1 6/16/2009Karen Silver – A Voice for ChangeBy Kim NguyenEver since she was child, Karen Silver has observed inequities and when given a chance to make themfair and balanced, she didn’t hesitate. When Karen was eleven years old, the school board announced plans toreduce the number of school counselors due to budget constraints. Karen and a few other fifth graders went totheir principal and asked that he inform the Board that counselors were needed in every school. The Boardmembers listened and responded favorably. This same awareness of injustice, responsive decisiveness, andmeaningful activism Karen displayed back when she was child is still thriving today in her work as an advocatefor Salt Lake Community Action Program (CAP). Karen Silver’s extensive record of volunteering, publicservice, and advocacy has grown with her different roles in life as a mom, a volunteer, and an advocate.When Karen was a stay-at-home mom, she was involved in community services such as the ParentTeacher Association (PTA) and local church activities. In 1984 Karen, who was recently divorced, receivedhelp for her children through Salt Lake CAP Head Start program. In spring 1984, she enrolled her youngestdaughter into Head Start. Karen took an active role as a volunteer with Head Start. She joined the local ParentPolicy Committee and later on was elected chair person of the program-wide Policy Council. As Karenreviewed parent involvement policies, she discovered some discrepancies between what should be happeningand what was actually happening. She started advocating for change, giving parents a stronger voice toorganize, coordinate, and volunteer.In 1985, an advocacy position opened up at Salt Lake CAP. With Karen’s knowledge and experiencegained through volunteering and assisting in policy issues, parent involvement, and coordinating other projects;she landed the job. Karen started out as an Issues Coordinator advocate working with low-incomeneighborhoods to ensure that they had a stronger voice in what happened in their community. One of Karen’sfirst assignments was to work on school fees issues during the Utah legislative session of 1986. The issuesconcerned school districts wanting more revenue. The proposed solution was to charge money for books, schoolactivities, field trips, and similar items. Salt Lake CAP realized that this would be detrimental to low incomestudents, preventing them from participating in these enriching school activities. Karen and other individualsadvocated for and secured school fee waivers for low-income children.In 1987, Karen was contacted by George Miller, a member of Congress from California, who wasChairman of the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families. He wanted information on how theavailability of child care affected the ability of Utahns to work. Karen conducted statewide research. Her resultswere published in the August 5, 1987 edition of the Congressional Record.During the 1990’s, Karen worked on hazardous waste issues. Her research indicated that a majority of EPA Superfund sites were located in or near low-income neighborhoods. One of her accomplishments wasgetting the EPA to require complete replacement of soil in yards in Midvale, Utah. The original plan was tocover the contaminated soil with a thin layer of clean soil. People would not have been able to grow vegetablegardens or dig more than an inch or two into the soil. Many of the impacted people had gardens.In 1994, Karen worked with Utah judges and attorneys, including Legal Services, to create a valuableservice called Landlord/Tenant Mediation through Salt Lake CAP. This program provides free landlord/tenantintervention and mediation to prevent eviction. Salt Lake CAP assures that trained volunteer mediators areavailable to provide free mediation services for interested landlords and tenants.In 1999, Karen was awarded the Annual Award for Child Advocacy from Utah Children for her work.She assembled a group that worked successfully to get $500,000 of state money put back into Utah’s child caresystem.Throughout the years working for Salt Lake CAP, Karen’s role has expanded. She works with Utah’sDepartment of Workforce Services to address unemployment insurance, job training, food security, child careavailability and General Assistance and the Family Employment Program (FEP). FEP is Utah’s version of thefederal Temporary Assistance for Need Family (TANF) program. Karen also advocates for issues involvingchild care quality, child support and open public process.
Leave a Comment