Jackie's Newsletter July 2023

Dear Friends,

When I announced that I wasn’t running for reelection, I said I was coming home to make “good trouble” and fix problems not on the world stage, but at home. I want to update you on the good trouble we’ve made so far.

Upon coming home, I realized that despite all that we have done to alleviate poverty, it is still significant. In a county with 22 billionaires and nearly 5,000 residents with annual incomes exceeding $4 million, there are 27,000 children living here in families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold. For people to access federal poverty programs, a family of four must have an income of $30,000 or less.

In December we released the report, Hidden in Plain Sight, which you can view here, on issues that impact women and children in San Mateo County, and we have narrowed our focus to the tens of thousands of children who live at the poverty level in our County.

We convened a meeting of community and non-profit leaders, elected officials, and concerned residents in early 2023. As a result of that meeting, we formed working committees to address the issues of child poverty.

We held a press conference in the Spring of 2023, where several women with children shared their heartbreaking stories about living in poverty while working two jobs. Not only is San Mateo County one of the richest counties in America, but it is also one of the most expensive.

We’ve secured funding from The Chan Zuckerberg Institute, Kaiser Permanente, Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation, and private funders to hold the first San Mateo County Rising: Ending Child Poverty Summit in August. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Matthew Desmond of Princeton University and author of Pulitzer Prize winning, best-selling book, Evicted, and newly released best-selling book, Poverty, by America. Many other experts will be speaking and/or attending.

We’ve held listening tours throughout the County to hear directly from women and their children. Their experiences and the obstacles have informed our understanding of their needs. We will hear directly from some of these families.

We recently met with San Mateo County Court representatives and government officials on the high and growing number of evictions in San Mateo County that adversely impact women and their children. The foundation is exploring new program options to help reduce the number of evictions.

I've figured I have been in over 20 campaigns in my career but ending child poverty will be the most important campaign of my life. I hope you will join me in this effort.

We are a remarkable county in which innovation is our mantra. It’s time to look at innovative ways to address the rampant poverty that exists hidden in plain sight. If you would like to join me in this effort and make a contribution, please click here. To help the foundation achieve its goals, contact jackiespeierfoundation@gmail.com with any information.

All the best, 

Jackie