PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 22, 2011 – State Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) met with constituents at the West Philadelphia Earn Center today to receive feedback on their employment struggles and suggestions for moving forward with good policies and legislation for putting Pennsylvanians back to work. The Earn Center assists Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients with the motivation, skills, and experience they need to find and keep a full-time job.

This is a second conversation in a series of talks the Senator has been having with constituents regarding this important topic, changing the venue weekly but keeping the setting intimate.

“The best way to find out the struggles of my constituents is to go directly into the community to talk with them, hear firsthand the difficulties they are facing with unemployment and receive their invaluable input as to how they think we can best move forward,” Hughes said. “We need to work together to get through this jobs crisis and show others in leadership that these unemployment numbers represent real people.”

With Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate at 8.2 percent and the length of time a person remains jobless at an all time high, Senator Hughes called on the Governor and Republican legislature to focus their attention on the priorities of Pennsylvanians.

“Again and again, people in this city, state and nation tell us that their main concern is finding good, family-sustaining jobs. But for some reason, Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania have made their priorities English-only language, voter ID and presidential election manipulation instead of job creation,” Hughes noted.

The Senator is also encouraging individuals to post their own struggles with unemployment on his Facebook page, whereby continuing to give this crisis a voice. “We want to use all resources available to us. Individuals can feel free to post their unemployment stories and videos on my Facebook page. If people want to call their Congressman to support President Obama’s American Jobs Act, they can do that too. The more people who speak up, the more people who reach out to their legislators, the stronger our argument is for passing solid job creation legislation,” Hughes said.

The Senator will continue to post on Facebook and Twitter (SenatorHughes) his thoughts on the jobs crisis, as well as the feedback he receives from his constituents. Be sure to follow him there and visit Senator Hughes at www.SenatorHughes.com for the latest information.

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