Lenten reflection booklets, “Pathway to the Holy,” for parish groups.
“In 2000, we asked people to
write letters to the Nassau and the Suffolk County departments of social services and the county administrators to expand
their hours for food stamps applications,” Koubek said. The Lenten study group participants sent several thousand letters.
As a result, Nassau began offering evening hours for the department of social services, he noted. Suffolk also has
attempted to widen its access.
His work with the Public Policy Education Network recently won him recognition from
Jobs with Justice Long Island, the local affiliate of a national labor and community organizing coalition. Koubek was one
of four Long Islanders so honored. “I’ve worked with the other honorees and was proud to be recognized along with
them.”
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Catholic social teachings are the body of principles rooted in Scripture and the writings of Catholic saints
and scholars through the centuries. These teachings have emerged more recently through the encyclicals of popes from Leo XIII
in 1891 to Pope John Paul II, as well as the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
Those principles include the
dignity of the human person as created by God, an emphasis on the common good, the rights of workers, and the preferential
option for the poor. Though these principles are rooted in Scripture and Catholic tradition, Koubek said, they are not unique
to Catholicism and have an appeal to the larger society.
“It’s not a case of imposing Catholic beliefs,”
he noted. Rather, Catholic social teachings offer “a well-reasoned social philosophy.” They reflect natural moral
law, which other Christians and people of other faiths or no faith can appreciate. |
Richard Koubek
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The recent controversy over President Bush’s veto of the proposed expansion of the State Children’s Health
Insurance Program highlights the insight that Catholic social teaching offers. “We can disagree about the ‘how,’
how much we want to expand eligibility for health care coverage for low-income families over the poverty level.
“But
when you look at the why, you see that so many children don’t have health care coverage and you consider the dignity
of every human being. You see that there must be a response,” Koubek said. “Catholic social teaching puts a human
face on the issues.”
So, early in his tenure the public policy education network began working with people in
the parish outreach offices. “They are the ones who deal directly with people in need. We wanted to help the outreach
workers move beyond just helping people in need to see the underlying problem.”
From talking with parish outreach
workers, “we started asking them what they were seeing. They gave us some real insight into what the problems are,”
Koubek explained.
That’s how the public policy education network learned that there are many people in need
who qualify for food stamps but are working and can’t get to the department of social services during their business
hours. “They also told us about the biggest problems, lack of affordable housing and the number of people with untreated
mental illness.”
The network, in addition to working for expanded hours for food stamp applications, also pushed
for “living wage” bills to require all agencies who contract with either Nassau or Suffolk counties to pay more
than the minimum wage, reflecting Long Island’s cost of living.
“The bill was passed in Suffolk,”
Koubek said, and later a similar bill was passed in Nassau. He is also encouraged by the number of local housing coalitions
that he and others helped organize to work with local government to expand opportunities for affordable housing.
“These
are small victories,” Koubek said, “but we keep at it.”
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Last modified: 11/01/2007
© Copyright 2007 The Long Island Catholic
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